Read the sustainability section of an annual report and check each target at its source
Many annual reports now carry a sustainability section, sometimes called responsible business, ESG or non-financial reporting, covering climate, environmental impact, people and communities. It can be a few pages inside the strategic report or a long chapter with emissions tables, targets and references to a separate sustainability report. Ask Search+ "What climate targets does the company set, and what progress does it report?" and open the citation to read the target and its baseline in the report's own words.
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Last updated October 2026
How to find sustainability reporting with Search+
- Upload the annual report and any standalone ESG report
Companies often put a summary in the annual report and the full data in a separate sustainability or ESG report. Add both, usually as PDFs, to one workspace, plus any ESG data file the company publishes in Excel, so a question can reach the detail when the annual report only points to it.
- Ask about each topic and each target separately
Ask about emissions, energy, water, workforce and governance of climate risk as separate questions. Each target tends to have its own baseline year, scope and deadline, and asking one at a time keeps them distinct.
- Trace targets to data and to the risk section
A target in the narrative should connect to a data table, and climate risk often appears again among the principal risks. Ask a follow-up about each link and open both citations.
Questions to ask about the sustainability section
What emissions reduction targets does the company set, against which baseline year, and by when?
Which emissions scopes does the report disclose, and does it say anything about scope 3?
What progress against its climate targets does the company report this year?
What does the report say about workforce diversity, health and safety, and employee engagement?
Which board committee oversees sustainability, and how is it linked to executive pay?
Has any of the sustainability data been independently assured, and what level of assurance is described?
What to look for in a sustainability section
The annual report section is often a summary that refers to a fuller sustainability report or data appendix. Check whether a figure is complete in the annual report or only previewed there.
A reduction target only makes sense with its baseline year, the emissions scopes it covers and whether it is absolute or measured per unit of output. Ask for all three.
Many reports organize climate disclosure under headings for governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets, and reference one or more reporting frameworks. Asking by those headings helps find the right passage.
Sustainability data may be unassured or covered by a limited assurance statement, which is narrower than the audit of the financial statements. Look for the assurance statement and what it covers.
Companies sometimes recalculate past emissions after acquisitions or method changes. A restated baseline can change reported progress, so check for restatement notes.
Search+ answers questions across the annual report and a separate ESG report in the same workspace, with inline citations to whichever document each point came from.
Sustainability wording and what to ask next
| Wording you may see | What it usually signals | A follow-up question |
|---|---|---|
| "net zero by" | A long-term emissions goal | Which scopes does the net zero target cover, and are there interim targets? |
| "scope 1, 2 and 3" | Direct, purchased energy and value chain emissions | Which scopes are reported with figures, and which only described? |
| "intensity" or "per unit" | A relative target, not an absolute one | What is the unit, and what happens to total emissions as output grows? |
| "limited assurance" | An external review narrower than an audit | Which data points were assured, and by whom? |
| "baseline restated" | Past figures recalculated | Why was the baseline restated, and how did it change? |
| "material topics" | Issues the company judged most relevant | Which topics were assessed as material, and how was that decided? |
What is the sustainability section of an annual report?
The sustainability section of an annual report is where a company reports on its environmental, social and governance performance, typically climate targets and emissions, workforce and community matters, and how the board oversees these topics, alongside its financial reporting.
Sustainability section questions
Can Search+ find emissions figures in the sustainability section?
What if the annual report only refers to a separate ESG report?
Can it check a climate target against reported progress?
Does it tell me if the sustainability data is assured?
Can Search+ rate a company's ESG performance?
Hold each target to its numbers
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