A year-end 2021 survey by JUST Capital, a nonprofit focused on aligning the private sector with the needs of all stakeholders, found that a wide cross-section of Americans believe large companies have an obligation to manage their impact on society and be transparent about their activities. The findings touch on the core of ESG for investors. As JUST summarizes, “we have seen a significant acceleration both on disclosure of and requests for data. However, lack of standardization and consistency means that there is only so much investors, researchers, and workers can understand from the publicly available data.” Key takeaways include:
85% of Americans agree that companies need to disclose more about their business practices and impact on society.
90% of Americans say it is important that there is a common, standardized reporting structure for companies and an average of 87% support the federal government requiring corporate disclosure on human capital and environmental impact data, making performance comparable across companies and/or industries.
Support for corporate disclosure requirements is strong across various demographic groups, including political, age, and geographic breaks. Even climate, traditionally a more partisan topic, sees 87% support for mandatory disclosure.
There is nearly universal agreement (nine in 10 agree) that the activities and behaviors of America’s largest companies impact society as a whole.
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