FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
A deep-dive analysis of global research on the value of sustainability reporting by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has found that 73 per cent of studies show a positive correlation between companies that disclose their impacts and improved financial performance.
GRI’s literature review ‘From impact to income: How sustainability reporting affects the bottom line‘ – summarises key conclusions and themes from 30 empirical studies to determine whether sustainability reporting improves access to capital, enhances operational efficiency, and strengthens risk management capabilities. All of the studies were published between 2010 and 2025 in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Insights from the review include:
- Twenty-two of the 30 studies demonstrate that sustainability reporting leads to improved financial performance, particularly when aligned with globally accepted standards. Six are mixed or inconclusive, and only two draw a negative correlation.
- Robust reporting using the GRI Standards is linked to reputational advantages – such as increased stakeholder trust, brand loyalty, and employee satisfaction – which can translate into improved access to capital from investors.
- Sustainability reporting provides tangible financial gains, with factors such as sector, size, regulatory environment, and geography all being influential.
- Organisations in high-risk industries – such as energy, mining, and manufacturing – realise the strongest financial benefits from sustainability reporting, reinforcing the value of sector-specific disclosure guidance.
Bastian Buck, GRI Chief Standards Officer, said: “At GRI, we have long understood that sustainability reporting offers multiple benefits to organisations, the environment and society. Yet its relevance to the corporate bottom line is often undervalued. It is therefore significant that 73 per cent of the studies we analysed found a positive correlation between sustainability reporting and financial performance.
“More action and support are needed to increase the quality and use of sustainability reporting, including reporting on impacts. The GRI Standards have a central role to play in the emerging global reporting system.”
According to the 2026 UK Facilities Management Market Research Report by askporter, facilities management professionals want clear, verifiable evidence of work being delivered, with teams that can communicate progress in real time. This requires technology that is affordable, intuitive, and quick to adopt.
Yet the report found that:
Over three quarters of FM professionals (76 per cent) experience operational inefficiencies caused by siloed software which results in a lack of real-time visibility.
Communications challenges lead to maintenance issues, with 73 per cent of teams being forced into reactive problem-solving on a weekly basis.
A worrying level of compliance gaps, with 44 per cent of admitting that half or less of their compliance tasks are tracked and automated within their systems.
Closing this gap requires the establishment of transparent and consistent communications using affordable software that gives FM teams the ability to track, evidence and improve their services.
This webinar provides a valuable overview of the main findings of the report by askporter followed by a panel discussion by FM thought leaders on practical, strategic solutions that can help close this communications gap.
To register for the webinar taking place 29 January 2026 at 11:00am click here.
