At a glance findings
This report examines the evolution of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) by analysing the frequency of words and phrases related to ESG in the annual reports of the 50 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses listed on the FTSE 350.
Our report reveals a range of interesting findings for the words and phrases:
- ESG
- Diversity
- Inclusion
- Cyber security
- Net zero
- Decarbonisation
- Scope 3 emissions
- Climate change.
ESG is up by
18%
ESG takes centre stage amongst FTSE 350
- Consumer sector businesses across the FTSE 350 significantly increased their use of the term ‘ESG’ in their most recent annual reports. Compared to the previous year, the frequency was 18% higher.
- The FTSE 250 displayed a substantial increase of 37% in ESG references.
- There was however a decrease of 3% in ESG references amongst FTSE 100 businesses.
ED&I is up by
12%
Equality, diversity & inclusion: diversity dominates discourse amongst FTSE 250
- FTSE 250 firms experienced a 12% increase in ED&I mentions.
- In contrast, ED&I mentions, amongst businesses in the FTSE 100, decreased by 8%.
Cyber security is up by
18%
Cyber security: incremental growth with larger firms leading the way
- In their most recent reports, FTSE 100 businesses increased their use of the term ‘cyber security’ from 265 to 314, representing an 18% increase.
- In the FTSE 250, cyber security mentions increased by a smaller margin of 2%.
Climate change is up by
11%
Climate change: FTSE businesses committing to net zero with focus on Scope 3 emissions
- The number of mentions of 'climate change' significantly increased by 11% across the board.
- Analysis of businesses across the FTSE 350 revealed a 29% increase in mentions of 'net zero' and 'decarbonisation' in their recent reports.
- The number of times the phrase ‘Scope 3 emissions’ appears in the reports rose by 53%.