1 in 3 HR professionals take responsibility for ESG reporting

Nearly nine in 10 organisations meet their ESG reporting requirements; however, there are key challenges and skills gaps that HR professionals face when working towards compliance, new research has found.

In July 2025, Robert Half conducted an independent survey of 83 Australian hiring managers from SMEs, large private, publicly listed, and public sector organisations across Australia. The study was part of an international survey on job trends, talent management, and workplace trends.

Following new legislation that took effect on the first day of the year, ESG reporting requirements were mandated. As a result, many Aussie businesses are required to disclose environment (‘E’) related threats and opportunities that will impact them over the short, medium and long term. However, social (‘S’) and governance (‘G’) compliance reporting remains voluntary for organisations.

ESG workload

According to Robert Half data, more than one in three (35 per cent) HR practitioners held primary responsibilities for ESG reporting, compared to nearly one in two (45 per cent) finance professionals. It also revealed that one in three (33 per cent) legal and compliance departments participated in primary responsibilities, approximately one in four (26 per cent) organisations had a dedicated ESG team, and nearly one in 10 (8 per cent) had a dedicated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team.

Further, the data showed that nearly nine in 10 (87 per cent) HR practitioners were well or somewhat prepared to meet ESG reporting obligations; however, only 4 per cent of employers were found to have not conducted ESG reporting, and 1 per cent of employers passed primary responsibilities to another team.

Robert Half associate director Emma Sestic (pictured) said HR departments thus demonstrated a strong level of preparedness for new ESG reporting demands.

ESG compliance challenges

In light of this, almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) practitioners forecast ESG compliance challenges. The biggest ESG compliance challenges that HR departments faced were: delivering on data quality and reliability (35 per cent) and struggles with time and resourcing (30 per cent), the survey revealed. These challenges were followed by: data availability and consistency across systems (29 per cent), complexity of assurance and audit requirements for ‘S’ data (28 per cent), and difficulty with HR data integration with other corporate reporting systems (27 per cent).

To meet ESG reporting requirements, one in three (34 per cent) HR departments planned to upskill and train existing HR professionals, three in 10 (31 per cent) were establishing an ESG working group across functions, including HR, and nearly one in four (23 per cent) planned to create dedicated ESG-focused HR roles, the research found. In contrast, one in four (25 per cent) of employers did not intend to allocate or develop further resources, and planned to manage compliance with current capacity. Additionally, while 2 per cent expected to largely rely on external consultants for reporting, 6 per cent of employers remained unsure about their strategy.

“Some companies acknowledge gaps that could hinder their ability to meet the new requirements, underscoring the need for timely action and strategic investment in ESG capabilities,” Sestic said.

Skills gap

The report unveiled that nearly one in two (45 per cent) HR practitioners said that data analytics and insights were the largest critical skill gap that their organisations faced. Sestic said HR plays a pivotal role for compliance with ESG obligations within their organisation, and that with these anticipated challenges, they must take a proactive approach so that they have the right skills and talent for timely compliance.

In addition to this skill gap, employers expected further skills to be instrumental for managing ESG reporting requirements in the next three to five years – these skills include: technology and HRIS expertise (40 per cent), ESG framework acumen (39 per cent), risk management and compliance (35 per cent), collaboration across functions (29 per cent), and change management (28 per cent). Sestic urged that since the most critical competency for ESG reporting is data analytics and technology – not just policy knowledge – HR departments need to combine analytical and strategic expertise with strong people management skills.

“This marks a major change, and the next generation of HR leaders will stand out for how well they use technology to turn data into insights that shape their company’s social impact story,” she said.