Global ESG Accounting Evolves, but Threatened by Rival Standards

Investors who want a single, binding rule for business disclosure of environmental, social, and governance issues will see big steps in that direction in 2021.

Work on a global standard for financial reporting of climate matters should come soon, as regulators consider building on metrics that voluntary groups have already established. The effort marks the start of a major change in corporate accounting and reporting.

Some governments are already taking the first steps towards mandatory green reporting. The U.K., for example, already is insisting that big companies must use the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures guidelines for climate risk ...