SONY, PayPal, Mahindra, 50 Others Reveal Commitment On ESG Metrics

The World Economic Forum and its International Business Council (IBC) has disclosed that a growing coalition of 61 business leaders across industries pledged their commitment to the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics (ESG) Metrics.

Brandnewsday understands that the World Economic Forum and IBC unveil this in September 2020, that measure the long-term enterprise value creation for all stakeholders.

The Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, drawn from existing voluntary standards, offer a core set of 21 universal, comparable disclosures focused on people, planet, prosperity and principles of governance that are considered most critical for business, society and the planet, and that companies can report on regardless of industry or region.

They strengthen the ability of companies and investors to benchmark progress on sustainability matters, thereby improving decision-making and enhancing transparency and accountability regarding the shared and sustainable value companies create.

These leaders and their organizations, including Dow, Unilever, Nestlé, PayPal, Reliance Industries and Sony have today committed to:

1. Reflect the core metrics in their reporting to investors and other stakeholders (e.g. annual report, sustainability report, proxy statements, or other materials) by reporting on the metrics most relevant to their business or briefly explaining why a different approach is more appropriate
2. Publicly support this work and encourage their business partners to do so
3. Promote the further convergence of existing ESG standards, frameworks and principles to support progress towards a globally accepted solution for non-financial reporting on common ESG metrics

In making these commitments, business leaders are signalling that ESG factors are increasingly critical to the success and long-term viability of all businesses. This clearly represents the intent of leading global companies to integrate sustainability into their core strategy, operations and corporate disclosures.

ESG Metrics

“Stakeholder capitalism becomes now really mainstream,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum. “The public commitments from companies to report not only on financial matters but also their ESG impacts are an important step towards a global economy that works for progress, people and the planet.”

“We have to deliver great returns for our shareholders and help drive progress on society’s most important priorities,” said Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and Chairman of the International Business Council. “That is stakeholder capitalism in action.

Common metrics will help all stakeholders measure the progress we are making and ensure that the resources capitalism can marshal – from companies, from investors, and others – are directed to where they can make the most difference.”

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Bank of America, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, curated the set of 21 core and 34 expanded metrics over the past two years with the support of over 140 stakeholders.

The metrics include non-financial disclosures centred around the four pillars: people, planet, prosperity and principles of governance. Intentionally built on existing standards, the pillars include metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions, pay equality and board diversity, among others.

By adopting and reporting on these metrics and disclosures, the business community will continue to catalyse greater cooperation and alignment among existing standards and encourage progress on the development of a systemic, globally accepted set of common standards for reporting on sustainability performance.

The full list of companies that have agreed to implement reporting on the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics includes:

1. Accenture
2. Adecco Group
3. African Rainbow Minerals
4. Allianz
5. Banco Santander
6. Bank of America
7. BBVA
8. Boston Consulting Group
9. bp
10. Clifford Chance
11. Credit Suisse
12. Dell Technologies
13. Deloitte
14. Deutsche Post DHL
15. Dow
16. Eni
17. Ecolab
18. Ecopetrol
19. Equinor
20. EY
21. Fidelity International
22. HEINEKEN
23. HP
24. HSBC Holdings
25. IBM
26. JLL
27. Kearney Inc.
28. KPMG
29. Mahindra Group
30. Majid Al Futtaim
31. Mastercard
32. McKinsey & Company
33. Medtronic
34. Mercuria Energy Group
35. Mitsubishi Corporation
36. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
37. Nestlé
38. Novo Nordisk A/S
39. Palo Alto Networks
40. PayPal
41. Publicis Groupe
42. PwC
43. Reliance Industries
44. Repsol
45. Royal DSM
46. Royal Dutch Shell
47. Royal Philips
48. Salesforce
49. Schneider Electric
50. Siemens
51. Solvay
52. Sony
53. Sumitomo Corporation
54. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG)
55. Suntory Holdings
56. Takeda Pharmaceutical
57. Total
58. UBS
59. Unilever
60. Yara International
61. Zurich Insurance Group

Expert thoughts:

“Runaway climate change, environmental degradation and social inequality are some of the biggest problems that the world faces,” said Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever. “Companies’ annual reports and accounts might not be the first mechanism for change that would spring to mind, but standardized and mandatory non-financial reporting is critical to creating a new form of capitalism that tackles these problems. The Forum’s IBC work is an important step forward and we are providing our wholehearted support.”

“Although there is a growing demand from investors who recognize that ESG disclosure is vital for good investment decisions, there is no agreed international framework yet,” said Geraldine Matchett, Co-CEO and Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Managing Board, Royal DSM.

“I hope the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics are a first step towards the convergence of existing metrics and standards. This will be one of the fastest ways to accelerate the systemic change the world needs, putting investors on the right track, helping to change consumer behaviour for the better, and helping companies to do the right thing.

“The Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics represent a great stride forward towards equipping investors, corporates, society and regulators with a common set of relevant ESG metrics,” says Ilham Kadri, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee, SOLVAY SA.

“SOLVAY is committed to delivering superior profitable growth that is sustainable and responsible. It welcomes enthusiastically these metrics as an opportunity to engage in dialogue on an aligned, transparent and factual basis in order to address the important challenges that our societies face.”

“Today is another step forward in the growing impact of stakeholder capitalism. It’s not just about words, but about companies setting clear metrics, measuring our progress, and holding ourselves accountable,” says Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce. “Only then can we provide long-term growth for our shareholders, build trust with all stakeholders, and truly improve the state of the world.”