Of the 84% of companies that cited climate change as a sustainability issue, less than half actually integrated the risks and measures into their operations.

       Making disclosures as part of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements is the first step on the ESG maturing journey.

       Integrating and turning sustainability commitments into action should be part of the core business strategy essential for trust building among investors.

       These were the findings of a joint study undertaken by PwC Singapore and the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore Business School.

       Mare than 650 companies in Asia-Pacific were part of the study on understanding ESG sustainability reporting requirements.

       Hopefully, with the new sustainability reporting regulations and requirements expected to be introduced in countries across Asia-Pacific, there will be more widespread understanding and implementation.

       The report said 80% of companies disclosed their sustainability targets, 75% disclosed their ESG governance structure and 67% disclosed their board of directors’ responsibility for sustainability.

       There is some way to go as only 24% of companies had disclosed ESG-related training for their board of directors and only 16% saw the linkage of ESG performance to their remuneration of their top executives.

       While 81% of companies disclosed their stakeholder agreement channels, only 46% addressed stakeholder concerns and 37% obtained external assurance from independent parties for their ESG disclosures, said the report.

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