KPMG: 56 companies out of the 100 largest operating in Poland published ESG reports this year
Of the 100 largest companies operating on the Polish market, 56 published climate and environmental disclosures this year, one more than in the 2023 survey, according to the second edition of the KPMG report. The average score obtained by organisations reporting non-financial activities dropped to 5.08 on a 10-point scale, compared to an average score of 5.27 in last year's survey.
"This is almost the same level of disclosure (and lack thereof) as a year ago. This clearly shows how much work remains to be done. All the more so because, with the advent of regulation and associated standards, the argument for not disclosing data and risking the imminent costs of changing the reporting format is disappearing. An argument, we would add, that may have led to procrastination of data collection and analysis processes, and thus learning and acquiring useful and marketable experience," said Associate Partner, Leader of the ESG, Decarbonisation and Biodiversity Team at KPMG in Poland Justyna Wysocka-Golec.
According to the second edition of KPMG's report entitled. 'Climate and Environmental Benchmarking. Analysis of Sustainability Reporting', organisations need to look more closely at their operations in terms of ESG issues - environmental, social and corporate governance. In 2025, companies that have so far been covered by the reporting obligation under the previous NFRD regulation are expected to present their first reports under the CSRD.
Experts from KPMG in Poland analysed the non-financial disclosures of the 100 largest entities operating on the Polish market. The sample included companies diversified in terms of size, industry, origin of ownership capital or presence on the stock exchange. The Polish TOP100 included primarily trading companies (including those in the FMCG sector), manufacturing (especially automotive and food production), financial and industrial companies (especially energy, mining and chemicals).
In 2024, the most report-active companies include those from the chemical and construction industries, which surpassed last year's winners, the mining and energy industries. Chemical and construction companies achieved a score of 6.33 out of 10, which is slightly down on last year's winners. In second place were companies from the financial and insurance sector (especially banks), scoring an average of 5.94 points. Third place went to companies operating in the oil, mining and energy industries, with a score of 5.89 points - last year's leaders, it was reported.
According to KPMG, it is noticeable that the score of the automotive industry, a significant one in Poland (and a clear decline compared to last year), is quite low. On average, companies in this group received 1.25 points out of 10, even though car transport has a significant impact on the environment. This is probably mainly a statistical effect, as a significant proportion of the companies included in last year's 2024 ranking were outside the TOP100 - this year's edition assessed a lower number of reports in this subgroup.
Companies listed on the Stock Exchange achieve better benchmark scores and a higher transparency index. KPMG's survey results show that only 13% of them had data gaps, and their benchmark disclosure score averaged 5.8 points, outperforming non-WSE companies by almost two points. In 2023, a similar but slightly smaller difference was observed, the material also stated.
"The better performance of listed companies is due to a greater reliance on stakeholders and insightful market analysis. In addition, green assets, which are already clearly gaining financial value, will play an increasingly important role in investments. This trend will also be reinforced by the attitude of the banking sector, which in its activities intends to promote companies going through a transformation towards more sustainable models. Entrepreneurs active on the stock exchange are aware of these processes and are therefore more motivated to ensure an appropriate level of ESG disclosure," assessed Justyna Wysocka-Golec.
The second edition of KPMG in Poland's report entitled ‘The Climate and Environmental Benchmark. ‘Climate and Environment Benchmark. Analysis of sustainability reporting' is the result of research work carried out in spring 2024 by KPMG in Poland. Their aim was to verify to what extent the largest, operating companies in Poland are prepared to meet the growing expectations of stakeholders and legal requirements, related to climate and environmental issues - especially in comparison to the results of the research, conducted in 2023.
Source: KPMG and ISBnews
