Shifting perspectives: is the view at the top changing?
The introductions from the CEO and chairperson in the annual reports represent a key opportunity for businesses to give a comprehensive overview of its achievements and future goals, alongside its financial performance.
They present an opportunity for the business to reveal ESG credentials, so it was interesting that the total number of mentions of all the words being analysed decreased slightly when looking at the FTSE 350 index as a whole.
Although this could suggest a decline in interest about ESG within the highest level of leadership in the FTSE 350, it is hard to reach this conclusion when mentions of ESG and related terms increased by 11.5% from 8,906 to 9,933.
What this finding could suggest is in fact a general shift from organisations, particularly the larger ones in the FTSE 100, generally referencing 'ESG' less, and focussing on specific initiatives.
This shift could reflect a more targeted approach to addressing sustainability priorities and meeting evolving stakeholder expectations. Further analysis is perhaps required to understand the reasons behind this trend and its implications for a corporate governance and leadership representation.
What this finding could suggest is in fact a general shift from organisations, particularly the larger ones in the FTSE 100
Figure 6 - Frequency of all searched words in the CEO / Chairperson articles in FTSE 350 Annual Reports (Source: Irwin Mitchell)