Two new reports published by global professional services company Deloitte reveal that business leaders are making significant progress towards expanding ESG practices and reporting capabilities, and taking ESG into larger consideration when making business deals.
The 2024 Sustainability Action Report underscored the growing prevalence of responsible investing in leading industries, noting that in the past year, 85 percent of company executives report making significant or moderate progress towards company sustainability goals.
A second Deloitte survey–the 2024 ESG in M&A Trends Survey–examined the growing role of ESG in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The report found that responsible investing is a growing factor influencing dealmaking among M&A leaders, with 74 percent of executives claiming they have evaluated their portfolios from an ESG perspective.
Below is a roundup of coverage on the new findings from Deloitte.
ESG Today: Company executives invest in ESG disclosure capabilities as climate risk disclosures continue to standardize.
- ESG Today Editor Mark Segal published an article highlighting the Sustainability Action Report’s findings on climate risk disclosures as standardized requirements become more widespread–pointing out that 74 percent of public companies have made plans to invest in sustainability reporting technology over the next year. Currently, data quality remains the biggest challenge to ESG reporting writ-large.
- Key point: “The report found that virtually all – 99% – of companies are preparing for increasing disclosure requirements, following the release of a series of new regulatory sustainability reporting mandates and standards, including the EU’s CSRD, the IFRS’s ISSB standards, California’s new climate reporting laws, and the SEC’s climate disclosure rule.”
To read the full ESG Today story, click here.
Axios: Deloitte M&A Survey reveals global business leaders taking ESG into account when making decisions about mergers and acquisitions.
- Axios Markets Correspondent Emily Peck published an article amplifying findings from the Deloitte 2024 ESG in M&A Trends Survey. Despite political opposition to ESG, Peck reports that “ESG isn’t going away,” noting that many corporate and private equity leaders are now taking ESG into account when evaluating potential acquisitions, according to the report.
- Key point: “All 500 global business leaders surveyed by Deloitte this year said that they look at how their ESG profile would be affected by a potential acquisition or divestiture. 57% said they have defined metrics for evaluating ESG. And, across a range of industries, leaders told Deloitte that they had walked away from an acquisition because of an ESG concern, including 80% in private equity, 70% in financial services, and 72% in consumer goods.”
To read the full Axios article, click here.
Charlotte Business Journal: North Carolina businesses need to improve their sustainability reporting practices in preparation for emerging ESG rules.
- The Charlotte Business Journal Reporter also published a story on the findings of Deloitte’s Sustainability Action Report, emphasizing the need for North Carolina business leaders to ramp up their climate risk reporting capabilities as new risk disclosure requirements become commonplace. 77 percent of company executives surveyed said that they are creating new roles and responsibilities to meet the demands of increased sustainability requirements.
- Key point: “The new regulation, which is likely most relevant to North Carolina businesses, is the SEC’s mandatory climate-related disclosures. The rule brings about an important shift from a voluntary reporting system to a mandatory one for U.S. public companies, depending on certain criteria.”
To read the full Charlotte Business Journal article, click here.
To read the full Deloitte 2024 Sustainability Action Report, click here.
To read the full Deloitte 2024 ESG in M&A Trends Survey, click here.
