Investissement socialement responsable : quelles sont les attentes des investisseurs institutionnels en matière de reporting extra-financier ?

Abstract

Companies are now expected to publish non-financial reports in the form of CSR reports, integrated reports, sustainable development reports, social reports, etc. within the new Directive on non-financial reporting. Institutional investors with social concerns are the main beneficiaries. They are interested in both financial and non-financial criteria when making an investment decision, especially concerning: socially responsible investment. Companies sense the need to engage themselves to promote their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through this non-financial reporting. For that reason, institutional investors potentially have an important leverage effect on the CSR of companies for their social and environmental impacts. However, a lot of companies still do not meet institutional investors’ expectations. According to our meta-analysis, companies, unfortunately, face several obstacles, both internal and external. Internally, companies still have to learn how to overcome a "positivity bias". Highlighting compliance in the report is easy but it becomes more problematic for enterprises to explain non-compliance. Externally, companies are faced with sometimes conflicting expectations from regulators on the one hand (what should and should not be published) and investors on the other (who expect very accurate information to be published). This report first analyses the needs expressed by the institutional investors on non-financial reporting and the way they assess companies on this matter. It then gives insights on how nonfinancial reporting could become more homogeneous, with high quality and transparency. Several recommendations are the development of a standard(s) to ensure the materiality of comparable, reliable, and relevant non-financial information disclosed and also assurance through external control for extra-financial information. Companies are proving to be rather reticent in the face of the change driven by the new Directive on non-financial reporting. In fact, it requires them to make significant changes to their reporting methods. They must now communicate on their performance and the level of integration of social, environmental, and societal issues into their overall corporate strategy. In conclusion, the dynamic of progress remains to be confirmed over the next few years.