2022 ESG survey 
results and analysis
The ESG 
journey to  
assurance

Let’s start with what we know with certainty: 
The rise of Environmental, Social and Governance 
(ESG) is already among the most impactful 
changes for the business world at large in 
decades. It’s a generational opportunity for 
companies to rethink and reimagine their 
commitment for all possible stakeholders, 
everything from their corporate purpose, to how 
they hire, to their impact on the environment, 
and more. In many ways, it’s a fundamental 
reset of the corporate entity’s overall role and 
responsibilities. 
But now for the details. What does  
“ESG reporting” mean? What’s required? 
When? And … well, who is going to do all  
of that work?
Yes, there is broad awareness of and even 
commitment to ESG, but most companies 
are still in the early stages of figuring out “the 
details,” as we report in this ESG reporting and 
assurance survey. The survey included feedback 
from 246 financial reporting executives from 
companies representing a broad cross-section  
of industries and revenues, including both  
public and private organizations.
More than anything, our survey captures a 
landscape of companies still in the early stages of 
more formally defining their ESG journeys. On the 
one hand, 83 percent of the respondents believe 
that focusing on ESG will make their business 
better; but just 30 percent feel like they have 
even the beginnings of a clear strategy to report 
out and deliver on their ESG commitments. 
Strategic changes in both business operations 
and historical reporting on ESG issues, is 
unfolding against the backdrop of the SEC’s 
climate disclosure proposals, across an alphabet 
soup of regulators and reporting bodies—SEC, 
EU, CSRD, ISSB, EFRAG. And the targets aren’t 
simply still moving, in many cases, they have yet 
to be defined. 
Our goal with this ESG reporting and assurance 
survey is to start the conversation on what 
“progress” on ESG reporting and assurance 
means and how it will be measured. We hope 
you find this report valuable as a way to baseline 
and evaluate your own company’s journey.  
And we look forward to the chance to regularly 
report back with updates from future surveys  
as the inevitable force that is ESG moves  
steadily forward.
Taking aim at a 
moving target
2  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

Source: KPMG webcast (replay available), How could climate risk 
impact the financial statements? Over 3,300 responses.
Our ESG reporting and assurance survey is a 
snapshot of companies trying to assess a rapidly 
evolving macro-business challenge and work out 
their responses in real time. Sure, many companies 
have started their journey, but now they need to 
evolve their plan as the proposal and potential 
requirements are also evolving.
The number and variety of challenges cited by 
respondents was particularly noteworthy. Just 
4 percent reported no current challenges, while 
two out of three of those surveyed cited at least 
two significant challenges. Among those issues, 
the lack of resources and expertise—cited by 57 
percent—jumped out as the biggest concern.
Another big-picture trend in the survey was, 
essentially, “Who’s in charge?” Respondents 
identified a wide range of teams as currently 
responsible for defining ESG reporting strategies 
at their companies, with seven different functions 
noted. And an eighth option of “not sure” was 
cited by 21 percent, making it among the leading 
responses in a disparate category that had a knock-
on influence across other questions in the survey.
Indeed, the responsibility and structure of ESG 
reporting is in transition for many companies, even 
as they acknowledge that additional resources 
and expertise will be needed. But on that front, 
the survey also saw a significant commitment to 
getting that help: two-thirds of those surveyed 
viewed external assurance as critical to meeting 
their ESG obligation and reporting needs, with 42 
percent still needing to put that support in place.
Let’s take a closer look at the questions and 
some key learnings.
There’s broad awareness and commitment to ESG, but the details? 
Companies say there’s still much work to do.
Key findings
3  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

The survey saw an overwhelming commitment to 
ESG, with 8 in 10 believing it will make businesses 
better. But on the flipside, just half of those same 
respondents felt ESG was linked to their company’s 
strategy at some level today, and one-quarter 
simply were not yet clear. 
Historically, most companies have not clearly 
defined their ESG strategies: How they measure 
risks and opportunities, the frequency of reporting, 
who’s responsible and where it belongs in the 
organization. But with increased focus and 
expectations from investors and regulators, 
businesses are beginning to integrate a cross-
functional team into an established ESG committee 
in which ESG strategy is a companywide initiative. 
Also gaining attention is the growing body 
of research that ESG investments can drive 
tangible value for companies, regardless of the 
regulatory landscape. For example, a recent 
study from New York University’s Stern Center 
for Sustainable Business did a meta-analysis 
of more than 1,000 research papers between 
2015 and 2020 that examined the impact of 
ESG investment on financial performance. The 
analysis found several clear value propositions, 
including improved financial performance for 
companies in a number of areas and enhanced 
protection during times of crisis.1
ESG is clearly 
linked in our 
business strategy
ESG is tangential 
to our business 
strategy
Our strategy 
is built 
around ESG
1  Source: NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, “ESG and Financial Performance,” Tenise Whelan, et al (February 2021).
Not sure/ 
not applicable
	
Yes
 83%
	
No
 6%
 11%
27%
25%
7%
41%
Big picture 
Broad intent, evolving strategy
	
Do you believe that focusing on  
ESG makes a business better?
How embedded is ESG in your 
business strategy?
Not sure/ 
not applicable
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
4  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

