Half of the companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) are not sharing information about their environmental and social impact, even though there is a strong push for businesses to be more open about this.

This is according to a recent survey by audit firm, KPMG on sustainability reporting in Ghana titled "ESG Reporting in Ghana: Are Listed Companies Meeting Expectations?"

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) lists a variety of companies across several sectors which includes, Access Bank Ghana, AngloGold Ashanti, Ecobank Ghana, MTN Ghana, Guinness Ghana Breweries Republic Bank GhanaFan MilkUnilever GhanaSociete Generale GhanaGCB Bank among others.

It revealed that among the companies reporting on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, 52% share sustainability information.

Most of these (75%) use reports from their parent companies, while only 25% create independent reports.

Some industries, like beverages, telecom, and oil and gas, fully follow ESG requirements.

However, mining and food production are lagging, with 67% and 33% failing to comply, respectively.

The study also found that only 45% of companies involve their boards in sustainability issues, and less than half follow global standards like GRI or SASB.

Around 45% of companies include goals to reduce carbon emissions in their reports, showing some attention to climate change. But only 39% view biodiversity loss as a threat to their business.

To improve, the report suggests stricter rules, rewards for compliance, better training, focused efforts on important issues, stronger leadership, and engaging stakeholders.