About Carrots & Sticks
Carrots & Sticks was first published in 2006 to provide a global overview of trends in sustainability reporting and disclosure. The initiative was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with KPMG International, building on KPMG's regular global survey of corporate sustainability reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the University of Stellenbosch Business School subsequently joined the initiative.
The first edition in 2006 covered sustainability reporting standards in 19 countries, largely members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). By 2016, the tenth-anniversary edition covered 71 countries and territories, including the world's 50 largest economies by GDP. By 2020, coverage had expanded to 84 countries.
In April 2023, Carrots & Sticks entered a new phase as an academically led research programme. Dr Adam William Chalmers (University of Edinburgh) and Dr Robyn Klingler-Vidra (King's College London) joined the project as academic co-leads. During this period, coverage expanded significantly to more than 130 countries and over 40 languages, alongside substantial revisions to the database methodology and policy analysis framework. For more on the methodology, see Research Methodology.
In 2026, Carrots & Sticks became an official part of Resonate AI. Resonate AI is a research-driven technology company that uses artificial intelligence to analyse, benchmark, and stress-test sustainability and regulatory disclosures across global policy and corporate reporting frameworks. Integrating Carrots & Sticks into Resonate AI ensures the long-term maintenance, expansion, and analytical development of the database, while preserving its public, freely accessible mission. Learn more about Resonate AI at: https://www.resonateai.co.uk/
Carrots & Sticks is currently led by Adam Chalmers and Tabitha Bailey, who are responsible for the strategic direction, data quality, and ongoing development of the database.
How the database has grown
Country counts come from published edition reports; the 2026 figure is the live database total maintained by Resonate AI.
- 2006
19 countries
First edition. Launched by UNEP and KPMG; largely OECD coverage.
- 2016
71 countries
Tenth-anniversary edition. GRI joins. Coverage now spans the world's 50 largest economies by GDP.
- 2020
84 countries
Continued expansion across regions and policy types.
- 2023
130+ countries
Academic phase begins (University of Edinburgh & King's College London). 40+ languages; expanded methodology.
- 2026
4,356 policies
Resonate AI takes over ongoing maintenance, expansion, and analytical development.
Today (2026): 4,356 policies across 236 countries, regional bodies, and international organisations, in 40+ languages. The database continues to expand with regular updates curated by the Resonate AI team.
Methodology & accuracy
The Carrots & Sticks database is built using a combination of expert curation and AI-assisted analysis. Source PDFs are collected from official channels wherever possible. AI is used to translate, summarise, and tag each policy — for example, identifying the industries targeted, the company scope (listed companies, SMEs, public-interest entities, etc.), the relevant SDGs, and policy type. Outputs are spot-checked by the team and revised over time as we identify issues.
We aim for high accuracy, but we cannot guarantee it. Translations and AI-generated tags can be imperfect, especially on long or multilingual documents. Every entry links to the original source document. In case of doubt, always refer to the original official legislation rather than relying on the database fields alone.
For the full description of how the database is built and analysed, see Research Methodology.