High level of CR reporting in UK, KPMG finds

UK stands out for its high levels of non-financial reporting with 91% of companies issuing corporate responsibility (CR) reports – ranking second only to Japan out of the 100 biggest companies in 22 countries, according to the KPMG International Survey on Corporate Responsibility report, said to be the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.

Overall, 80% of the Global Fortune 250 now release CR data in stand-alone reports or integrated into annual financial reports, up from 50% three years ago. USA was third highest in releasing non-financial reports, recording a significant increase – up from just 32% three years ago to more than 70%.

In the UK, a trend is emerging towards integration of reporting in a company’s annual report and 6% of the top UK companies now have fully integrated reports. Only 12% fail to refer to CR matters in their annual reports. More than half of companies have both a CR report and a CR section in the annual report itself.

‘While non-financial reporting in the UK is in good health compared to many other countries, we would expect to see an increasing trend towards its integration with mainstream company reporting,’ Richard Sharman, KPMG head of sustainability services in the UK, said. ‘Non-financial matters cannot be treated in isolation.’