The report marks the second set of findings from KPMG’s ESG Assurance Maturity Index, following an initial survey in October 2023. For the new report, KPMG increased the size of the survey to senior executives and board members at 1,000 companies, up from 750, including respondents across a broad range of regions and industries, and with average company revenue of $19 billion.
As regulatory and stakeholder pressure to provide externally assured sustainability reporting grows, the study found that companies’ preparedness is increasing, but only slowly, with the average maturity index score increasing slightly since the prior survey to 47.6 from 46.5, and the share of leaders rising to 29% from 25%.
The report found differences in ESG assurance preparedness by company size, region and sector. Larger companies, with revenues greater than $10 billion, for example, are well ahead of their smaller peers with less than $5 billion, with average scores for each group of 55.1 and 39.3, respectively. Financial services sectors were the most advanced, with Insurance and Banking each scoring over 52, while Life Sciences & Healthcare and Infrastructure scored lowest at 44.3 and 43.2 respectively. North American companies were the most advanced, at an average 49.4 score, followed closely by their European peers at 48.8, while Asia Pacific and Latin American companies lagged at 45.6 and 43.9, respectively.
One of the most significant differences found by the study between Leaders and Beginners was each group’s use of ESG data systems. 98% of Leaders reported that their companies are now using either an integrated GRC system or a bespoke ESG management system to gather and report EG data, while 84% of Beginner respondents said that they at least partially rely on spreadsheets for ESG analysis and reporting.
