3rd July 2026, Warsaw – The global sustainability reporting ecosystem is becoming less fragmented as more of the world’s largest companies begin to adopt or form plans to use the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), an updated report from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) shows.
The report, The State of Play: Sustainability Disclosure and Assurance (Six-Year Trends and Analysis, 2019-2024), is the sixth annual benchmark of sustainability reporting and assurance practices of global companies in G20 jurisdictions. Because the newest data in the report is from 2024, due to the typical lag for sustainability information, the results likely understate the extent of movement toward more uniform standards.
“The global reporting ecosystem is transitioning from a fragmented landscape toward one that is increasingly structured, standardized, and integrated,” the report summarises. “However, this transition is not yet complete and may continue to be challenged by shifting geopolitical and regulatory sentiment within some of the world’s largest economies.”
While global companies still use a patchwork of sustainability-related standards, the survey found progress in a number of areas:
- A third of companies with sustainability information disclosures in 2024 referenced the use or future use of ISSB Standards, compared to only 16 percent that did so the previous year. Turkey adopted the ISSB Standards beginning for fiscal year 2024 and several additional jurisdictions will implement ISSB requirements in reports that will be published in 2026.
- Similarly, 20 percent of companies that disclosed sustainability information in 2024 said they used or plan to use ESRS as part of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which suggests their implementation in the European Union may be having a cross-border impact.
- Use of other standards and frameworks – the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and U.N. Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) – all fell by single digits between 2023 and 2024.
“Around the world, we are seeing growing alignment behind high-quality sustainability reporting and assurance practices,” said Lee White, IFAC’s chief executive officer. “This progress matters because trusted, decision-useful information supports better decisions, stronger organisations, and more efficient capital allocation. We expect this momentum to continue as stakeholders increasingly recognise the value of reliable sustainability-related information.”
Among other highlights of the updated survey:
- Ninety-seven percent of global companies had some form of disclosure of sustainability information in 2024, a percentage drop from the previous year.
- Seventy-five percent of companies in the survey obtained assurance on their sustainability disclosures in 2024, up slightly from 73 percent the previous year. Most of the assurance performed was at a limited assurance level.
- Audit firms continue to lead in providing assurance on sustainability disclosures by large global companies (59 percent of engagements, up four percentage points from last year), with broad variations country to country.
“The growing use of audit firms for sustainability assurance is a good sign for capital markets and investors,” said Susan Coffey, CPA, CGMA, the CEO of public accounting for AICPA and CIMA. “Auditors have earned their reputation for trust and expertise, backed by strong professional certification programs and robust rules on audit, independence and professional integrity.”
Seventy-six percent of companies reported sustainability information with financial disclosures in 2024 annual or integrated reports, up two percentage points from the previous year. Organisations that obtain assurance over sustainability information within their annual or integrated reports overwhelmingly use their statutory auditor to provide assurance over those disclosures.
France, Germany, Italy and Spain: sustainability reporting remains strong, with very high levels of assurance
Across the key European Union markets of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, sustainability reporting remains consistently high, with 100 percent of reviewed companies in each jurisdiction disclosing sustainability information in 2024. Assurance levels were also well above the global average: France, Italy and Spain each recorded 100 percent assurance rates, while Germany reached 88 percent, despite CSRD not yet being transposed into German law at the time.
The data suggests that sustainability reporting in these EU markets is not only widespread, but firmly supported by assurance, reflecting mature reporting environments and the growing impact of CSRD and ESRS. The report also points to the cross-border influence of ESRS, with references made not only in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, but also in nine non-EU jurisdictions reviewed, including more than 10 percent of companies in the UK and 20 percent of companies in South Korea.
Paul Turner, FCMA, CGMA, Vice President – UK and Europe at AICPA and CIMA, added: “Sustainability reporting standards are moving from ambition to action, giving businesses a clearer, more comparable basis for explaining their long-term value and impact. For finance and accounting professionals, this is a critical moment to help organisations turn data into better decisions.”
About the Study
IFAC, AICPA and CIMA partnered to understand sustainability reporting and assurance practices on a global basis by capturing reports containing environmental, social and governance (ESG) information in 22 jurisdictions. Some 1,400 companies were reviewed – one hundred from each of the largest six economies, with 50 companies reviewed in the remaining 16 jurisdictions. The current report includes data from 2019-2024.
