When it comes to corporate transparency, the United States is at a crossroads. To one side is maintaining the status quo, with a patchy reporting landscape for environmental, social and governance (ESG) information.

An Examination of Proposals to Improve Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosures I thank the Subcommittee for inviting me to appear at today’s hearing.

An FT article on 2 April carried sweeping claims by Hans Hoogervorst, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), that ‘greenwashing is rampant’ in sustainability reporting.

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In the last two decades, sustainability reporting has gone from an exercise for the largest companies to a necessity to attract investors and meet local and international regulation.

I have always believed that business has the power to help us solve society’s most pressing challenges. That’s why I worked in corporate responsibility functions in the private sector for more than 20 years.

The transparency that comes from corporate responsibility reporting can help us create a better world. That was my message to the people I met at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual meeting in Davos.

When we think about companies and the work they do, we often lose sight of a simple fact: a business is just a collection of people. And, all groups of people tend to build a culture, a collective way of viewing the world.

After two decades working as a CSR professional and just three months leading GRI, I’m more convinced than ever that transparency is a powerful force for change. But I’m also just as convinced that we are still far from end goal: sustainable development.