Summary

Do firms benefit from reporting sustainability information? This paper finds that firms that initiate disclosure of ESG metrics enjoy higher equity valuation today. Disclosing on any of the eight key environmental and social quantitative measures that we identify in this paper lowers firms' cost of equity. The positive disclosure premium has increased over time and even turned from negative to positive in North America and emerging markets in particular after the 2015 Paris Agreement. Differentiated rewards for disclosure initiation are identified across sectors, while current disclosure achievements -or lack thereof- are reported. This paper identifies a substantial room for progress in particular in emerging markets and less carbon-intensive sectors. This mapping points to areas of potentially fruitful engagement between firms and investors that would benefit all stakeholders.