A study conducted by the Sustainability team at SMS Buenos Aires, a member of SMS Latin America, has found that only 38% of the 228 registered companies with the National Securities Commission (CNV) of Argentina provided information related to environmental, social, or governance (ESG) aspects during the year 2024.
Although the figure is slightly lower than in the previous period and shows that there is still a long way to go to reach global standards, it is worth noting that the number of entities was higher, as there were 188 listed companies in 2023. Furthermore, it is important to point out that none of the 33 companies registered under the SME categories has disclosed sustainability-related information according to international standards.
“The data obtained shows the need to consolidate sustainability management and accountability in companies. It is interesting to understand why so many significant companies still do not have an ESG report,” stated the Sustainability Partner at SMS, Lucas Utrera.
Quality and reliability of ESG reports
The survey by SMS Buenos Aires revealed that, of the total companies with reports related to sustainability criteria, 87% did so with information that follows internationally recognized standards or guidelines, although only 30% of the reports included an opinion from an external auditor.
The ESG information disclosed by Argentine entities was classified into four main methods: Sustainability Report, Integrated Report, low-quality ESG information, and information included in the Annual Financial Statements.
Out of the total, 67% was reported through the Sustainability Report, 15% through the Integrated Report, 13% was categorized as low-quality information, and 5% was included in the Annual Report.
Despite the lower presence of the Integrated Report, with only 15% implementation, there is an increasing adoption trend.
“More and more investors require reliable information on this topic. Therefore, the verification of ESG reports is becoming an essential aspect in an organization’s reporting process. External audit is an opportunity to gain valuable insights for the entire organization and ensure the quality of the published information,” added the Sustainability Partner at SMS, Julián Costábile.
Regional comparison
When comparing Argentina’s case with other countries in the region, the examples of Mexico and Colombia stand out.
In Mexico, according to the 2022 report by Silvia Meljem, Enriquez de Rivera, and Carlos Hernández Gálvez, 62% of companies published ESG information. Although only 3% did so with an Integrated Report and just 15% with a sustainability report, the most common cases were annual reports (44%) and low-quality information (27%).
In Colombia, based on the December 2022 report from the Business Sustainability Laboratory of Javeriana University, the review results showed that 86.8% of companies present ESG information. The most used modalities were management reports (32%) and sustainability reports (29.5%).
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