Investing issues were dominant in a recent report, “7 Sustainability Trends that Will Shape Business in 2023,” based on public data and published by AccountAbility, a leading consultancy and standards firm.
Trend 1: Achieving Net Zero
More than 40% of the largest global corporations have set net zero targets, an increase of 20% from December 2020.
However, only about half of companies with net zero targets include “interim GHG [greenhouse gas] emission reduction targets” in their plans.
Trend 2: Stakeholder Activism
Globally, of some 20,000 adult and teen Gen Zs surveyed by Edelman, 57% think that brands have more power than governments to “solve social ills and societal problems.”
A record number—282—of US corporate shareholder votes were held on Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) issues in the 2022 proxy voting season.
Trend 3: Geopolitics
Almost all (94%) of global business executives agreed their company was impacted by “unexpected geopolitical risks” in 2021.
Globally, about 25% of boards “regularly” consider geopolitical risk.
Trend 4: Building “Future-Focused” Boards of Directors
About 27% of board seats globally were held by women as of May 2022.
More than 70% of newly elected board members come from a professional background “versus 15% from blue collar backgrounds.”
Trend 5: ESG Disclosure Reports
Some 96% of the world’s largest companies report on “ESG matters.”
About 49,900 companies are expected to report under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, up 422% from “current levels of sustainability disclosure.”
Trend 6: Sustainable Supply Chain
Some 74% of companies surveyed globally had supplier codes of conduct in 2021, compared with 64% in 2019.
Globally, about 51% of companies surveyed had a “sustainable procurement policy” in 2021, compared with 38% in 2019.
Trend 7: Ecosystem Services
Over half of global GDP ($44 trillion) is “moderately or highly dependent on ecosystem services.”
Exposure to risk due to nature loss is highest in India and Indonesia, where “highly dependent sectors respectively comprise 33% and 32% of national GDP,” respectively.
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