Businesses should adopt and implement the International Integrated Reporting Framework, and investors and stock exchanges should require companies to disclose this information, according to a report by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

Integrated reporting combines sustainability and financial data to provide a holistic view of the company and its ability to sustain value over the short, medium and long term.

The International Integrated Reporting Council released a draft outline of its integrated reporting framework back in 2012, and released the completed framework last year with the intention of accelerating the adoption of integrated reporting worldwide.

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate report also states that investors and stock exchanges should include an assessment of climate risk and risk reduction strategies in their reporting.

The report notes that there are two routes through which integrated reporting could become the new internationally agreed-upon norm. The first would be investor demand, and the second through national stock exchanges.

The report cites the Johannesburg and Brazilian stock exchanges as examples, and concludes there is clearly significant scope for other stock exchanges to follow suit.

The report also calls for cooperation between stock exchanges in different countries and global investors to enable momentum to be accelerated towards integrated reporting.