How can you determine the scope of your sustainability report?

To determine the scope of your sustainability report, you need to ask yourself a few questions: 1. Are there any guidelines issued by your country/regulator that you need to report against? if it's a mandatory report, then this guideline is typically the minimum requirement. If no guidelines are available, you need to check which reporting framework is fit for your business and conduct all the required steps beforehand until you decide on what needs to be reported (materiality assessment, KPIs, targets, initiatives, etc.) 2. Do you have the data sources to meet the requirement defined in #1? What are the data points and what's the time span you're covering in your report? 3. What are your limitations (out of scope) that you can't cover?

Depending on the sector you work in, there might be some regulatory disclosure requirements already in place, e.g., disclosures on climate-related risks that can be addressed using Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). A good point to start is also by orienting yourself to GRI and undertake a materiality analysis in order to set scope, criteria, indicators, and disclosures necessary for your context.

Determine if the country has any regulation or advice in terms of reporting. (Listed company VS non-listed company. Mandatory vs optional reporting) And understand which type of framework best suited for the company and what is the "norm" for that sector of industry you are helping to report in. (In the Finance world, people will be using SASB-IFRS and TCFD. )

Choosing a reporting framework is the initial step in developing your sustainability report. Frameworks like GRI, SASB, or TCFD offer guidelines for structuring and presenting sustainability information. Align your selection with your goals, sector, and stakeholder interests to ensure relevance and effectiveness in your reporting process.

Engagement typically happens during materiality. Now double materiality offers even more insight to the scope of reporting. Companies usually take the reporting boundary where they have 100% operational control. With the rising demands of esg reporting, companies can consider to even include in their scope where they don't have complete operational control but it impacts their business financially.

To understand and engage stakeholders holders, their need and expectation, underlying system and frameworks need to be used in full. Else it just boils down to decoration of reports. My recommendation is to use manage system framework in full sprit. Consultation and Participation of employees in this course is significant is such process. This will give ESG report the much needed soil to have its base and flourish.

input and insights. Engaging stakeholders is crucial to gaining a comprehensive understanding of their expectations, which will inform the content and focus of your sustainability report. Utilize surveys, interviews, focus groups, or workshops to facilitate effective communication and collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

Conducting a materiality assessment helps identify the most significant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues that impact your organization and stakeholders. It involves evaluating the importance and relevance of various sustainability topics to prioritize what should be included in your report. This assessment ensures that your report focuses on issues most relevant to your business and stakeholders.

There are different ways to conduct a materiality assessment. One of which, is the Impact and Ease of Implementation Matrix. Classify each of the identified material into the matrix. Next, identify which is the priority to focus on, based on the matrix and tackle on the issues. Of course, do remember to draw and adhere to the boundaries that had been drawn, before it gets out of hand.

Materiality assessment is one of the key steps in preparing a sustainability report. It is a requirement in most of the reporting standards (like ESRS, GRI or IR). It defines the content of the report and needs to be a properly conducted process involving consultation within the organization and also with its external stakeholders. Check what is required by your reporting standards (e.g., single materiality, double materiality, dynamic materiality or forward-looking materiality) and be prepared to go through 5 stages: identifying key topics, prioritizing them, validating, preparing a materiality framework and finally evaluating the framework.

Unternehmen mit einer strukturierten und vor allem fundierten Wesentlichkeitsanalyse haben mehr als nur ihren Berichtsrahmen für Nachhaltigkeit bestimmt. Sie haben einen Fahrplan, welcher ihnen zeigt wo sie die gr??ten Hebel haben in ihrer Transformation zu beginnen und welche Stakeholder wo ihren Fokus setzen.

After identifying material issues, define the content of your sustainability report. Outline the key topics, goals, metrics, and data points that will form the core of your report. It involves specifying the aspects of your business operations and their impacts on ESG issues, ensuring transparency and clarity in communicating your sustainability performance.

I am assured that there are different types of report formats out there. Typically, the report should consist of the following: - Purpose of the report - The message (from founder/ CEO / company) - ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) engagement/disclosures - Highlight the top Risk / impact and the mitigation steps - Appendix with all supporting documents attached The general ideal format depends on various factors: - The transparency (How many items are properly disclosed) - The accuracy (the qualitative and the quantitative reports.) - The consistency (is the results and matrixes used consistent over the years) - Intended stakeholders (who the target audience for your report are)

The sustainability report should provide progress updates on long-term goals. In a project with an IT company, we established a practice of regularly updating stakeholders on the progress towards long-term sustainability targets, ensuring transparency & accountability Incorporating case studies & examples of sustainability in action makes the report more relatable & impactful. In my work with a financial institution, we included case studies demonstrating the real-world impact of their sustainability investments Collaborating with external experts can broaden the report scope. I've facilitated partnerships with environmental consultants to bring additional credibility & depth to the sustainability reports of companies I've worked with

I think we need to set boundaries; define the organizational boundaries for your report. This includes determining the entities, subsidiaries, or business units to be included and any exclusions or limitations. Consider factors such as ownership, control, influence, or significant impacts.

Preparing a report is a process that may involve many people in your organization. Make sure you have the proper resources, budget and organizational means for this. If you can choose a reporting standard, become familiar with it as different standards have different requirements. EU companies will no longer have this possibility as the CSRD requires them to prepare their reports based on ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards). Know the goals, recipients, scope and deadlines for publishing the report before you start working on it. Be transparent and honest - it is not about being 100% perfect, but about knowing your organization and being on the way to conducting the business in a more sustainable way.

We often focus on quantifiable metrics and data. However, it's crucial to recognize the inherent strengths and benefits your business brings to the table. In my case at Installed Building Products, as insulation installers, we play a pivotal role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from structures. Our contribution to energy efficiency in buildings directly translates to a reduced carbon footprint, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future. It's a subtle yet significant aspect of our sustainability efforts, showcasing the positive ripple effect we have on the environment and communities we serve. This impact may not neatly fit into conventional reporting structures, but it's a message worth highlighting.