This is the title of a World Economic Forum (WEF) whitepaper released on January 22, to which KPMG and the other Big 4 accounting firms made a substantial contribution.

The WEF’s International Business Council (IBC) has been addressing some of the practical challenges involved in balancing short-and longer-term business pressures to ensure that shareholders and other stakeholders prosper together. This is in response to the “Compact for Responsive and Responsible Leadership”, which has been signed by more than 140 CEOs, and which states that “society is best served by corporations that have aligned their goals to the long-term goals of society.

The lack of consistency by which companies measure and report to investors and other stakeholders the shared and sustainable value they create is a big challenge, and this is where KPMG stepped in to support IBC. A team, led by Tom Brown, KPMG in the UK, contributed to a report that proposes a common, core set of metrics and recommended disclosures that IBC members could use to align their mainstream reporting. By doing this, these CEOs can lead efforts to reduce fragmentation, improve decision making and encourage faster progress towards long term value creation.

Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO Bank of America, chairs the IBC and said: “As CEOs, we want to create long-term value to shareholders by delivering solid returns for shareholders AND by operating a sustainable business model that addresses the long-term goals of (the) society, as provided for in the SDG roadmap. At the same time, data on responsible business and sustainability is proliferating, enabling companies to better understand their impact and implement responsible strategies. What we seek is a general framework for companies to demonstrate their long-term sustainability; a framework that integrates financial metrics along with relevant non-financial criteria such as ESG considerations, gender equality, compensation practices, supply chain management, and other activities.”

Please read the white paper, and contact us if you would like to know more.

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IBC_ESG_Metrics_Discussion_Paper.pdf