Corporate sustainability reporting is the ultimate answer to the myriads of problems facing the society today. Take the example of the current problem of global warming, which is causing a rapid rise in coastal water levels and threatening wildlife diversity in different habitats. If all parties that emit greenhouse gases can reduce their levels or halt harmful emissions production, would the world not be a better place for all?
When you decide to implement ESG sustainability reporting, your enterprise will enjoy a lot of benefits, such as better awareness of risks and opportunities. To enjoy these benefits of sustainability reporting, you need to craft a good strategy, but how do you go about it? Keep reading to understand the main steps you can follow to create a good strategy:
Check the Applicable Requirements
The first step in sustainability reporting is checking the applicable requirements, especially legal demands. If there are legislations that apply to part or all the content that should go into the ESG sustainability report, ensure to understand them. For example, there are countries that have legal limits on wastes generation, quality, and treatment. These laws must be complied with fully. Other bodies that might have set standards for specific attributes include labor unions, stock exchanges, and regional unions, such as the EU.
Engage External Stakeholders
Because of the diverse benefits that come with ESG sustainability reporting, it will be a good idea to start by focusing on the objectives of the audience. What do they want to see in your organization? For example, your targeted clients might want to see the company promoting species restoration or greater focus on social justice. So, create forums that allow you to interact with stakeholders while ensuring you remain focused on the company’s objectives.
Engage Internal Stakeholders
After engaging external stakeholders, you need to get closer home and reach internal stakeholders. These are your line managers, employees, and shareholders, who will be directly involved in implementing the strategies adopted for corporate sustainability. Because they already know the floor of the production unit, the equipment, and the output of the facility, you will find the internal stakeholders very important in refining the objectives so that only what is achievable/ workable is left on the table. For example, you might have targeted cutting emissions by 80%, but since the resources available do not allow immediate acquisition of new equipment, the most realistic target is revised to 50%.
The good thing with sustainability reporting is that you can set the objectives and how to achieve them in phases. To make a bigger impact, consider combining sustainability activities, such as cutting down on emissions, supporting social justice, and waste minimization at the source.
Develop a Good Strategy
Now that you know the objectives for sustainability reporting, it is important to come up with an appropriate strategy. So, pick specific activities and incorporate them into the organization operations so that they inform the main operations for better results. If you want to reduce the company’s impact on the environment, the strategy might be to install a waste treatment facility or working with firms that have recycling units. So, identify key performance indicators and allocate them enough resources in a budget. In your strategy, it might be a good idea to include staff training.
As your efforts for sustainability start, ensure to gather data that will be used to prepare the report. To make gathering sustainability-related data more effective and report preparation easy, consider selecting good sustainability management software. These programs allow you to follow the right steps in crafting sustainability programs and automating data collection. For example, you might allow team leaders to add data in real-time as opposed to waiting until the end of the financial year.
Sustainability reporting helps an organization to look at its operations and impacts in a new way. Therefore, you should craft a good strategy with clear objectives and focus on achieving them. Note that the results you get should inform new goals as a way of making the world a better place. Do not be a spectator as the world suffers from different ills: you can become part of the solutions through sustainable operations and reporting.
A Deeper Look at Sustainability Reporting: Three Categories of Information to Include
By the close of World War II, it was estimated that about 60 million people were left dead. That is approximately two times the population of Canada. Indeed, using death alone does not provide the entire picture because so many were wounded and others stigmatized because of the atrocities caused by war. It is unacceptable, but even today we continue seeing similar suffering on the planet, from human trafficking to social inequalities. To address these challenges, one of the tested and approved methods is sustainability reporting.
Sustainability reporting ensures that organizations take responsibility to address their social, economic, and environmental impacts. If you are an entrepreneur or manager, you now have the chance to make the world a better place. We can say no to social injustices and environmental degradation by adopting sustainability reporting. In this post, we take a closer look at the main categories of information that you should include in a sustainability report.
What is Sustainability Reporting?
Sustainability reporting is the disclosure of a company’s social, environmental, and economic impacts on its operations. It allows an organization to evaluate itself and target making a positive impact on all spheres of the environment. Therefore, it is a way of helping an organization to focus on and build long-term economic value.
Sustainability reporting is based on crucial principles, including transparency and accountability, which target to ensure that only the correct information is captured. Other principles include materiality, flexibility, completeness, and consistency.
When implemented well, ESG sustainability comes with a host of impressive benefits that your company should not miss. Here are some of them:
- Enhanced awareness of risks and opportunities for a business.
- Better long-term management and business planning.
- Enhancing efficiency of production.
- Stronger brand.
- Better relationship with stakeholders.
Information to Capture in Your Report
Now that you know the main principles and benefits that come with ESG reporting, how do you go about it? First, you need to identify the objectives to focus on and craft strategies for achieving them. To make the process more effective, it will be a great idea to select and use appropriate sustainability management software. Here are the main categories of information to capture in the report:
- Your Company’s Consumption of Non-financial Resources
Whether your company uses water, fossil fuel or water as part of the production system or raw materials, you need to capture the information correctly. This makes it easy to understand the rate of the respective resources extraction and your effort to facilitate restoration. Where possible, try to participate in projects that promote restoration.
- Waste Production
Most businesses, especially those in manufacturing, release a lot of wastes that can have a huge impact on the environment and people’s health. So, does your company release a lot of solid, liquid, or hazardous wastes? Once you identify the wastes, capture the quantities and the method used for their disposal.
- Participation in the Work of Community Groups
For most companies that want to exert a greater impact on the society and environment, one of the best ways is working with local groups. For example, you can support conservation groups, social justice NGOs, and self-help initiatives to uplift the communities. These efforts should be captured well in your report for stakeholders to see.
The three categories of information we have listed in this post highlight only part of what should go into your ESG sustainability report. Other crucial information that you can include is risks and opportunities, due diligence on human rights, and policies on matters of corporate sustainability. Remember to review your sustainability strategies and make changes to help improve the performance of your company and make the world a better place for all.
