By Ross Kerber

(Reuters) – More than half of companies in the now use a common standard from the Value Reporting Foundation to report on topics like carbon emissions and energy management, indicating executives are paying more attention to an area likely to face new regulations soon, a foundation official said.

Neil Stewart (director of corporate outreach), said that “the market already has a lot momentum in relation to the direction the SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] is pushing for.”

As of Aug. 31, 324 companies in the S&P 500 used the foundation’s standard, up from 201 companies at the end of 2020, according to the group, which is backed by large asset managers including BlackRock Inc (NYSE:) and State Street Corp (NYSE:).

It outlines the requirements for companies to disclose ESG matters in different industries.

According to the foundation, this standard is increasingly being used in non-U.S. Indexes. A spokesperson for the Global Reporting Initiative said that the use of another ESG initiative, called the Global Reporting Initiative (or ESG), has increased as well, with approximately 10,000 people worldwide.

This year, the SEC sought public feedback on whether it would require companies to submit similar information on climate change and other issues. The status of the review was not disclosed by agency officials on Friday.

SEC published a “sample” letter online that outlined the type of questions it currently asks companies.

This could be questions regarding litigation risk related to climate change or for clarifications from companies about why statements in voluntary corporate responsibility reports differ from the ones made in SEC filings.

Matthew Franker from Covington said, “The main takeaway is that companies should consider this an opportunity for them to reevaluate their materiality decision in climate matters.”