Meeting the recommendations for disclosure put forth by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures might seem like a tough job. But if the oil & gas industry is any example, it's not as difficult as some might imagine -and there are excellent reasons for corporate boards to consider it.

In 2011, Aegon adopted integrated reporting - a corporate reporting approach that sought to present company performance in a holistic light by considering medium- to long-term issues, stakeholder opinions, and the relationship between material financial and nonfinancial data. By 2013, Aegon had reduced the page count of its annual corporate reporting documents, helped stakeholders gain a more thoroughgoing understanding of its strategy, and begun the transition from being a product manufacturer to a customer-centric company. Still, the company's integrated report was separate from its regulatory filing. Although work in an area where there was not much regulatory or legislative guidance assuaged the Disclosure Committee's fears of accidentally violating regulations or taking on extra liability by reporting on non-financial information that was difficult to verify by a third-party, some felt the report's status meant it had not driven some of the organizational change it could have. Could Aegon benefit from publishing its integrated report as the official regulatory document? How could Aegon create a more interactive, real-time integrated reporting website that was connected to the core of their strategy? How should Aegon Asset Management include the integration of EGS factors in its investment processes and engagement with portfolio companies? What should the next step be?

The case describes the early commitment of a European pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, to integrated reporting. Novo Nordisk is one of the pioneers of integrated reporting and it emerged out of its commitment to a "Triple Bottom Line approach to managing the company." The case describes the company's "Blueprint for Change Programme" designed to facilitate stakeholder engagement and communicate how the company delivered value to business and society. The case also provides an investor perspective on the company's integrated reporting efforts and its plans for how to improve it in the future.

This technical note traces the development of integrated reporting through published materials, research, and the formation of various committees. Readers will gain an understanding of how the topics of nonfinancial information, sustainable development, corporate disclosure, and integrated reporting, among others, overlap.