The OECD Global Corporate Sustainability Report aims to support the adoption of corporate governance policies and practices that contribute to the sustainability and resilience of companies. It examines the evolving landscape of corporate sustainability practices worldwide and some of the most relevant recent regulatory developments, providing easily accessible information especially tailored to policy makers, regulators and other market participants.
The issues covered in this report are related to the recommendations included in the recently revised G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (OECD, 2023[1]). They embrace recommendations on sustainability‑related disclosure, the dialogue between a company and its shareholders, the responsibilities of the board of directors, and the interests of stakeholders, such as the workforce, creditors, customers, suppliers and affected communities.
The first chapter of this report compares the main trends and features of corporate sustainability at the global level using the OECD Corporate Sustainability dataset. It presents information, for instance, on whether companies disclose sustainability information, GHG emission reduction targets and executive remuneration linked to sustainability factors. The dataset’s coverage varies depending on the specific datapoint and, for instance, includes information on 14 400 companies listed on 83 markets with a total market capitalisation of USD 90 trillion at the end of 2022 with respect to whether they disclosed sustainability information. Unless otherwise mentioned, all shares in the report are calculated over 43 970 worldwide listed companies with a market capitalisation of USD 98 trillion. In the example, the difference of 29 570 listed companies represents the companies for which the information is unavailable in the commercial databases used to develop the Corporate Sustainability dataset.
The second chapter summarises some recent regulatory and standard-setting initiatives by OECD, G20 and Financial Stability Board members, as well as by relevant international institutions, which may be meaningful for policy makers and market participants. A specific development may have been highlighted because of the importance of the jurisdiction or due to the novelty of a potentially effective policy.
The third chapter analyses whether market practices are aligned with the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance because or even in the absence of regulatory tools that implement their recommendations. The chapter also suggests how policy makers, regulators and market participants may need to review some of their policies and customs in light of a change in market practices.