A Reporting Paradox: Companies Doubling Down on Climate Disclosure Amid Weakening Regulations

Over the past month we’ve tracked the gradual decentralization of U.S. policy regarding corporate climate disclosure, as it changes form across courtrooms, statehouses, and supply chains. We’ve also looked at slow-moving transitions in Europe to balance investors’ disclosure needs with realistic expectations for companies.
 
This week, our lens shifts to actual corporate action around climate reporting, and how it is responding to the regulatory environment
 
On both sides of the Atlantic, regulators have worked to simplify and scale back climate disclosure mandates. Some corporate sustainability leaders and investors are deepening their commitments, demanding better data, and building reporting infrastructure that exceeds the requirements of any single regulation.
 
The most striking signal comes from Europe. As reported by ESG Dive, a new survey by Osapiens found that 90% of companies now outside the scope of the EU’s simplified CSRD still intend to maintain or expand their sustainability reporting — and 86% plan to continue reporting in line with CSRD requirements.
 
Looking at these companies’ recent practices, it is clear that corporate climate reporting has crossed an important threshold. It’s no longer just a compliance exercise. It’s how companies manage risk, maintain market access, and hold the confidence of investors, customers and other important stakeholders.
 
The message from these companies: even when the mandate disappears, the strategic rationale for corporate management does not.
For those still in scope of the CSRD, a new G&A issue brief reviews the long road to finalization of both the CSRD and CSDDD, describing the ultimate outcome on scope thresholds, timelines, and what U.S. multinationals with European operations still need to prepare for.
 
The picture in the U.S. is different, according to some recent reporting. Trellis explains that close to 300 companies that published sustainability reports in 2024 did not do so in 2025, according to data from The Conference Board and ESGAUGE— the first decline in the survey’s five-year history.
 
The drop was concentrated among small and mid-cap firms in the Russell 3000, where total reports fell 17%. Contributing factors appear to include reduced investor pressure, greenwashing litigation risk, and legal threats against voluntary standard-setters like CDP and SBTi. However, larger companies – indeed, most of those listed on the S&P 500 Index® – continued to publish, and the data suggests delays rather than wholesale abandonment.
 
Also in the U.S., as reported by ESG News, the SEC has opened a formal consultation on climate-related disclosures, inviting public input on potential updates to Regulation S-K and S-X. The move signals that investor demand for standardized, comparable climate data has grown strong enough to keep the conversation alive even under a deregulatory administration.
 
Amid these evolving signals, sustainability reporting standards continue to get more granular at the sector level. IndexBoxlooks at the Global Reporting Initiative’s 2026 launch of GRI 14, a dedicated standard for the mining sector that creates new expectations around land use, Indigenous peoples’ rights, tailings management, and community impacts. For mining companies — many of which are already navigating CDP, ISSB, and CSRD requirements — this adds another layer of sector-specific disclosure that investors and stakeholders will increasingly expect.
 
Mining is the latest sector to get its own dedicated GRI standard, joining oil and gas, coal, and agriculture, aquaculture and fishing — with financial services and textiles and apparel currently under development and 40 sectors prioritized overall. Companies in high-impact industries should expect sector-specific disclosure expectations to continue expanding. G&A Institute works with companies across these sectors to navigate sustainability reporting strategy, GHG inventories, and framework alignment. Reach out at info@ga-institute.com to learn how we can help.
For professionals navigating this landscape, stories selected for this issue cover a range of other new developments, like:
 

• The Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance’s updated target-setting protocol
• State bills related to climate lawsuit liability
• The growing intersection of AI and sustainability
• Why worsening drought conditions alongside issues related to inequality are creating a new category of investment risk