Corporate Sustainability Reports are becoming increasingly crucial for companies in Europe and globally.
In fact, you may have come across the following terms:
- Corporate Sustainability Reports;
- CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Reports;
- Sustainability Reports or;
- ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Reports.
Such reports are becoming increasingly crucial for companies across Europe, specifically due to new regulations, namely the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive or CSRD, which comes into play in 2025. In fact, The CSRD is set to expand the scope of EU sustainability reporting requirements, encompassing around 49,000 companies and groups across the EU, a significant increase from the current coverage of approximately 11,700 firms.
Below I’ll provide further details of Corporate Sustainability Reports, their purpose, and who writes them.
Definition of Corporate Sustainability Reports
Corporate Sustainability Reports are comprehensive documents companies produce to communicate their sustainability performance and initiatives to stakeholders. These reports provide detailed information about a company’s:
- Environmental impact
- Social responsibility efforts, and
- Governance practices.
Hence, the acronym ‘ESG’ represents each of the above elements.
More specifically, a Corporate Sustainability Report includes a wide range of information on the topic of sustainability, such as a company’s:
- Sustainability goals, strategies, and targets.
- Data on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, water usage, and other relevant environmental metrics.
- Social aspects like labour practices, employee diversity, community engagement, human rights, and philanthropic activities.
- The governance section typically outlines the company’s ethical business practices, board structure, executive compensation, risk management, and compliance with applicable regulations and standards.
What is the Purpose of Writing a Corporate Sustainability Report?
The primary purpose of Corporate Sustainability Reports is to enhance transparency and accountability, allowing stakeholders to assess a company’s sustainability performance and progress toward environmental and social goals.
These reports are crucial for investors, customers, employees, regulators, and the wider public to make informed decisions about supporting or engaging with a company based on its sustainability practices.
Additionally, reports are also a fantastic (and often underrated!) marketing tool and can form part of a company’s overall branding. They can also be a tool for new hires by getting potential employees interested in the company’s ESG projects and initiatives and potential partners or shareholders.
Who Writes Sustainability Reports?
Sustainability reports are typically written by the company’s internal sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) teams in collaboration with various departments and stakeholders. This is because reports require input and data from multiple areas of the company, including environmental management, human resources, supply chain, finance, and governance.
Writing a sustainability report often involves collecting and analysing data on the company’s environmental and social impacts, setting sustainability goals and targets, and reporting on progress. The sustainability team is responsible for coordinating these efforts, engaging with different departments to gather information, and ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the report.
WordWorx Can Help Write Your Report
Nowadays, many companies request the support of external consultants or sustainability reporting experts to assist in their report writing. A consultant can provide guidance on best practices, help with structuring the overarching sustainability narrative, and work with the figures and stats obtained internally to create a strong sustainability story. They help piece together your company’s sustainability story by interviewing and talking with stakeholders — obtaining a valuable external perspective on sustainability (something which is trickier if the document is written internally).
Contact Elizabeth of WordWorx today (info@elizabethjoss.com) to learn how we can help you compile your upcoming Corporate Sustainability Report.