Trust built through quality sustainability reporting, ACSI says

26 June 2018
| By Nicholas Grove |
image
image
expand image

Good quality corporate reporting can play a strong role in establishing trust with investors and the community, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors said.

According to ACSI CEO Louise Davidson, good quality reporting enables shareholders to make informed investment decisions and the community to judge whether its confidence in companies is well-placed or misplaced.

“Poor or missing information shows a disregard for stakeholders’ needs and is a signal of risk,” Davidson said.

In its annual review of sustainability disclosure, the ACSI observed an improvement in sustainability reporting over 2017, with evidence of a “core group of pacesetters” for good disclosure practices.

“However, although the leaders are getting better, other companies are demonstrating unacceptable complacency,” Davidson said.

She said twenty ASX 200 companies did not report on sustainability risks at all in 2017. Nine companies have not undertaken any sustainability reporting for two years in a row and were identified as “laggards” in the report.

“These companies are missing an important opportunity to demonstrate that they are serious about managing sustainability risks and opportunities,” she said.

Davidson said ACSI again found that investors favoured companies with high disclosure standards.

“Eighty-three cents in every dollar invested in the ASX 200 is invested in entities that report to a ‘leading’ or ‘detailed’ rating,” she said.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

11 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

11 months 1 week ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

11 months 1 week ago

Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Co...

1 day 8 hours ago

Demand from institutional investors was the main driver of growth in Australia’s responsible investment (RI) market in 2023, as the industry continued to gain momentum....

1 day 8 hours ago

In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges....

1 day 9 hours ago