Sustainability Reporting on Listed Companies

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this year’s survey report on: ’’Accelerating Sustainability Reporting Readiness Among Ghana's Listed Companies”, developed by KPMG. This document arrives at a critical juncture for the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and our entire capital market as we collectively accelerate towards ICAG’s 2027 mandatory sustainability disclosure deadline.

The mandate of the GSE is clear: to foster a robust, transparent, and resilient market that drives sustainable national development. In today’s global investment landscape, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance is no longer a peripheral issue, it has become a core indicator of long-term value creation and investor confidence. The quality of a company’s sustainability report is increasingly how global capital evaluates our market's maturity and integrity.

It is encouraging that 53 percent of listed entities are now engaged in some form of sustainability reporting, indicating rising awareness and some progress. However, the real challenge lies in the depth of reporting. The decline in analytical rigor suggests that many firms are focusing on basic compliance rather than providing truly meaningful and insightful disclosures.

As the Managing Director of the Exchange, I want to be unequivocal: simply checking a box is not enough. The 'Race to 2027 as indicated by ICAG' is not just about meeting a deadline; it’s about embedding sustainability into core strategy. We must move past generic reporting and focus on double materiality: understanding both the impact of your business on people and planet, and the risks and opportunities those factors (environmental and social) create for your bottom line and vice versa.

The GSE remains committed to supporting our listed companies through this transition. We will continue to work closely with regulators, industry stakeholders, and partners like KPMG to build capacity, provide guidance, and ensure that our market is well-positioned to thrive in a sustainability-conscious world.

I urge every Board and CEO of our listed companies to treat the findings of this report not as a critique, but as a roadmap. Together, we can position the GSE as a beacon for responsible and high-quality sustainable disclosure across the continent.

I commend KPMG Ghana for this important contribution to the national sustainability discourse. It is our hope that this report will serve as both a mirror, clearly reflecting our current position, and a map, guiding us precisely toward our necessary destination.

Sustainability reporting isn't about mere compliance; it's the market's strategic mandate to embed sustainability into the very DNA of corporate Ghana. High-quality sustainability reporting is the future cost of capital, and the deadline is fast approaching, according to the Institute of Charted Accountants Ghana (ICAG)

Reindolf Annor

The findings of the Survey indicate these major trends:

The 2024 survey shows that while companies listed on the GSE are sustaining their participation in sustainability reporting, the overall depth of reporting has declined.

The proportion of listed companies reporting on sustainability remained relatively unchanged at 53 percent in 2024, compared to 52 percent in 2023.

However, the breadth and robustness of disclosures have diminished. Several topical indicators including climate risk disclosures, biodiversity reporting, and materiality assessments show downward trends.

The percentage of companies obtaining external assurance on sustainability data declined sharply from 50 percent in 2023 to 25 percent in 2024.

Likewise, entities that disclosed governance for sustainability declined from 45 percent to 27 percent, signalling possible contraction in governance accountability and oversight over matters relating to sustainability.

Disclosures aligned with TCFD and IFRS S2 frameworks dropped from 29 percent in 2023 to 19 percent in 2024, and 13 percent in 2023 to 10 percent in 2024, respectively. Similarly, the proportion of companies setting carbon reduction targets fell from 45 percent in 2023 to 29 percent in 2024. This points to a waning commitment to climate and nature-related transparency, despite increasing global momentum toward net zero reporting.

Double materiality assessments usage declined from 44 percent in 2023 to 19 percent in 2024, while impact materiality dropped from 44 percent to 13 percent. More concerningly, 69 percent of companies did not identify any material topics in their 2024 reports, compared to only 6 percent in 2023. This reflects persistent challenges in applying the materiality principles required under emerging global frameworks especially the IFRS standards.

Half of the reporting companies in 2024 prepared their own sustainability reports as against reporting through their parent company, up from 25 in 2023. This shift suggests that more entities are taking ownership of sustainability disclosures within their operations rather than relying solely on group-level reporting. Preparing entity-specific disclosures often reflects a deeper integration of sustainability considerations into local governance and risk management processes.

While the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) remains the dominant framework, 2024 saw broader adoption of other standards such as ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2, SASB, TCFD, and the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (UN PRB). This diversification reflects an evolving effort among Ghanaian companies to align with international sustainability disclosure requirements, even as regulatory enforcement draws near.