Projective Group Institute: Is ESG Reporting Data Fit for Purpose?

In the Projective Group Institute Journal of Financial Services, Tensie Whelan, Senior Advisor at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, highlights the inherent tension in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting: ESG reporting metrics generally do not measure outcomes, they measure outputs. Outputs, such as a policy on a sustainability topic, do not necessarily drive performance, societal or financial. 

This article reviews the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) standards and metrics through the lens of driving potential societal and financial performance and makes recommendations for the standards and corporate leaders.