Sophie Graham, Chief Sustainability
Officer, IFS with a focus on delivering value, driving efficiencies, creating accountability and integrating into decision-making across functions. It’ s worth noting that in the Omnibus proposed changes, two factors that have held steady are the focus on the quality of the data and the relevance to business performance. Companies still need to perform a double materiality assessment to identify their most relevant sustainability topics to manage and disclose, as well as externally assure the data they report.
Sustainability data is about more than meeting regulatory standards; it is about future-proofing your business, ensuring that it is resilient enough to thrive in a fast-changing landscape. For investors, consistent, comparable data on material sustainability topics is increasingly important for risk and opportunity assessment – for example, vulnerability to physical climate risks or new market opportunities in the circular economy. The proof of this is clear when analysing the success of investments into funds focused on high ESG scores. In Q4 2024, there were the highest ever quarterly inflows into sustainable open-end and exchangetraded funds, with Europe driving the highest inflows.
Those investing in ESG have been proven to improve business performance. A study conducted by NYU Stern found that 58 % of the 1,000 businesses surveyed over five years experienced a positive relationship between ESG and financial performance.
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