20 years of annual reports: what changed between 2004 and 2024
O’communication analysed 125 narrative reports designed or supported by the agency for 44 organisations between 2004 and 2024. The study measures how often twelve key reporting concepts appear in each document.
Five key findings
Stakeholders have become central. The concept appears in 19% of reports from 2004–2009 and in 78% of those from 2022–2024.
Materiality has taken hold. Absent before 2015, it appears in 44% of reports from 2022–2024. Double materiality first appears in 2022.
Purpose has settled in since 2019. It appears in roughly one report in three since the PACTE law.
Reports now explain how the organisation creates value. The business model or value creation appears in 59% of reports from 2022–2024.
Reports got shorter, then stabilised. The median falls from 47 pages in 2004–2009 to 30 pages in 2015–2018, then rises to 36.5 pages in 2022–2024.
Results by period
Stakeholders: 19% of reports in 2004–2009, 78% in 2022–2024.
Share of the analysed reports that mention the concept at least once, by period. Hover over a bar to see the size of the corpus.
| Concept | 2004–2009 | 2010–2014 | 2015–2018 | 2019–2021 | 2022–2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reports analysed | 16 | 24 | 31 | 22 | 32 |
| Organisations | 7 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 21 |
| Pages, median | 47 | 40 | 30 | 36 | 36.5 |
| Purpose (raison d’être) | 0% | 4% | 0% | 32% | 34% |
| Stakeholders | 19% | 33% | 58% | 68% | 78% |
| Materiality | 0% | 0% | 16% | 23% | 44% |
| Double materiality | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 22% |
| Carbon / GHG | 31% | 21% | 65% | 77% | 75% |
| Sustainable Development Goals | 12% | 0% | 23% | 45% | 44% |
| Business model / value creation | 0% | 0% | 32% | 36% | 59% |
| Biodiversity | 50% | 29% | 45% | 68% | 59% |
| ESG / non-financial | 0% | 0% | 16% | 36% | 47% |
| EU Taxonomy | 0% | 0% | 0% | 18% | 16% |
| CSRD / ESRS | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 31% |
| CSR | 0% | 21% | 58% | 45% | 75% |
Method
The corpus brings together the annual reports, activity reports, integrated reports, CSR reports and corporate responsibility reports archived by the agency. Financial reports, universal registration documents and files without usable text are excluded. Duplicates are removed.
For each document, the study records whether a concept is mentioned at least once. It does not measure how much space the document gives to it. The corpus reflects the agency’s clients. It is not a representative sample of the French market.
Before 2015, mentions of sustainable development goals refer to goals set by the organisations themselves. The UN SDGs date from September 2015.
Study carried out by O’communication in October 2026. Data available on request.
Frequently asked questions
How has the annual report evolved over twenty years?
It has moved from a review of activity to a strategy and sustainability document. Stakeholders, materiality, purpose and value creation have all become common.
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