Responses to our three key questions about the 
current state of ESG reporting reflected widely 
disparate approaches and a good amount of “in-
the-process” sentiments. Overall strategy was in 
flux for 7 of 10 respondents. Responsibility was 
still widely scattered, with top-down influences 
from boards, committees and specialized 
sustainability roles. But two-thirds of those 
surveyed valued external assurance,  
with 24 percent already receiving external 
assurance on their ESG reporting.
Reporting 
A work in progress
We have developed a 
reporting strategy and have 
issued one or more reports
Are in the process of 
developing our ESG 
reporting strategy
Have been reporting for some 
time but are reassessing our 
reporting strategy
Have developed a 
reporting strategy but have 
not yet issued a report
Have not started to develop 
an ESG reporting strategy
Not sure/ 
not applicable
23%
21%
13%
10%
6%
3%
3%
21%
Not sure/ 
not applicable
Risk
Internal Audit
Finance
Board/Audit 
Committee
Operations
Communications/ 
Investor Relations
Chief Sustainability 
Officer
What function has the 
greatest focus and input 
regarding your company’s 
ESG reporting strategy?
How established is your 
company on its ESG 
reporting strategy?
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
5  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.
30%
28%
15%
6%
13%
8%

48%
46%
41%
31%
18%
8.1%
3.7%
11%
Not sure/ 
not applicable
No challenges at 
the moment
Lack of strategy
Management 
doesn’t view it 
as important
Cost of effective 
implementation
Effort to establish 
effective reporting
Extent of reporting and 
frameworks to follow
Capacity and 
expertise of resources
Lack of clarity 
on regulation
What challenges does your 
company face in focusing more 
closely on ESG? (Respondents 
could select multiple answers.) 
57%
0
20
40
60
80
100
Our question on the challenges companies are 
facing was perhaps the most revealing, simply 
because of the multiple issues cited. Sixty-six 
percent of the respondents cited at least two 
challenges, and exactly half cited three or more. 
Expertise, bandwidth, uncertainty, level of effort, 
costs … it’s instructive that just 4 percent feel like 
they have things covered.
Challenges 
What companies are up against	
	
Do you view external 
assurance as critical to the 
comparability, transparency 
and accuracy of companies’ 
ESG reporting efforts?
Not sure/ 
not applicable
No
Yes, but are  
not currently 
receiving external 
assurance
Yes, and currently 
receiving external 
assurance
24%
13%
21%
42%
0
20
40
60
80
100
6  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

Next steps
 
For businesses that have traditionally reported on 
ESG metrics, for example, the next steps might 
be to pave the way for assurance to perform 
an assessment of current-state processes and 
controls over ESG reporting. We have found that 
even the most sophisticated and well-resourced 
organizations benefit from including a finance 
point of view to introduce the rigor to produce of 
investor-grade reporting.
For other companies that are just beginning their 
ESG journey, we caution against an “ESG-in-a-box” 
solution: It may seem very appealing at first, but it 
typically lacks the ability to deliver each company’s 
unique needs. The ESG journey doesn’t have to 
be hard or complex, but it does need to be guided 
by a thoughtful, sincere representation of each 
organization’s North Star.
Our KPMG IMPACT team has been working 
with clients on their ESG journeys, helping them 
understand and assess their maturity, stay on 
top of the evolving regulations, and provide the 
additional expertise and resources they may need 
at each stop along the way. Rather than standing 
still and waiting for every last piece to fall in place, 
we believe there are several “no regrets” moves 
that companies can consider making today on ESG 
today, including:
•	 Assess any ESG climate-related reporting  
and associated commitments your company  
has made.
•	 Keep management and the board updated on  
the evolving reporting requirements, 
especially the extensive and complex 
international regulatory landscape.
•	 Assemble a working group that will be 
responsible for reporting, establishing 
clear roles and responsibilities based on 
individual’s skills and experiences.
•	 Calculate your Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse  
gas emissions and get them assured by a 
third-party.
Yes, the ESG roadmap is still filled with uncertainty, 
but with the right foresight, strategy, planning and 
structure, companies will not only survive, but 
thrive on their ESG journey.
Where do companies go 
from here? The path ahead 
will be influenced by each 
organization’s current progress. 
7  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

Methodology 
This survey included feedback from 
246 financial reporting executives from 
companies representing a broad cross-
section of industries and revenues.
Which best describes your industry?
$100 billion or more	
7% 
$50 billion to $99.9 billion	
3%
$20 billion to $49.9 billion	
10%
$10 billion to $19.9 billion 	
11%
$5 billion to $9.9 billion	
15%
$1 billion to $4.9 billion	
23%
Less than $1 billion	
31%
Consumer and Retail	
17%
Energy	
9%
Financial Services	
26%
Government	
1%
Healthcare and Life Sciences	
8%
Industrial Manufacturing	
12%
Media and Entertainment	
3%
Other	
15%
Technology	
9%
What was your organization’s global annual 
revenue in the most recent fiscal year?
8  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

Contacts
Maura Hodge 
KPMG IMPACT ESG  
Audit Leader 
mhodge@kpmg.com
Ruth Tang  
KPMG IMPACT ESG  
Reporting & Assurance Leader 
ruthtang@kpmg.com
9  |  The ESG journey to assurance
© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global 
organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private 
English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.

© 2022 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member 
firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved.
The KPMG name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International.
kpmg.com/socialmedia
Some of the services described herin may not be 
permissible for KPMG audit clients and their affiliates 
or related entities. 
The views and opinions expressed herein are those 
of the [interviewees/survey respondents/authors] and 
do not necessarily represent the views and opinions 
of KPMG LLP.