Most large businesses (93%) publish sustainability data. Reporting on that data and the work that’s going on behind the scenes can be a daunting task. As well as setting out the metrics and required disclosures, 76% of companies use case studies and 44% create customer stories to show the real-world impact of their projects. Doing this well demands a strategic approach to bringing together the right data and the best stories.
With so much information to gather from across the business, sustainability reporting can take time. And with content provided by a range of internal contributors, it can be challenging to produce a coherent document, especially if you’re new to managing such a large group of stakeholders.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. With forewarning and a guide on your side, you can put in place processes to help these projects run more smoothly and get the most value out of them. Here’s what we’ve learned from our experience working on more than 150 sustainability reports.
Get your plan on paper
Pagination plans are your friend. They help you determine the most sensible way to group and order content. It’s much easier to play around with the page order before there is copy already written to flow. Plus, it allows you to get sign off on the information and messaging to include, helping to keep late edits to a minimum.
A pagination plan also guides the interview stage. Having an in-depth conversation with a key stakeholder is vital to getting strategic insights for a narrative. But with leaders often busy, it’s critical to make the best use of their time. With a pagination plan, you can spot where you need to bring in an expert to inform the content or, alternatively, where you could use emails to clarify information.
Set out who’s signing off
In such a strategic document and a subject that spans every aspect of an organisation, many people will want a say. While gathering opinions is helpful to make sure the report aligns with strategic direction and captures activities accurately, trying to please everyone can lead to mismatched messaging. It can help to specify who has review and sign-off rights on each aspect of the report.
For example, the CEO should have the final say on what must/must not be included and how potentially sensitive messages should be positioned. The person who heads up communications could be the person who signs off on tone of voice. And the legal and compliance team can make sure that claims can be substantiated.
With clear responsibilities designated, you know whose opinion to prioritise if there are conflicting views. You can also streamline the amends process, focusing on the sections or wording that those key individuals flag.
Make the amends watertight
As well as setting out who is responsible for each element of the report, you can stagger the amends stage so that each person only has to read through once. You can also choose whether to drip-freed content section by section or wait until a full draft is ready. Drip-feeding works well if reviewers only need to read one section, because they can look at that content while other pages are being produced. For those who need to read the whole report, it’s best to wait until it’s all ready.
Whichever way you choose to run the amends phase, it’s important to make that decision upfront. That way, you can give people an idea of when their time will be needed. And while you’re making decisions, it’s worthwhile agreeing how to collate and share amends. Having multiple versions is less than ideal, as it can make it tricky to find feedback on the most up-to-date content.
Go beyond the report
So much great information is gathered during the reporting process. And the report is a hugely valuable document for bringing all of those insights and updates together. But it’s often all kept to one PDF document on a website, meaning limited pairs of eyes will land on its pages.
Adapting the stories elsewhere can help you get more value out of the whole exercise. That could include key updates as blogs and case studies promoted through social media. When mandatory reporting becomes more data driven through the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), telling stories via other channels will become even more important. Businesses that broaden out the channels they use and share bite-sized content on their projects will engage a broader group of stakeholders. Think customers as well as investors.
Bring an expert partner on board
For many businesses, creating the sustainability report might fall to a team without experience of developing lengthy documents like these, making it even more challenging to bring all the moving parts together.
An expert partner has the knowledge and experience to not just do the work, but to guide the process and keep every stage on track. They can also guide you on the disclosures you need to include and help to bring your story to life. Plus, they can hold interviews for you. Trust us, interviewing your own colleagues can be a cringeworthy experience.
Turn to us
Your next sustainability report may feel like a long way off, but it’s never too early to start laying the groundwork for when it’s time to start on the content again. We can guide you on what you’ll need to include and help you gather the stories early. So, when it’s all systems go, you’re all set.
