Shareholders and investors are obviously one of the most influential and important stakeholder groups in traditional reporting, and they continue to be a top priority in non-financial reporting. In a sustainability report, shareholders and investors are looking for high quality sustainability information that will allow them to accurately make investment decisions. Research suggests that investors are more interested in being informed of negative environmental practices rather than positive practices because the negative impacts have more influence on their decisions. This interest is growing. The “impact investing” market was $750 billion in 2020 according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).

This powerful stakeholder group is reshaping nearly every industry–at least those who want to be around. Consumers are less interested in the actual sustainability report but often will check if there is one as evidence of integrity and higher purpose. However, they are way of green-washing and social-impact washing to make a product seem more sustainable than it is. The interest of consumers, especially Gen Z and Millennial consumers, is in radical levels of transparency and brands with a story behind it as recent research from marketing research firms Nielsen and the Natural Marketing Institute explains.

Prospective employees and current employees are increasingly interested in making sure they are working for a company that is purposeful, not just profitable. Therefore, employees care about the sustainable reporting of a company because it symbolizes the purpose they are working toward, the values the company embodies, and the outcomes they desire for the world. It is becoming common for companies to have employee resource groups (ERGs) focused on various aspects of sustainability. For example, in a 2018 Verizon sustainability report claims to have had 27,248 employees in 36 countries and territories part of a Green Team.

The general public is another group that is influential in a company’s practices and sustainability reporting. Public opinion is shifting towards caring more about the responsiveness of a company to social and environmental issues rather than just a profit-motive. From Fridays for the Future to Black Lives Matter to the #MeToo movement the public has made its demands known:  social and environmental responsibility is the new standard and expectation for all institutions including business. Pew Research has shown a steady increase in concerns about climate change across political, age, ethnic, and geographic lines.