On 4 November 2021, the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) published a report on the state and trends of ESG disclosure policy measures across the IPSF jurisdictions, Brazil and the US.

The report provides an overview of the state of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure related policy measures, including laws, regulations, recommendations and guidelines across the above jurisdictions. It further describes the key characteristics of the different approaches and identifies emerging global trends and key gaps that must be addressed to effectively and sustainably enhance the transparency around sustainability impacts and risks.

Among other things the report notes that while the landscape of ESG disclosure policy measures is diverse, there is a global trend towards mandatory disclosure. However, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are mostly exempted from mandatory ESG disclosures, despite SMEs representing the bulk of economic activity in various sectors and the corresponding sustainability risks and impacts; most regulations focus on listed companies.