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The CAQ’s review of S&P 500 companies’ Form 10-Ks publicly available as of June 2024 for climate-related disclosures revealed the following key takeaways:

• Nearly all (494) companies included climate-related information.
• Climate-related information is most commonly disclosed in the Risk Factors section, although the greatest year-over-year increases are in the MD&A and Financial Statements.

• Financial statement disclosure nearly doubled year-over-year, with the largest increase relating to debt or borrowing arrangements. Other topics included significant accounting policies; commitments, contingencies, and litigation; income taxes; and more.
• The types of climate-related information disclosed varied by company, with 142 companies reporting a net zero or carbon neutral commitment.
• There was a 9% increase year-over-year in the number of companies mentioning Scope 1, 2, or 3 GHG emissions, status, or objectives.

Approximately 17% of companies mentioned the use of one or more ESG reporting standards or frameworks for their sustainability reporting; 13% mentioned the EU CSDRD; and 15% mentioned the California climate disclosure laws.

                  This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!