Global challenges amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic have made Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues even more pressing for policymakers, boards and executives.
To promote alignment among existing ESG frameworks, the World Economic Forum, with Partners including Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, has identified a set of universal metrics and disclosures – the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.
During the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2022 in September, the Forum announced that 121 companies have already included the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics in their mainstream reporting materials, including annual reports and sustainability reports. This group of global companies includes 48 companies which have been using the metrics for two years in a row.
Drawn from established standards, the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics promote alignment among existing ESG frameworks to create a set of data points that can be compared between companies, regardless of their industry or region. The metrics include non-financial disclosures centred around four pillars: people, planet, prosperity and principles of governance and include measurements around greenhouse gas emissions, pay equality and board diversity, among others.
Since January 2021, over 150 companies have shown their support for Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics. Firms which have adopted this approach include Accenture, Bank of America, Cargolux, DP World, Eni, Fidelity International, Fubon Financial Holding, HSBC Holdings, IBM, Mastercard, Nestlé, PayPal, Royal DSM, Salesforce, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Total, UBS, Unilever, Yara International and Zurich Insurance Group, among others.
