Do you have a new company and have been wondering how to make it successful? There are many things that you should do, from aggressive marketing to responsive product development. However, there is one more thing that you must give a lot of focus: ESG sustainability reporting.
Sustainability reporting is a relatively new concept that is aimed at ensuring organizations put more effort into addressing global warming and other challenges facing the planet today. Initially, it was mainly voluntary, but the trend is changing fast as more countries install new sustainability reports laws.
The EU leads the way with ambitious policies targeting net zero greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions by 2050. Here is all that you need to know about the ESG platform for accurate reporting.
What is ESG Sustainability Reporting?
This is a conscious disclosure of a company’s information on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. The aim is to shed light on the company’s activities to improve the organization’s transparency to stakeholders and inspire the same for other organizations in your industry and the entire globe.
ESG Reporting offers your company an excellent way to relook at its processes and craft better strategies for success. The first step, which sets the pace for the process, involves reviewing the company’s strengths and weaknesses.
This means that although you focus on giving a report to the stakeholders, the company is able to identify major bottlenecks and address them for faster growth and success.
What is the Relationship between CSR and ESG Platforms?
The idea of CSR and ESG reporting platforms are often confused, but they are pretty different. An ESG platform is designed to be a model of disclosure where companies communicate their sustainability initiatives. All about corporate philanthropy here.
The actions are carefully planned and reported to ensure that stakeholders can appreciate the efforts and make the decisions whether to invest, buy, or get associated with the company.
Unlike ESG, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business model used by companies to improve the world around them. Although CSR and ESG application in companies has been voluntary so far, the landscape is changing for the latter. ESG sustainability reporting, because of its potential benefits for the planet, is now being made mandatory by governments, stock markets, and regional economic blocs.
If your company has been focusing more on corporate social responsibility, this means that you have already covered some ground. So, make sure to carry over some information about the works that have already been done to the report. You can also use it to set the pace for the ESG sustainability report.
What Do ESG Reports Include?
ESG reports are meant to be comprehensive and articulately capture the efforts of a company in promoting sustainability. Here are the three main topics that you should include:
Environmental
Under this topic, you need to demonstrate what your company is doing to improve the environment. Here are some of the details to include under this topic:
- Efforts to reduce carbon footprint.
- Strategies adopted to reduce water use.
- Focus on reducing and treating waste.
- Responsible use of resources.
Social
This required you to demonstrate the company’s focus on improving lives. Things to include under this topic include:
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- Human rights standards in your company.
- Employee engagement.
- Diversity in the workplace.
- Community involvement.
Governance
This is all about the company’s organization and management that are aimed at making it more sustainable. The reporting items under this topic include:
- Internal controls used by the company.
- Procedures and policies of the leadership.
- Board composition and executive compensation.
- Whistleblower programs.
As a new company, sustainability might look like an expensive undertaking, but the benefits will outstrip the costs in the long term when using the right ESG platform. Remember that the ESG report you create must be accurate, verifiable, and easy to read for stakeholders.
This is why you should always use an appropriate reporting framework, such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), and the right sustainability reporting management software.
Ready for a proper ESG sustainability reporting tactic?