The most valuable currency in financial markets is reliable information. Without it, investors are unable to make informed decisions about where to allocate their capital, which hurts companies’ ability to attract it and puts a drag on economic growth. Transparency is an economic engine.

For decades, investors’ decisions have been aided principally by financial statements. But such information gives an incomplete picture of a company’s health.

Many other factors affect the sustainability of a business, both internal (such as talent recruitment and retention) and external (such as constraints on natural resources). How effectively a company addresses such issues can profoundly affect its prospects. The trouble is, investors and shareholders often do not have ready access to comparable information about these issues.