$1.6trn investor-led coalition calls for integrated sustainability reporting

An investor-led coalition is calling on United Nations’ member states to require both listed and large unlisted companies to integrate sustainability information with their annual reports – or explain why not.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Coalition, which comprises investors with $1.6trn in assets as well as financial institutions, professional bodies and NGOs, is being led by Aviva Investors, the funds arm of insurance giant Aviva.
Members include the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, CA Cheuvreux, Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management, the Global Reporting Initiative and Hermes, the funds firm owned by the BT Pension Scheme.
Aviva Investors’ Chief Executive Paul Abberley was set to announce a “call to action” at today’s UN Private Sector Forum on Sustainable Energy for All, held alongside the General Assembly.
He will call for UN member states to adopt a binding international commitment on the disclosure of corporate sustainability information.The group wants UN members to adopt the global policy framework at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June next year.

The policy framework should adhere to two key principles: transparency and accountability.

“UN member states should provide effective mechanisms for investors to hold companies to account on the quality of their disclosures, including for instance through an advisory vote at the AGM,” the group said in a statement.

Abberley said the move would “not only enhance long-term profitability and returns to investors, but also improve the quality of stock markets, increase macro financial stability and make a material contribution” to people’s lives.
“Integrated reporting is a 21st century approach to what the world expects from the corporate sector in the 21st century,” added Helen Brand, CEO of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.