A golden opportunity: Corporate sustainability reporting as a key lever to address nature-related risks

Corporate sustainability reporting currently fails to provide the information needed for companies, their investors and society to address mounting environmental risks because predominant reporting requirements focus heavily on firm-level risks, neglecting cumulative impacts on climate and nature. Recently, sustainability reporting has also been critiqued for the administrative burden it places on companies. Corporate reporting may seem far removed from sustainability science but is, in fact, a critical lever in directing corporate practice. A golden opportunity therefore exists for sustainability science to simultaneously help reduce, refine and improve sustainability reporting by identifying the most prioritized mandatory environmental disclosures and support the development of an open-access disclosure repository. This would radically improve the ability of investors, regulators, and public agencies to appraise environmental pressures, improve corporate accountability, and mitigate growing systemic risks. Treating environmental data with the rigor granted to financial data is fundamental to align capital with sustainability objectives.