Sustainability survey findings: Uncovering ESG disclosure progress and challenges in four industries
Talking points
- Deloitte’s 2024 Sustainability Action Report compiles ESG insights from our latest executive survey.
- Our findings shed light on the current ESG landscape, including data management, disclosures, and compliance.
- The following insights, organized by industry, can allow companies to assess their sustainability progress and future plans.
What are the latest developments in the rapidly evolving world of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures? To answer this question, Deloitte surveyed 250 executives in multiple industries and organized the results into four industry reports: financial services industry (FSI), technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), life sciences and health care (LSHC), and consumer (including retail and consumer products companies).
What we learned
With the speed of ESG change, we wanted to check in with executives in each industry on the status of their sustainability journeys. Here is an industry breakdown of noteworthy findings from the survey.
Financial services
FSI has been an early mover in ESG disclosure, potentially because of its role reporting sustainability progress to the investment community and financing ESG initiatives. This progress has continued at a steady pace, based on these insights shared by FSI executives.
- Disclosure responsibility: Chief sustainability officers most commonly have management responsibility for ESG disclosures (58%), though for nearly half of FSI organizations (47%), joint responsibilities also lie with chief financial officers.
- ESG progress: Public FSI executives report progress in enhancing their sustainability reporting capabilities and controls, with 55% of respondents having hired new resources and 50% having adjusted their reporting timelines. Meanwhile, 48% of private FSI organizations say they’ve implemented new systems, and 44% new controls. In addition, Deloitte has observed a rise in ESG controllers taking on elevated responsibilities for disclosure in many organizations.
Technology, media, and telecommunications
In the TMT industry, many public and large private companies are prioritizing enhanced ESG disclosure capabilities, as the following findings indicate.
- ESG progress: 85% of TMT companies surveyed have made some amount of progress in establishing a cross-functional ESG working group—with 38% having already established a cross-functional ESG council or working group and 47% in the process of doing so.
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) RFP requirement: Nearly seven in 10 TMT companies (69%) report that their customers often or always request they report GHG emissions as a requirement to respond to an RFP or to do business, making it important for most companies to track and disclose emissions.
Life sciences and health care
The LSHC industry is taking ownership of its ESG goals, citing progress and new opportunities despite persistent data challenges. Here are two LSHC findings from the survey.
- LSHC sustainability progress: On a four-point scale from “no progress” to “significant progress,” nearly a third (32%) of LSHC respondents reported having made “significant progress” toward their ESG goals compared to 25% of general company respondents in the 2024 Sustainability Action Report.
- Data challenges: From pharmaceutical manufacturers to health care providers, data generally plays an important role in a company’s operating structure, often extending even beyond ESG considerations. However, just under half (49%) of LSHC respondents said they lack confidence in data received from vendors, compared to 64% of survey respondents in all industries.
Consumer
Consumer companies, which also report significant ESG data challenges (87% citing data quality as a top challenge), seem to have nonetheless made steady progress toward ESG goals. Here are two examples.
- Assurance: Nearly a third (30%) of consumer executives said their companies have already completed the evaluation of steps to move to a reasonable level of assurance; another 61% reported that their companies have made progress or at least started the evaluation process.
- ESG progress: Consumer executives say their companies have already taken several steps toward their ESG goals; notably, they have developed a roadmap (46%), refined their operations and processes (45%), and published a sustainability report (43%).
What role can Deloitte play?
These survey findings are one tool to allow you to understand your progress in ESG. Deloitte can provide additional insights on ESG reporting standards, frameworks, and requirements to advise you on your journey to reach your sustainability goals. For more information, visit our Sustainability and ESG Services page, download our complete 2024 Sustainability Action Report, and explore our ESG SelfAssess™ tool to see how your company’s ESG readiness measures up. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly with any questions.
The services described herein are illustrative in nature and are intended to demonstrate our experience and capabilities in these areas; however, due to independence restrictions that may apply to audit clients (including affiliates) of Deloitte & Touche LLP, we may be unable to provide certain services based on individual facts and circumstances.
This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.
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Get in touch
Melissa Cloniger
Melissa Cloniger has over 28 years of experience providing audit and related services to domestic and global clients in a variety of industries, including life sciences, health care, manufacturing, technology, and industrial products. Melissa has spent most of her career serving complex clients with international operations, and she completed a two-year assignment with a foreign member firm. She is the life sciences Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) champion within Deloitte, with responsibility for developing and overseeing related services for industry clients. For six years, Melissa served in our National Office as part of our Accounting & Reporting services (ARS) and other roles in the professional practice. In ARS, she focused on revenue recognition, stock compensation, pension and other post-employment benefits, and income taxes. In the quality assurance group, Melissa consulted with engagement teams to address professional standards issues and related matters. These roles have given her a multifaceted view of the issues unique to serving complex global organizations. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business - Accounting from Virginia Tech University.
Sarah Digirolamo
Sarah is the U.S. Audit & Assurance Financial Services ESG Leader and the U.S. Investment Management ESG Leader with over 14 years of experience in the financial services industry serving public and private clients in evaluating U.S. and international rules and regulations. She specializes in ESG reporting and disclosure, risk and controls, and attest services. She serves a variety of ESG and sustainability related engagements with a focus on CSRD, the SEC proposed Climate Rule, SASB, GHG Protocol, and TCFD. Sarah has focused primarily on investment management, private equity, banking institutions, and REITs. She has extensive experience in internal controls, reporting, and assurance serving some of the firm's largest financial services clients, both domestic and international. She has co-authored various Deloitte publications including How investment management firms can drive climate change disclosure adoption and reporting and Navigating the evolving regulatory landscape to establish a compliant ESG investment practice, published in 2023. Sarah also spent two years on secondment in London working in the Risk Advisory Global Capital Markets Group and was the recipient of the 2021 NICSA NOVA Emerging Leaders Award.
Peter Micca
Peter Micca, Deloitte & Touche LLP, is a senior partner serving a broad array of clients in all sectors of the health care, technology, consumer, and life sciences industries. He has significant experience with health technology organizations, software as a service (SaaS) organization, clinical and diagnostic operations, emerging growth, as well as venture capital and private equity–financed organizations in these industry sectors. Peter currently leads Deloitte’s National Health Tech practice, serves on the board of directors of the American Red Cross and Springboard Enterprises (a nationally recognized accelerator of women founders in health care). Micca has advised Columbia University’s Woman’s HITLAB, and is an active venture capital investor in women’s health organizations.
Wendy Ralston
Wendy is an Audit and Assurance partner and the Consumer Products and Retail Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") lead champion. She has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting, including spending three years in Deloitte's National Office working on the development and deployment of technology solutions. Wendy has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, and due-diligence activities. She also has extensive Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting experience and has provided advice for clients going through Initial Public Offerings, secondary offerings, private placements, and responding to SEC comment letters. Further, she has ample experience serving private clients in the manufacturing and distribution industry.
Matt Pelton
Matt is an Audit & Assurance (A&A) managing director and serves as the US A&A Sustainability offering leader for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry. With more than 15 years of experience, he focuses on advising executive teams of multinational companies and investment firms on global regulations, sustainability standards and frameworks, and strategic communications. His experience also includes standard setting, technical accounting, financial reporting, and transaction advisory. Matt advises his clients on navigating sustainability disclosures, peer benchmarking, and industry priorities to inform reporting strategies and roadmaps. He recommends the creation of cross-functional plans that align business priorities, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory compliance across the US, EU, and IFRS markets. Matt is a CPA licensed in the State of Illinois. He holds the FSA Credential from the IFRS Foundation and a Sustainable Investing Certificate from the CFA Institute.
