Ocean Disclosure in Nasdaq Nordic Listed Companies

When looking at companies and how they report on their ocean impacts and
dependencies, a lack of standards and frameworks is apparent. Ambiguity persists as to what constitutes "good" ocean reporting, because companies are permitted to define and report on their own targets and indicators.

With a focus on Nordic companies, this project explored the current ocean disclosure landscape, and formulated a framework to map out the way firms are reporting on ocean-related impacts and dependencies. This consisted of defining ocean disclosure and classifying this disclosure within four categories based on the quality of the report. Consequently, it was possible to examine if companies have good disclosure practices, and where there is room for improvement.

There were 3 main findings from this analysis. Firstly, only 27% of the Nordic market discloses on oceans, of which 22% were considered good disclosures. Secondly, there is little to no relationship between E(SG) Scores, Revenue and ocean disclosure. Finally, there are currently significant differences between ocean reports and a lack of granularity in ocean disclosure which complicates the assessment of quality.

Based on these findings, recommendations were made in the final part of the report. The most important of which are:
-The specific criteria outlined for companies to improve their ocean reports
-The need for companies to analyse their activities and identify their ocean
impacts and;
-The need for companies to collaborate with the scientific community to
develop science-based impact reduction strategies which are strongly driven
by the needs of the ocean.