More than 80% of publicly-listed Mena-based companies do not report any quantitative sustainability metric, according to recent research.
The study, commissioned by Clarity AI, took a sample of 40,000 publicly-listed companies and found that just 30% disclose at least one quantitative sustainability metric.
However, the companies in Mena fell well below this global average.
While 44% of North American and 40% of European public companies are fulfilling this reporting obligation, the figure drops to just 11% for the Mena region.
The study also shows that Mena companies lag others in terms of their sustainability performance. This includes the presence of females in senior executive positions. For example, there are three times as many female directors in European companies as opposed to Mena companies.
The report comes just weeks before European fund managers are due to file their reports for the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, which comes into force in January 2023.
The lack of available data will force managers to use estimated data to complete their reports.
“Public companies worldwide have a long way to go in reporting even the simplest sustainability metrics,” said Patricia Pina, head of product research and innovation.
©2022 funds global mena