Corporate reporting on sustainability now mainstream

More than three-quarters of the value of the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) is reporting on sustainability, according to a recently-released report. The report is a clear signal that corporate reporting on sustainability has now become mainstream in New Zealand.

The report, Towards Transparency, was produced by sustainability consultancy Proxima and was based on a review of all sustainability and integrated reports released in New Zealand for the year ending August 31, 2018.

The report launch in Auckland on October 31 will include an address from Richard Howitt, CEO of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The IIRC developed the Integrated Reporting framework which has been adopted by several New Zealand companies including Z Energy, New Zealand Post and Sanford.

Many of the adopters of Integrated Reporting are also members of the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), which requires members to be accountable for and disclose their sustainability impacts. Abbie Reynolds, SBC, Executive Director, says that “we are pleased that SBC members are leading the way on integrated reporting. We often say in business, what gets measured, gets managed, which is why reporting allows business to make real inroads on the sustainability challenges business face”.

The report’s author, Calum Revfem from Proxima says there has been a real shift in non-financial reporting recently in New Zealand. “Changes in reporting have been primarily driven by changes to the NZX Governance Code and growing investor demand for more non-financial information on which to make better decisions. Sustainability and integrated reporting have now become mainstream”.

Key findings from the report include:
• The 34 NZX listed companies reporting on sustainability account for over 75% of the total market capitalisation of the NZX
• Over 70% of sustainability reporters used an internationally-recognised reporting framework such as GRI or
• More than 75% of sustainability reporters disclose how they determined the material topics to include in their reporting.

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