Companies are still finding it difficult to produce trustworthy sustainability disclosures, even as climate and ESG reporting rules tighten across major markets, according to a new survey by the French technology company Sweep and Sustainability Magazine.
The report, Global State of Sustainability in Businesses 2026, surveyed more than 120 international companies and suggests that reporting has become far more common, but not necessarily more robust. It found that 91 p...
Continue Reading This Article
Enjoy this article as well as all of our content, including reports, news, tips and more.
By registering or signing into your SRM Today account, you agree to SRM Today's Terms of Use and consent to the processing of your personal information as described in our Privacy Policy.
er cent of respondents now publish an annual CO2 report, and about 65 per cent complete the process within three months. Yet the same research shows that 69 per cent still struggle to obtain emissions information from suppliers, while 59 per cent continue to rely on spreadsheets for carbon accounting.
Rachel Delacour, Sweep’s chief executive and co-founder, said in the report that sustainability is moving decisively from a voluntary exercise to a core operational requirement. She pointed to a growing patchwork of obligations, including the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the US climate disclosure laws SB 253 and SB 261, and emerging UK reporting standards, arguing that manual processes are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
The findings also suggest that many businesses remain underprepared for the regulatory burden. Only 40 per cent of those surveyed described themselves as well prepared for current or upcoming requirements, while 45 per cent said they were only partly ready. A further 15 per cent said they were not prepared at all.
The report indicates that the pressure is not only regulatory but also commercial. Companies with more advanced carbon management systems reported lower operating costs, stronger audit outcomes and greater investor confidence. Some 42 per cent said they had achieved cost savings through more efficient processes and energy use, while another 42 per cent said better ESG data had bolstered investor trust. In addition, 46 per cent said climate and sustainability data now play a material role in risk management and strategic planning.
Delacour has repeatedly argued in interviews and commentary that sustainability data should be treated as a business intelligence problem rather than a purely compliance exercise. In interviews with Sustainability Magazine and Verdict, she said organisations need to centralise ESG and carbon data, use AI to reduce the burden of reporting, and build systems that provide clear audit trails and real-time visibility.
The latest report also highlights a persistent shortage of internal capacity. Nearly a third of companies cited limited resources as a major obstacle to effective reporting. Researchers said the burden is being amplified by value chain reporting demands, repeated materiality assessments and the complexity of operating across different international frameworks.
The report concludes that businesses will increasingly need to automate and integrate sustainability reporting if they want to keep pace with future obligations. It also calls for closer supplier collaboration, common data standards and global data structures capable of supporting multiple reporting regimes at once.
Source: Noah Wire Services
