Practical Sustainability Strategies, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 20Sustainability (CSR or ESG) Reporting

SUSTAINABILITY (CSR OR ESG) REPORTING

There are two main reasons that make sustainability (CSR or ESG) reporting vital. Firstly, all over the world there are sustainable development challenges, and, in order to bring solutions, companies must play a significant role by promoting economic, environmental, and social reporting. On the other hand, corporate scandals resulted in the loss of trust in the businesses, which can be overcome through a more open and clear communication.

CONTEXT OF REPORTS

The reporting process involves seven topics that corporations are interested in. The first one is called financial analysts. The main point of this topic is to find ways to connect the company with the financial world. Many corporations use the sustainability report in order to gain ground and build a stronger profile among financial analysts. Into this sector of the sustainable reporting companies provide the shareholders with information about the money the company spends for expanding, operating, and protecting the environment.

The second topic that sustainability reports incorporate is called Assurance and Verification. This topic includes detailed reporting process by specific companies—called verifiers—that inform the shareholders about the future goals of the company and recommendations in order to accomplish them.

The topic that follows is called Supply Chain reporting and discusses the complexity of cooperating with the suppliers. ...