150 Top Companies Sign on to Follow World Economic Forum Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics

As of a week after the release of this announcement by the World Economic Forum in January 2024, no one in the business media we could find has yet to publish this commitment by leading companies to voluntary disclosures generally aligned with the principles of stakeholder management and the new European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Key People Disclosures
WEF: Why ESG Reporting Is Critical
Case Studies

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For the first time, some of the world’s leading companies have committed themselves to disclosures consistent in many cases with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and other standards covering many critical environmental and people issues ahead of the new European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Act. This means that many of these disclosures will soon be subject to independent audits.

Click here for the official World Economic Forum announcement, which underlines that the purpose of the standards is to focus on value creation, not compliance. Click here for a list of the companies committed to participation. The group reportedly welcomes other like-minded organizations to join their commitment to standardized stakeholder reporting.

Key People Disclosures

The new disclosures include.

*Diversity inclusion
*Pay equity
*Employee turnover
*Wage levels
*Risks for children
*Health and safety
*Entry level wage and local minimal wages
*Forced or compulsory labor
*Health promotion
*High consequence injuries
*Employee lifestyle management

Click here for the WEF standards framework first published in 2020 created with input from over 100 companies.

According to the World Economic Forum, “For the private sector to drive progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a common reporting system is essential. Over 130 companies have co-designed the Stakeholder Metrics – a set of data points that allows companies to consistently report non-financial disclosures. Over 150 companies are now reporting against the Stakeholder Metrics, of which most have reported for two or three years in a row.” The metrics are being disclosed in annual shareholder and sustainability reports, it reports.

To promote alignment among existing metrics and disclosure frameworks, the World Economic Forum engaged Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC to identify a set of universal metrics and disclosures now known as the Stakeholder Metrics. In parallel to developing the Stakeholder Metrics and bringing on board companies to the coalition, the forum says it has “engaged with the Impact Management Project to bring together the major standard setters and frameworks. The forum worked closely with the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) as a contributing member of their Technical Readiness Working Group. Through these collaborations, the Forum contributed to the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) which was unveiled during the Climate Change Conference COP26.”

WEF: Why ESG Reporting Is Critical

“Measuring the impact companies have on society and our planet is essential if practices are to be managed and improvements are to be made,” it says in a statement. “However, public and private stakeholders have struggled for many years to make clear progress amongst a number of competing standards, frameworks, and initiatives. Without generally accepted international accounting or reporting standards when it comes to non-financial reporting, many companies are working in silos and cannot effectively share best practices or key learnings. For the private sector to drive progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a common system of measurement is essential.”

The WEF announcement continues, “Drawn from established standards, the Stakeholder Metrics promote alignment among existing 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 centered around four pillars: people, planet, prosperity and principles of governance and include measurements around greenhouse gas emissions, pay equality and board diversity, among others.”

It says that the firms that have adopted this approach reportedly include Accenture, Bank of America, Cargolux, DP World, Eni, Fidelity International, Fubon Financial Holding, HSBC Holdings, Hyundai Motor Company, IBM, Mastercard, Majid Al Futtaim, Nestlé, PayPal, Reliance Industries, Royal DSM, Salesforce, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Total, UBS, Unilever, Yara International and Zurich Insurance Group, among others.

The announcement includes “case studies from companies who are reporting on the Stakeholder Metrics to show how comprehensive non-financial reporting is driving effective transformation on corporations’ sustainability efforts.”

Case Studies

The above WEF announcement includes case studies explaining how various companies are using the standards.

Fubon: This Taiwanese financial institution is using the metrics as a reference point for a screening questionnaire to assess the risks its clients face from nature loss and other environmental challenges.

Ecolab: This US-based multinational corporation reportedly is utilizing the forum’s metrics to prepare for regulated reporting through a focus on the building blocks of reporting, such as TCFD.

Mahindra Group: This India-based multinational federation of companies says it leverages the metrics to attract impact investors who are more aligned with the company’s core purpose.

Ecopetrol: Colombia’s state-owned energy company reportedly uses the metrics to hone in on reporting topics that are most advanced and that will generate value.

Heineken: The international brewer says it is adopting the metrics to capture comparable data on both sustainability and prosperity.

JLL: The global property services firm is leveraging the forum’s metrics to agree on water management plans and targets.

Philips: The global health technology company has adopted the metrics to reinforce accurate reporting on the environmental and social impacts of its operations.

SABIC: One of the world’s largest chemical companies says it is reporting against the metrics to advance its work with other value chain leaders to build a new, diversified economy.

Schneider Electric: This multinational energy company reports using the metrics to establish a new approach to biodiversity.

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