Government initiatives may dovetail with companies' sustainability reporting

COVID-19 and its unintended environmental impacts have been discussed at length. While there have been immediate gains, such as lower greenhouse emissions and improved air quality in numerous cities, much more remains to be done to improve the state of the natural environment in the long term.

Even before the pandemic, society at large as well as investors had already begun to expect businesses to adopt more sustainable practices and to inform their stakeholders about their efforts.

Consider sustainability reporting, an increasingly popular and pertinent practice via which firms recognise their role in society as going beyond making profits to include care for and conserving the environment. Research shows that companies that enjoy a reputation of sustainability reporting see higher valuation by the market compared to their peers. However, there is also research that indicates that sustainability reporting is somewhat stalled when it comes to driving impact. What are the options to sustainability reporting?