Core conclusion
China's ESG information disclosure rate develops slowly, and there is more room for improvement compared with overseas:
Since 2010, the proportion of ESG reports issued by A-share companies has shown a wave dynamic trend and has not increased significantly. In 2010, 23.8% of A-share enterprises disclosed ESG reports, which only rose to 25.3% in 2021; The growth rate of disclosure rate of Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 companies is higher than the average of a shares. The ESG disclosure rate of global enterprises increased rapidly at the beginning of this century and slowed down in the past decade; In contrast, China's ESG Phi started late and has more room for improvement.
Development experience of overseas ESG information disclosure:
EU: the revised non financial reporting directive in 2014 requires large enterprises with more than 500 employees to disclose ESG information, which Member States should comply with before December 2016. Therefore, ESG information disclosure in EU countries began to develop rapidly. In April 2021, the EU adopted a proposal to expand the scope of the report to all large enterprises and listed companies.
United States: in 2010, the SEC issued the guidance on disclosure of issues related to climate change, and the environmental information disclosure of Listed Companies in the United States began to develop. In June 2021, the house of Representatives passed the ESG information disclosure Simplification Act; If the bill can be finally implemented, the requirements of ESG information Phi will be greatly improved.
Hong Kong, China: in August 2012, the Stock Exchange issued the first version of the guidelines on environmental, social and governance reporting. In December 2015, the revised version introduced the provision of "interpretation if not observed". ESG, a Hong Kong listed company, jumped in fiscal 2016. The current version is mandatory disclosure + interpretation without compliance.
In 2022, the mandatory disclosure of environmental information of Chinese enterprises may open a new era:
After the "double carbon" target was put forward, the promulgation of ESG information disclosure regulations of Chinese enterprises was accelerated, but the principle of voluntariness was mainly followed, and the supervision was relatively loose. In December 2021, the Ministry of ecology and environment issued the measures for the administration of legal disclosure of enterprise environmental information, which defined the subject, content, form, time limit, supervision and management of legal disclosure of enterprise environmental information, and standardized the activities of legal disclosure of environmental information. From February 8, 2022, the administrative measures for the legal disclosure of enterprise environmental information and the standards for the format of legal disclosure of enterprise environmental information will be officially implemented, which may open a new era of enterprise ESG information disclosure.
ESG information disclosure system is gradually improved, which is expected to help ESG investment meet the development:
At present, most provisions in China are "voluntary" disclosure, and there are few mandatory disclosures. Compared with the seven pillars of ESG information disclosure system proposed by the European Union, China's ESG information disclosure system still has room for improvement. Since 2022, the regulations on ESG information disclosure of Chinese enterprises have become stricter, and the transparency, standardization and comparability of enterprise ESG information have gradually increased, which will help to improve the practicability and effectiveness of ESG investment strategy, promote the development of ESG investment philosophy and promote the expansion of ESG asset management scale.
Risk warning: the development of ESG related policies is not as expected; Inadequate understanding of ESG regulations.
