Nairobi, April 21 -- Over the coming weeks, many listed and regulated businesses will publish sustainability disclosures alongside their annual reports. These statements outline environmental, social and governance commitments, often accompanied by reflections on long-term value, stakeholder impact and organisational resilience.

The reports have become a standard feature of corporate reporting and an increasingly important reference point for investors, regulators and other stakeholders assessing how institutions are governed.

Yet for all the attention paid to the reporting, an uncomfortable question often lingers. Is an organisation's commitment to sustainability really demonstrated in the disclosures it produces, or somewhere else ent...