As sustainability reporting steadily moves into the mainstream, companies are faced with dual challenges: determining just what sustainability data will be informative for the audience they want to reach, and developing efficient processes to gather that data. Companies must also balance the new demands of regulators and investors as expectations for better sustainability reporting increase.

In this e-Book, produced by Compliance Week in cooperation with Workiva we look at the growing importance of sustainability reporting and the new demands as well as new standards for reporting. Along with national regulations, a number of stock exchanges have, or may soon require, sustainability reporting for their listed companies. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, a small but growing number of U.S. companies are disclosing environmental and social practices. In 2013, about 19 percent of U.S. companies disclosed their environmental and social practices, up from 10 percent in 2012, according to the Conference Board. And those numbers are likely to rise in coming years.

The standards for sustainability reporting are maturing too. Inside we look at the work of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. SASB has issued its first three sets of standards in a planned industry-focused series of standards that helps companies account for sustainability issues, including environmental, social, and governance matters, that would be material to the company's performance. Finally, we look at some of the barriers to effective sustainability reporting and what is keeping some companies from fully embracing it.

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