More companies in Australia are committing to Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) practices

Nearly 587 out of 1440 of the public companies in Australia tracked through ESG Enterprise have committed to some ESG practices more than the previous year, said in an ESG progress report released Monday.

The ESG Enterprise data research tracks over 40000 companies worldwide with a collective of $54 trillion in market capitalization.

The ESG progress report looks at the sector level of companies engaged in ESG, including the top 10 of the country’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters and others that are critical to human capital and community development.

Australia ESG Progress Report

The latest progress report also highlights coverage gaps for companies. The organization will report company-level progress under a recently announced 2021 benchmark in the first quarter of 2021.

The first progress report issued a year ago found that among the 750 focus companies, 20% had started ESG, but only 2% had set long-term emission reduction targets that were in line with minimum goals of the Paris Agreement, and 65% had defined board-level agenda on responsibility for climate change.

In the 2021 progress report, there is a new section to highlight ESG social impact based on new healthcare-related indicators. The report also focuses on employee impact from companies handling workplace safety measures and work from home practices.

ESG Data Research

Elena Spirina, Lead Data Researcher of ESG Enterprise, described the drive to ESG as “the first inning, we’re just at the beginning of the revolution that ESG is bringing out.”

“The biggest risk is not taking any action. Tackling the world’s key issues requires partnership from all sides: policymakers, investors, companies, and employees. The results from ESG reporting guide for Australian companies show what can be achieved, and what still lies ahead, for us to drive the transition to carbon neutrality by 2050,” Ms. Spirina said in the report.

Australia COVID-19

Many of the companies delayed some planned environmental and social development initiatives due to social distancing and COVID-related restrictions. While some of the developments were postponed to 2021, some have replaced conventional green projects like reforestation with wastewater management.

COVID-19 has also played a role in shifting focus from the environment to human capital and very strong shift to social diversity programs during summer and fall 2020.

A separate global report released by ESG Enterprise, an ESG data, and software firm, found that only four out of ten companies in Australia have implemented goals to meet all three ESG criteria in environmental, social, and governance.

About ESG Enterprise:

ESG Enterprise is an Environmental, Social, and Governance Software-as-a-Service and data analytics company designed to help businesses, NGOs and governments reduce ESG risks, manage disruptions, and capture opportunities in the transition to sustainable-growth and low-carbon economy.

Our ESG platform and sustainability Big Data enabled tools to provide the rigorous ESG risk data (scores, profiles) and climate data that business leaders and government policymakers need to act boldly with confidence.

We provide tools to address the needs of TCFD disclosures, risk analysis, climate scenarios, net-zero pathways, carbon neutrality solutions, and big data analytics in the fashion, food and agriculture, energy, technology, city planning, and financial segments.