Rationale and definition:

Today, most companies report only on their financial results without regard to their social and environmental impacts. As a result their investors may not be aware of their full risk exposure. Likewise, society does not know a company’s contribution to sustainable development. Several integrated monitoring standards have been developed that track the social and environmental externalities of businesses. One prominent example is the International Integrated Monitoring Council (IISC). We propose that an indicator be created to track the percentage of large companies (i.e. larger than [US$1 billion, measured in PPP]) that prepare integrated reports that are consistent with the SDGs and conform to standards that would need to be defined.

Disaggregation:

This indicator can be disaggregated by sector of activity, ownership (listed vs. privately held or public companies), and other characteristics (including location).

Comments and limitations:

The standards and methodologies tracked by this indicator need to be defined. In particular, the indicator would need to specify standards for integrated monitoring that can be applied in a wide range of jurisdictions.

Preliminary assessment of current data availability by Friends of the Chair:

B

Primary data source:

International monitoring.

Potential lead agency or agencies:

The Global Compact, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and/or the International Integrated Monitoring Council (IIRC) could track such an indicator.