Leading US firms have continued to publish sustainability reports this year, despite changes to regulation, political scrutiny and corporate expectations, according to a new report from Teneo, which was published by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.
As the report, Staying the Course: The State of 2026 U.S. Sustainability Reports, found, close to nine in ten (87%) firms that published a sustainability report in 2025 also published one this year, however many published said reports at a later date than last year.
The average report length was 69 pages, holding steady compared to last year, however only a third (32%) issued a press release when publishing their sustainability report, compared with 62% in 2025.
Sustainability terminology
Teneo‘s report found that the terminology used in sustainability reporting is also shifting – while ‘sustainability’ remains the most common term used, terms such as ‘impact’ and ‘purpose’ are increasingly being used in report titles, while ‘ESG’ has all-but disappeared, appearing in just 4% of report titles.
Double materiality has ‘maintained its momentum’ among reporting companies, the report noted, with 70% stating that they had conducted a materiality assessment, while 51% had completed or were completing a double-materiality assessment, up from 41% last year.
For US firms with global operations, international reporting frameworks are being adopted more frequently – 14% of companies aligned their sustainability disclosures with the ISSB, double that of last year. In addition, 20% said that they were monitoring potential CSRD compliance requirements.
Taking responsibility
In terms of who is taking responsibility for sustainability reporting, the study found that general counsels tended to be the primary sustainability overseers, at close to a quarter (23%) of companies. At 19% of firms, CEOs were responsible, down from 28% in 2025.
The analysis also found that 12% of companies reported at least one sustainability goal as being ‘off track’, up from 9% in 2025, while companies reporting ‘repositioned’ goals increased from 2% to 12%.
‘The sustainability landscape remains marked by heightened scrutiny and uncertainty, as ongoing political conflicts and evolving global regulation continue to shape the expectations of key stakeholders,’ the report noted.
In conducting the reseach, Teneo analysed 250 sustainability reports from S&P 500 companies published in 2026. Read more here.
