Nasdaq introduced its latest version of the ESG Reporting Guide, a resource for global companies to adopt best-in-class practices to navigate new developments in the field of environmental, social and governance (ESG).
The newly released guide addresses recent sustainability efforts, including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the UN Sustainability Development Goals and the Task Force on Non-Financial Climate Disclosures (TCFD), and outlines the latest third-party reporting methodologies. It also aims to stimulate corporate sustainability actions, such as the documentation and management of ESG performance, the integration of ESG indicators in enterprise risk management systems, the disclosure of ESG data and the inclusion of ESG in indexes.
This resource builds on Nasdaq’s first ESG Reporting Guide, which was unveiled in March 2017 as somewhat of a test, both in business intent and regional focus. The first guide was specifically geared toward Nordic and Baltic public companies as a means to further engage with them on the emergence of ESG data. At the time, those regional markets were one of the few with clear investor expectations and greater regulations with regards to ESG.
Over the past two years, however, ESG has grown rapidly, spreading to global markets and investors. According to the ESG Reporting Guide, the growth in ESG comes amid a growing body of academic and analytic evidence that suggests ESG excellence correlates with other benefits, such as lower costs of capital, reduced shareholder turnover and enhanced talent recruitment and retention.