Finance claims to be the sector with the greatest positive impacts on people and the planet, according to the first batch of mandatory EU sustainability reports.
Analysis of statements made under the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) this year shows asset managers, banks and insurers are among the most optimistic about their contribution to environmental and social objectives.
The regime came into force this year, with Europe’s biggest companies required to publish information about key business risks and opportunities they may face from sustainability issues.
They must also explain any significant positive or negative impacts they have on such issues.
Combined, these risks, opportunities and impacts are known as IROs.
Negative impacts dominated CSRD disclosures, accounting for 37% of the IROs identified, according to Datamaran, the sustainability data specialist that conducted the analysis of more than 300 reports.
This compares with just 13% for opportunities.
The financial and services sectors took credit for the highest share of positive impacts, accounting for 32% of their total IROs.
“These results are a bit surprising,” Datamaran’s senior vice president, Donato Calace, told IPE.
“Other sectors like healthcare and alternative energy, where you would expect a bolder position on positive impacts, are much more mindful of their negative impacts,” he explained.
Just 21% of the healthcare sector’s overall IROs were related to positive impacts, while nearly half (46%) were related to negative impacts.
Renewable resources and alternative energy claimed 24% positive impacts.
“So if you looked at these data, it would seem that financial services did more good for society than healthcare and renewable energy,” said Calace.
He added that companies were still trying to find their feet with CSRD and the first batch of disclosures “should be taken with a pinch of salt”.
The finance sector’s disclosures focused on governance and the way it treats employees, customers, communities and value-chain partners.
Environmental topics are far less prominent, despite financial institutions being among the most vocal on climate change and biodiversity.
Datamaran said it suggested they “primarily see their role in the sustainability transition as enablers – through sustainable finance, inclusive service offerings, or responsible client engagement” but that there was an opportunity to explain more about how they drive decarbonisation and climate resilience in the real world.
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