Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism

It is time to rebalance corporate purpose for the benefit of all stakeholders, including society and the planet.

Rebalancing corporate purpose for the benefit of all stakeholders, society and the planet.

In business, what you can’t measure, you can’t change.

Environment, Social and Governance considerations (ESG) has become a top priority on investors’ and corporates’ agendas. Boards and executives increasingly see ESG as imperative to long-term value creation and the need to meet investor demand for comparable ESG measurements and disclosures, in a way that drives value for an organization.

Commissioned by the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council (IBC), the white paper Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism - Towards common metrics and consistent reporting of sustainable value creation outlines a recommended set of 21 core metrics and 34 expanded metrics to further the road towards a global harmonized reporting system.

Developed in collaboration with Bank of America, KPMG and other Big Four organizations, the initiative reflects an extensive consultation process with corporates, investors, standard setters, NGOs, and international organizations, that provide a common set of existing disclosures that lead us towards a coherent and comprehensive global corporate reporting system.

This will allow executives, investors, employees and other stakeholders to see how the company performs on matters that reflect society as a whole, and as a consequence, they will herald a sea change in the way companies are run and evaluated.

Professor Klaus Schwab
Founder and Executive Chairman
World Economic Forum

Click here to see the full replay from this webinar

Mireille Voysest

Director, KPMG International – currently on secondment at KPMG in the UK’s Climate Risk and Strategy practice

Shares her story of how she supported the development of the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics:

“I felt I was contributing my insights toward something ‘bigger’ that had the power to effect change; indeed, the project became a catalyst to dialogue and convergence between standard setters around sustainability reporting”

In 2020, I was part of the KPMG team that worked with the World Economic Forum (WEF), Bank of America and the other Big 4 organizations in developing a set of universal and consistent ESG metrics, now known as the WEF’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.

During the project, KPMG professionals engaged in dialogue with multiple companies and investors across the world – many of them clients of KPMG firms– as we sought to obtain their feedback on the proposed metrics and later their commitment to use these in their corporate reporting. The metrics provide a common set of existing disclosures that lead us towards a coherent and comprehensive global corporate reporting system.

The project was highly rewarding for me not only because of the quality of both the conversations, and the people involved, but also because I felt I was contributing my insights toward something ‘bigger’ that had the power to effect change; indeed, the project became a catalyst to dialogue and convergence between standard setters around sustainability reporting.

I count this project among some of my best experiences at KPMG! I got to work with an amazing team of KPMG ESG specialists on a topic I was (and still am) very passionate about. Also, I collaborated extensively with colleagues that had similar interests to mine at the other Big 4 organizations and with colleagues from the WEF. It was a real team effort, a unique experience, and a great opportunity to make a difference.

Being part of this experience was the springboard for me to fully invest in this space and I sought other opportunities to continue building my knowledge and credentials. I took a six-month secondment working at KPMG’s Global Centre of Excellence for Impact Investing and ESG, I did a Net Zero course at Cambridge University, and now I’m on my next secondment, at KPMG in the UK’s Climate Risk and Strategy practice. I show up every day excited to learn something new and contribute towards a more sustainable world – this is what drives me and gives me purpose.