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How Do I Do It?
Preparing
the Report
If you are considering whether to produce a Sustainability Report, the reasons for doing so are compelling (and on this website, we tend to promote these reasons due to the nature of our work). But, indeed, there are a number of issues you need to consider before leaping into this activity:
1. Sustainability Reporting is not a one-off activity |
Once you have begun, people will be interested in the information you have gathered, what you are concluding and they will be interested in the ongoing improvements made. This will apply as much to an internal audience as an external one. |
| 2. Start small | To attempt to produce a fully accredited / comprehensive sustainability report in one go is an ambitious undertaking. Although it has been achieved, you must realize the capabilities of your organization and that significant changes in direction will require political maneuvering, change management and simple organizational inertia. The first iteration may be only for internal publication. |
| 3. Make sure you get executive commitment | Because of the significant impact of a report in today’s business environment, gaining executive commitment is essential and to see the project through, executive support is also highly desirable. (Note: the CEO must sign the report if following CERES or GRI guidelines.) |
| 4. Understand the nature of compliance | If you are producing a report in a compliance situation, ensure that you have a full understanding of the regulations and exceptions. There may not be a need to report or the need may be greater than you realize. Also the regulations may become tighter as time progresses and your reporting goals may need to move with them. |
| 5. Understand your audience | A deep understanding of whom you are reporting to is vital because this will determine the nature of your reporting project. Advocacy or NGO groups will require a very different emphasis in a report than one to SRI fund managers. |
| 6. Anticipate internal obstacles | Your project will always be at risk from internal obstacles, despite even the most fervent executive support. Almost certainly you will find that individual objectives and performance metrics run contrary to sustainability principles and shining a light on such practices will stand to put somebody in an awkward position. Be sensitive to these situations and handle them pragmatically. Remember, perfection is the enemy of progress. |
When you are certain that this is what you want to do, you can embark on the journey, one that we hope that will be rewarding and fruitful for all of your stakeholders.