Despite progress around environmental metrics and governance practices, workforce and board diversity at Fortune 500 companies remains limited, a study from Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) finds.

The report, Investing in Society: 2022 edition (58 pages, PDF), found that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-related corporate data disclosures are increasing and that companies are adapting quickly to setting net-zero emissions and carbon-neutral goals. The share of Fortune 500 companies with stated net-zero emissions targets rose from 2.9 percent in 2018 to 31.6 percent in 2020. The study also found that corporate boards are increasingly becoming involved in ESG. The percentage of boards with a sustainability or CSR (corporate social responsibility) committee increased from 41 percent in 2018 to 59 percent in 2020.

However, the study also confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted women, whose median representation in the global workforce of 228 companies barely increased from 36 percent in 2018 to 36.95 percent in 2020, while the median share of women in management across 127 companies rose ever so slightly, from 29 percent to 30 percent. Moreover, while the percentage of women on boards increased 2 percent between 2018 and 2020, CECP noted that a faster growth rate will be needed to satisfy a diverse group of stakeholders, from investors to regulators. Regulatory pressure is increasing at the state level, and the Nasdaq and Securities and Exchange Commission will require public disclosure of board-level diversity statistics.

And while corporations spent more in their communities, primarily in response to the pandemic and the global racial equity movement, volunteering dropped significantly. Median volunteer hours reported by 74 companies fell 45.61 percent between 2018 and 2020, driven by social-distancing guidelines.

“This report is evidence that companies are changing their approach to business and in many instances taking the lead in redefining and reinvigorating society during this critical decade,” CECP director of corporate insights Beth Gallagher writes in the report. “We are confident CECP’s research will contribute to the integration and standardization of ESG metrics at all companies and help…address the needs of all [stakeholders] over the long term.”

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