The ESG disclosure spectrum

With growing investor attention on climate change; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and employee engagement and retention, it is critical for companies to present a consistent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) message across all reporting channels, including the 10-K, sustainability report, and, perhaps most significantly, the proxy statement.

Investors are increasingly focused on ESG: sustainable investment funds are driving most new money growth, with the amount invested in ESG increasing tenfold from 2018 to 2020. Investment firms are supporting this push, with some quadrupling their support of ESG resolutions in 2021. Even though proxy resolution voting results through August 2022 show zthat investors seem a bit more discerning in their support, there has still been a significant increase in resolution support and votes against directors in the past few years.

As the current proxy season came to a close and we look forward to the next one, the KPMG ESG Impact team sat down with leaders from Joele Frank's ESG practice to discuss how boards should oversee and disclose on ESG risk management. This paper focuses on the key questions discussed.