2024 (244 ASX listed companies)
There is an increasing trend of disclosing sustainable procurement practices by ASX listed companies.
Among the 244 ASX-listed companies analysed, 132 (54%) disclosed at least 80% of the 32 GRI indicators, while 212 (87%) reported on 60% or more. These figures indicate a relatively high level of disclosure, reflecting a positive trend toward greater transparency. The results suggest that leading publicly listed companies are increasingly committed to extensively communicating their sustainable procurement practices to stakeholders.
The vast majority of ASX listed companies investigated (87%) report on 60-100% on GRI indicators
Of the 244 companies assessed, 132 (54%) achieved a five-star rating, 80 (33%) received four stars, 15 (6%) earned three stars, 11 (5%) were rated two stars, and 6 (2%) received one star (see Figure 2). These results highlight a strong level of transparency among top-listed companies in disclosing their sustainable procurement practices.
The level of transparency of disclosure varies significantly among companies and industries
The overall SPDI, which represents the average depth of disclosure across all domains, ranges from 0 (no GRI indicators reported) to 4 (full disclosure of all GRI indicator requirements). Among the 244 ASX-listed companies analysed, SPDI scores varied significantly, from a minimum of 0.16 to a maximum of 3.56, a range of 3.40. This variation indicates that while many companies demonstrate a relatively high level of transparency and detail in reporting their sustainable procurement practices, there remains room for improvement in disclosure comprehensiveness for some.
Most ASX listed companies prioritise Governance and Economic aspects in their reporting over Social and Environmental domains
The SPDI analysis reveals notable variation in disclosure depth across the four evaluated domains. Governance has the highest average score at 3.00, followed by the Economic domain at 2.55. In contrast, disclosure levels are considerably lower in the Social (1.83) and Environmental (1.81) domains. These results suggest that while companies tend to report comprehensively on governance and economic aspects, transparency in social and environmental reporting remains relatively limited.
2023 (182 ASX listed companies)
ASX200 companies tend to report more in governance and environmental aspects - Within the GRI reporting framework
The research has shown that ASX 200 companies have placed a primary emphasis (1.65 on a scale of 2) on the ‘Governance’ domain of GRI reporting. This covers the structure, principles, processes and other mechanisms used by management for sustainability reporting. Secondarily, companies emphasise environmental aspects that involve ecosystem integrity, carrying capacity and biodiversity (1.38 on a scale of 2).
ASX200 companies tend to report less in economic and social domains - Within the GRI reporting framework
The research has shown that ‘Economic Sustainability’ (referring to maintaining growth, development, and productivity) is least emphasised (0.69 on a scale of 2) by the ASX200 companies. ‘Social Sustainability’, encompassing notions of equity, empowerment, accessibility, participation, sharing, and institutional stability is also less emphasised (0.83 on a scale of 2) domain.
Levels of disclosure have little relationship with firm size - i.e. Larger companies do not necessarily disclose more than smaller companies, or vice versa
In the research methodology, market capitalisation is used as a proxy for firm size, and this is then used to examine the relationship between firm size and levels of disclosure. Results indicate that there is a weak association between the average level of disclosure and firm size, suggesting that larger firms do not necessarily disclose their sustainable procurement practices more than smaller firms, or vice versa.
The project team generally found low levels of reporting - This could be attributed to low awareness of GRI indicators, or that reporting is non-mandatory
Out of the 182 ASX 200 companies investigated, eighty-five companies (47%) reported 60% or more of the GRI indicators, implying that over 50% of the companies investigated reported less than 60% of the 32 GRIs (see Figure below). The relatively low level of disclosure might be related to the low awareness of the GRI indicators among corporations, or the fact that sustainability reporting is non-mandatory at present.
Certain industries, like Materials, disclose more - Other industries, such as Financials, disclose much less
Disclosure levels varied across industries, with Consumer Staples having the highest average (1.41) among the 11 Global Industry Classification Standards (GICS) sectors, followed by Materials (1.31), and Financials having the lowest average (0.91) (See below Figure). This contrast may be attributed to the distinct nature of businesses in the various sectors.
The top-performing companies represent a broad cross-section of industries - The top performers are not confined to one industry or another
The top 10 ASX 200 companies with the highest overall level of disclosure are distributed across various sectors, including two each in Consumer Discretionary, Materials, and Industrials, and one each in Financials, Health Care, Real Estate, and Utilities. This finding suggests that disclosure behaviour is not standardised within individual industries.
Using SPDI methodology, 19 ASX200 companies were given a 5-star rating (11%) - 5 companies were given a 1-star rating
A 5-star rating system reflecting the comprehensiveness of disclosure is employed. Out of the 182 ASX 200 companies investigated, 19 (11%) received a rating of five stars, 66 (36%) received four stars, 68 (37%) received three stars, 24 (13%) received two stars, and 5 (3%) received one star (see below Figure). This shows that the greatest percentage of companies sit within the 3-4 star band, suggesting that there is still room for significant improvement across the entire ASX200, for sustainable procurement reporting.
The vast majority of ASX200 companies (63%) report on 40%-70% on GRI indicators
Out of the 182 ASX 200 companies investigated, forty-four companies reported 60%-70% of 32 indicators. While thirty-four companies reported 50%-60% and thirty-eight companies reported 40%-50% of 32 GRI indicators. This means that the vast majority (63%) of the companies report on 40%-70% GRI indicators indicating a long way to go to fulfill GRI reporting guidelines.
