If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a cross-functional team of enthusiastic experts to create a comprehensive sustainability report. But for many outside the core reporting team, the process can seem dry and a distraction (or unwanted diversion) from the day job.
As reporting requirements continue to evolve globally, it has never been more important to engage a wider group of colleagues. Sustainability professionals are under pressure. Around 70% suggest that the growing reporting burden is taking them away from delivering on-the-ground action and making progress towards company targets — a trend that will only intensify as the scope of mandatory requirements broadens.
Many sustainability specialists also suggest they are not best placed to lead on reporting. They are change agents, not risk managers.
Knowing the difference between standards
If this sounds familiar, how do you escape being stuck in ‘reporting mode’ for eternity?
Part of the answer lies in knowing the regulations — understanding the common denominators between requirements and the subtle differences. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the IFRS Sustainability Standards claim to be interoperable. But the former mandates a double materiality assessment — the latter a single materiality approach assessing an issue’s impact on company financial performance. A CSRD-aligned double materiality assessment is likely to meet IFRS requirements, but not the other way around.
It’s essential to think about different reporting requirements. One framework might require you to report on renewable energy as a share of total usage and another on the source of your renewable energy. Understanding these differences makes it possible to collect the data once to comply with both rules.
Even with the best planning, knowing exactly the information you need, you have to source it from somewhere. And that means engaging the wider business — no mean feat when many teams regard sustainability data collection as dull and a distraction. So how do you break the log-jam?
Getting engaged
Resistance is normal and often stems from a lack of knowledge. Why should employees get involved? What’s in it for them? How will it help them day to day to do their job better? Here, communication, training and support are essential. And explaining issues in terms that resonate for them rather than talking explicitly about ‘sustainability’ helps.
Employees want to help build a more sustainable business — you need to explain how reporting fits into that. It’s about giving them an understanding of the regulations and the growing trend towards mandatory reporting. They need a sense of what data is required now, as well as visibility into you will be looking for in future as rules tighten, so they can have an input into the best way to collect the data.
If you work for a privately-owned company, it’s worth highlighting the temporary crunch point that comes from having to face mandatory reporting for the first time. This forces your business to play catch-up with listed companies which have been reporting for many years.
Making sustainability relevant
But, above all, you need to sell the benefits to them and how it will help them to do their job better. That means tailoring the benefits to each role.
Sustainability helps to build resilience, improve efficiency and reduce costs — music to the finance team’s ears. It also drives revenue and attracts talent — great for HR. But only if customers and potential employees are aware of your efforts and convinced of your progress. Without data, the company’s sustainability story can quickly descend into greenwashing.
Procurement teams face increasing requests from customers, suppliers and business partners for sustainability data. Their support in collating data makes that process easier. They also gain the skills and knowledge they need to support suppliers to comply with your data requests, strengthening those business partnerships.
Celebrating progress
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Your sustainability data is part of that picture, allowing you to track progress and prioritise action. It’s important to show employees how it will help them focus on what matters and do their job better — not just how it benefits the business. It could be used to direct their efforts to decommissioning old equipment and saving energy, rather than spend time on a business case for new equipment when there’s limited budget to invest. This would spare them the frustration of having their proposal knocked back after hours of work.
Most importantly, reporting is about celebrating success. It demonstrates company — and team — progress. Supporting with data collection is their chance to showcase the good things that are going on within their team and function to the rest of the business and the wider world.
Employee engagement is tough and takes time. But, faced with The added understanding of your sustainability strategy which comes with engagement also helps drive action, shift your business towards being more sustainable, and realise your targets.
Context supports companies to tell their sustainability story — working in partnership to help identify and demonstrate progress from across the business. If you would like to talk about your organisation’s needs, please get in touch via www.contextsustainability.com or helen.fisher@contexteurope.com.
