CNA Explains: Why companies issue sustainability reports, and how to make sense of them

To be sure, for fact-checking might be hard for the common man on the street, but one method is to look out for the inspector’s comments, said Assoc Prof Law.

Readers may also “be cautious” and determine if there’s a bias towards portraying a glowing statement card.

A great sustainability report should not only address the company’s achievements. If you see that, then that might not be a pretty healthy report”, Assoc Prof Law said.

He cited European food company Nestle, which discussed potential child labor in its most recent sustainability report.

For Singapore-listed companies, climate-related statements and change ideas remain lacking, according to at least one review.

Only 39 % of the 535 companies listed on the SGX’s FY2022 sustainability reports were taken into account in their overall risk management, according to the analysis.

Less than a quarter of respondents assessed the effectiveness of their methods in light of various climate scenarios.

And only 12 per share of corporations produced “reasonably extensive” climate change programs, noted the research done by SGX Regulation and NUS ‘ Centre for Governance and Sustainability.

The publication of Scope 3 pollution is another space that needs to be filled, according to authorities.

This is mainly due to businesses being more knowledgeable about measuring Scope 1 and 2 pollutants. The issue is made even more difficult by problems in gathering pertinent information from providers across the benefit chain, they added.

More can be done, according to Assoc Prof Law, given that Scope 3 pollution account for more than 70 % of the carbon footprint for the majority of businesses.

In the end, impact is crucial when creating a strong conservation report.

NUS ‘ Prof Loh noted that there has been” a lot of inflation in information” and sustainability information “keep getting longer and longer” in recent years.

” We need to improve… There’s a needed to go back to the fundamentals: An general tale, how does it fit with your company, climate data and how you’re handling the whole value chain. That’s all we need”.