More than two thirds of UK businesses view sustainability reporting as a driver of innovation and competitive advantage, a new study by osapiens has found.
However, half of businesses see regulatory uncertainty as the biggest hurdle when trying to meet reporting requirements, preventing them from moving forward with confidence.
The software firm conducted the survey in July among 150 sustainability leaders in the UK, ahead of the introduction of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS), which is scheduled to be finalised in September 2025. Other frameworks in use by UK firms include the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), CDP Europe and the SASB.
Mandatory reporting
Some 69% of respondents support some form of mandatory sustainability reporting, the study found, with more than two fifths (41.5%) in favour of a ‘tiered’ approach that accounts for the needs of smaller organisations.
Adapting to changing regulatory requirements was cited by 50% of UK businesses as a potential obstacle to compliance, followed by the complexity of gathering and verifying data (27%) and the cost of compliance (26%).
In addition, close to half (48%) of respondents said that they are now experimenting with automation to address reporting requirements, although 50% said that they still rely entirely on internal expertise and spreadsheets.
Finally, just one in ten said that they felt ‘very confident’ in their firm’s ability to get a comprehensive view of their impact across operations and supply chains, with 45% noting that they were ‘somewhat confident’.
More engagement
“It’s encouraging to see more UK firms engage with sustainability requirements,” commented Tim Lambert, regional lead UK, Ireland and Nordics at osapiens.
“In the past year, we’ve seen contrasting developments from ‘stop the clock’ decisions as part of the EU Omnibus initiative, while other requirements have intensified, such as the upcoming UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). While the pace of change can be challenging, it’s also driving greater intent. Many businesses now recognise the value of improving visibility into their sustainability data because you can’t change what you can’t track.” Read more here.
