• Why do environmental, social governance (ESG) issues ESG matter to investors and society.
• What are the current market trends and disclosure requirements?
• What options exist to ‘close the gap’ between the current available information disclosure and practices to enable investors to improve and integrate the use of ESG information they obtain?

Businesses can no longer deliver a product or service, turn profit, publish their annual report and be considered a model organisation. The perception is that they must operate in a responsible, sustainable and ethical way that is transparent and contributes to the communities in which they operate. This is also reflected by mainstream institutional investors who are beginning to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their decision making. This paper will focus on the current market and regulatory trends and disclosure requirements related to ESG issues and why it matters to investors and society in general. It also looks at the options to ‘close the gap’ between the current available information disclosure and practices to enable investors to improve and integrate the use of ESG information they obtain.