Sound investment is built on information, and socially responsible investment (SRI) requires accurate reporting of every aspect of corporate activity. A traditional balance sheet doesn’t reveal a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities, which makes reporting on these “intangibles” critically important to the SRI community.

Since 2005, KLD has studied the S&P 100’s sustainability reporting practices for the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), a working group of the Social Investment Forum (SIF). The 2008 Sustainability Report Comparison reveals encouraging news. Of the 100 largest U.S. publicly-traded companies, 86 maintain corporate sustainability websites and 49 produced sustainability reports in 2007. These numbers represent significant progress over the past three years.

Pensions & Investments quotes KLD Senior Research Analyst Katy Chapdelaine and Research Products Managing Director Noel Friedman in an article on the SIRAN study. Friedman explains:

[Investors and companies share] “a growing understanding that these issues have a material impact on long-term performance. … It’s important for companies to manage these impacts and opportunities and for investors to understand reputational risks, regulatory risks, litigation risks and the opportunities.”

Also see:

Barry B. Burr’s article “86 in S&P 100 List Sustainability Policies” at Pensions & Investments.

“More S&P 100 Companies Reporting CSR Progress: Study” at GreenBiz.

“Half of S&P 100 Released Sustainability Report in 2007” at Environmental Leader.

See the SIRAN website for more about the 2008 Sustainability Report Comparison.