Sustainability reporting driving competitive advantage
Over two-thirds of UK firms have said sustainability reporting is a driver of their competitive advantage and boosting innovation within the business, according to a survey of senior sustainability leaders.
The survey, carried out by software firm Osapiens, gathered responses from 150 sustainability leaders at UK firms and found the majority supported mandatory reporting on sustainability with 69% of respondents in favour.
Internationally recognised frameworks and disclosure systems such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), CDP Europe, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) are the most widely adopted frameworks, and businesses were also preparing for the introduction of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS), set to finalise in September 2025.
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Half of the firms surveyed said adapting to the reporting requirements was a top challenge for their business and, again, half said they were experimenting with automation to meet growing reporting demands. The complexity of gathering and verifying data was identified by 27% as a challenge, while 26% pointed to the rising cost of compliance. For teams, this can risk overshadowing progress and tampering with optimism, the survey found.
However, there was a growing sense of awareness around blind spots with one in 10 saying they were ‘very confident’ in their firm’s ability to get a comprehensive view of their impact across operations and supply chains, nearly half (45%) feel ‘somewhat’ confident’ they can track performance in areas.
Tim Lambert, regional lead UK, Ireland and Nordics at Osapiens, commented: “It’s encouraging to see more UK firms engage with sustainability requirements. In the past year, we’ve seen contrasting developments from ‘stop the clock’ decisions as part of the EU Omnibus initiative, while other requirements have intensified, such as the upcoming UK SRS. While the pace of change can be challenging, it’s also driving greater intent. Many businesses now recognise the value of improving visibility into their sustainability data because you can’t change what you can’t track.”
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