The effects of climate change and the impact humans are having on the natural world is undeniable.

The world’s population is exposed to the threats we are all facing not only on TV and other media through graphic footage, but the effects of extreme weather events can be witnessed first hand. Governments have introduced laws and guidelines that force individuals to behave more responsibly such as plastic bag charges and recycling schemes.

It is now a priority for every citizen of the global village to make lifestyle decisions that factor in sustainability. But it is businesses that are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to global warming (Just 100 companies have contributed 71% of the earth’s greenhouse gases since 1988 (source Carbon Disclosure Project).

Not surprisingly, there is considerable legislative, peer and consumer pressure for organisations to openly disclose their sustainability metrics and performance. 

This does not just relate to GHGs, but also consumption of the earth’s resources, impacts on our natural environment and health and society. Therefore successful modern businesses need to demonstrate their social responsibility as part of their communication strategy and this has become a key theme in recent years

Crowd and Touchpoints Consulting & Communications have collaborated to develop this whitepaper which explores some of the drivers and best practice solutions for Sustainability Reporting.

Crowd is a global independent digital communications agency. Touchpoints Consulting & Communications is a leading communications and stakeholder engagement consultancy with deep expertise in the sustainability space. Together we are committed to accelerate the impact that we and our clients can have on mitigating some of the world’s sustainability challenges. 

Simply put, many companies have struggled with how to get started. This is not as valid as it once was. Numerous organisations have been set up to systemise sustainability reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has emerged as the clear leader with 80% of the world’s largest 250 companies using GRI standards, and nearly 14,000 organisations in total.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a nonprofit which aims to help organisations of all sizes provide information on their environmental performance in a way that is standardised. The current iteration (https://www.globalreporting. org/standards) is freely downloadable and these guidelines can be used to ensure a full set of company data is collected.

However, research (https://phys.org/news/2017- 01-current-corporate-sustainability.html) has revealed that even when GRI guidelines are rigorously followed the resultant report fails to resonate with its intended audience.

There are many reasons for this.:

• The most prevalent are that the content is not motivating or inspiring for stakeholders.

• The content is not original, memorable or engaging.

• The tone of storytelling is not in line with the overall brand vision and stakeholders information needs and opportunities to engage have not been mapped throughout the year.

So the challenge is to take what is potentially a quite dull, data driven report and turn it into an inspirational and engaging piece of communication which can contribute to your brand reputation.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by 193 companies in 2015. They provide a shared plan for all countries to end poverty, spur economic growth and protect our planet’s environment. The SDGs represent the first time that the private sector has been included as a partner in reaching the United Nations goals.

However, given the global nature and scale of the problems that the SDGs are intended to mitigate, it can be difficult for organisations to be clear about how they respond to these challenges and the impact they are making. Although organisations are encouraged to adopt the goals, it should be recognised that they were written for member states, not organisations. 

The value that the SDGs represent as a common language and sense of purpose for all of humanity cannot be understated.

In a recent PWC study of over 700 multi-national companies 72% of published sustainability reports mentioned the SDGs. Yet just 23% included meaningful KPIs and targets.

31% of published GRI Sustainability Reports mentioned a commitment to SGs.

Whilst public commitments to the SDG’s is evident, examples of aligning the SDGs with corporate strategy, supported by initiatives and the investment to realise goals are infrequent.

There is an art to unpackaging scientific data around sustainability and communicating it in a way that is engaging for the many different target audiences. 

It is not always a one-size-fits-all solution. Information needs to be presented in a way that is relevant and engaging for the target audience, it also needs to be presented in a manner that is totally aligned with the brand and corporate vision. An organisation’s sustainability performance will become increasingly important in terms of brand equity.

If you are going to reference the SDGs, ensure that your content is relevant to them. Currently many organisations try and adopt all of the SDGs, others simply badge their Sustainability Reports with the SDGs. 

Pick the SDGs that are most relevant for your organisation and focus on these. Unlike GRI Reporting standards, there is no mandate to report against all of the SDGs. Having identified your areas of focus, these too need to be communicated in a way that has a clear sense of purpose, which will resonate with the target audience, supported by initiatives and results. 

We all know that great content is a vital component of the marketing mix and sustainability should provide ample opportunity to tell your customers about all the great things your company is doing to meet and surpass it’s CSR obligations. Take your customers (and potential customers) on a journey. Even if you fell short of your goals and there is room for improvement, demonstrating an ongoing commitment is just as important and allows you to show improvement year-on-year. Stories are a great way to bring your business to life and show the real people within your organisation. If customers can see your staff acting in a socially responsible way, then clearly, a positive impression is created.

Adding personalities to your stories is a great way of bringing authenticity and realism. Your organisation is made up of real people with their own social responsibility concerns and efforts and highlighting these activities in your stories delivers a powerful impression. Choosing a selection of your staff from the full breadth of the company hierarchy, will illustrate how ingrained the CSR ethos is from the bottom to the top, as well as giving your brand an accessible ‘face’. Input doesn’t need to be in-depth: supporting statements and imagery which contribute to the themes being discussed are enough to create valuable authenticity

Your stories can provide a little extra for readers through the use of subtle animation and interactions which encourage users to explore and generally contribute to a memorable experience. 

Video can play a key role in this respect too and allows direct communication from business leaders as well as showing other staff actively helping to achieve sustainability goals. Typography and animation can be used where live footage doesn’t exist. In this video produced by Crowd for the Middle East’s leading logistics company Aramex, key business leaders were introduced with an overview of the company’s performance in a brief four minute video; summarising a weighty 170 page document. Of course, video content is also great for social content.

Corporate reports by their nature need to convey detailed and in-depth data to allow decisions to be made by shareholders. However, in order to make the data more accessible to those who don’t need that level of detail (i.e. customers), key statistics should be pulled out and promoted in a visual way. This provides a flavour of what is being discussed to the casual visitor. These figures, graphs or pie charts should be simple and can also be enhanced through animation to provide further visual interest. These elements make great social content especially if the animation is retained using short video clips.

Whilst sustainability will form an integral part of your business operations, the Sustainability Report is often treated in isolation yet this provides a perfect opportunity to push the brand guidelines in new and exciting directions. Here are some benefits in using a microsite format for your Sustainability Reporting… • Allows you to create something standalone and creative. • Avoids redevelopment of your existing website. • Creates something shareable. • Delivers search engine optimisation (SEO) benefits. • Acts as a hub for CSR themed marketing activity. • Saves costs in designing a new print or PDF version each year. • Can be updated regularly, internally if a Content Management System (CMS) is used.