Mark Delisi, vice president of corporate responsibility at AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB), joined Nareit for a video interview at Nareit’s 2018 ESG Forum in Seattle. The video is part of Nareit’s JumpStart Program.
Delisi commented on the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
“To really look at how a company is performing in the 21st century, you have to look at the full context,” Delisi said. He also stressed that ESG reporting needs to be transparent and honest.
In addition, Delisi discussed the benefits and drawbacks of integrative reporting, in which ESG data is incorporated into a company’s overall financial results. By including ESG data, a company stresses the importance it places on ESG matters. However, companies are forced to pare down the amount of ESG data they include or run the risk of producing an unwieldy 300-page report, he noted.
An ideal solution, according to Delisi, is to present key ESG metrics in the overall financial results in combination with a standalone ESG report.