ASX firms put focus on greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions, including alignment with the Paris Agreement, has been listed by Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) companies as the biggest area of focus and improvement, according to a Perennial Partners survey.

This is the first time since it began its ‘Perennial Better Future’ survey that greenhouse gas emissions topped the list. Diversity moved to second place from third in 2020, while governance moved to third from first.

Perennial Better Future's co-head of environmental, social and governance (ESG), Emilie O'Neill, said: "Against the difficult backdrop of COVID-19 and all the challenges it has presented, ASX respondents said greenhouse gas emissions will be the number one priority in the next 12 to 18 months”.

“This demonstrates Australian companies are starting to come to grips with the urgency and opportunity of acting on climate risk.”

In its third year, the survey conducted an 'ESG pulse' check on Australia's listed companies to understand where ESG was headed.

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Over 88% of respondents confirmed their company had a board member or senior executive responsible for ESG, while 81% of companies said they had a business strategy that specifically references ESG and sustainability.

More than 80% confirmed positive business outcomes and a further 93% confirmed engaging with investors on ESG and sustainability issues as beneficial to the company.

When it came to inhibitors to ASX companies achieving a gender diverse workplace, industry difficulties in attracting a gender diverse talent pool topped the chart. Increasing gender diversity at a senior level has consistently been a focus for ASX companies over the past three years.  However, there had been an increase in focus on achieving gender diversity amongst entry-level positions.