Over the past decade, worldwide sustainability regulations in finance have increased by 155%.1 This includes the European Union’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) law that took effect in January 2023, which will affect reporting beginning this year. Aimed at driving change in the business behavior of companies operating in the European Union, it includes US companies with EU subsidiaries that meet certain criteria and is not limited to publicly-traded companies. Twelve new European Sustainability Standards (ESRS) under CSRD will require comprehensive and granular disclosures across all sustainability topics,2 and it is expected that 10,000 non-EU businesses, including 3,000 US companies, will be affected by CSRD reporting requirements in 2024.3
Globally, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued inaugural voluntary global sustainability disclosure standards in 2023. Multiple jurisdictions have expressed their intent to adopt these standards into national law, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, and the UK, among others.4
In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2024 regulatory agenda includes the finalization of its promised climate disclosure regulation and updates to the names rule to include sustainable investing terms, as well as other ESG-related proposed rulemaking. In California, climate-related disclosure laws passed in 2023 begin taking effect this year, continuing through 2026.5 ‘Greenwashing,’ or a lack of transparency in sustainability reporting, continues to be a concern for both regulators and investors.
In complying with individual regulations, institutional investors face a bewildering array of requirements across jurisdictions. With more than 600 sustainable investment reporting standards in use today6, the need for harmonization or a more unified reporting methodology is becoming more apparent. Given the variability and complexity of regulation, investors rely on multiple sources of data to comply with existing requirements.