The increasing demand for sustainability data presents an opportunity for accountants and finance professionals. Driven by regulatory pressure and customer and investor demands, public and private businesses are increasingly required to produce environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Public companies face an expanding canon of international, national, and domestic regulatory requirements to report and disclose sustainability and social matters. These requirements extend into supply chains. That means smaller private companies doing business with larger companies will also feel pressure to provide ESG information — because make no mistake, the term ESG may be falling out of favor, but that doesn't change reporting requirements for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Take, for example, the new rule the Securities Exchange Commission adopted in March 2024, which is on hold for now because the SEC has issued a stay pending judicial review. The climate rule includes GHG emissions disclosure requirements and requirements to obtain independent assurance for the numbers reported.
(See the chart "US Regulations.")