The Conference Board’s report: “Large US Firms Make Meaningful Progress on GHG Emissions” benchmarks various aspects of climate-related disclosure in 2022 (and as compared to the prior year) by industry sector across S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies.
Among the key takeaways:
- Climate risk-related disclosure was most prevalent among larger companies (74% of S&P 500 | 51% of S&P MidCap 400 | 40% of Russell 3000) and companies in industry sectors currently associated with regulatory and reputational risks (in order of disclosure rate prevalence: Utilities (93%), Real Estate (77%), Energy (75%), Consumer Staples (62%), Materials (58%)).
- Achievement of climate-related targets was further into the future for companies in industry sectors that had higher rates of climate risk disclosure (e.g., Utilities: 2045 vs. Health Care: 2034), which the report attributes to a likely greater understanding of the complexities and risks associated with achieving a net-zero transition and the realities of doing so, along with other potential considerations such as sector-specific challenges.
- More generally, companies in industry sectors associated with regulatory and reputational risks more commonly disclose board climate responsibility, board climate expertise, and ESG-linked pay, as compared to companies in other industry sectors, as shown here:
- According to ESGAUGE data analytics, 40.4% of the S&P 500 and 22.7% of the Russell 3000 tied their executive compensation to carbon footprint and emission reduction performance metrics in 2023.
The report includes helpful analysis and associated insights on the data.
Access additional resources on our Climate Risk & Disclosure page.