What are the most effective communication strategies for sustainability reporting?

1 Define your purpose

Before you start writing your sustainability report, you need to define the purpose and scope of your report. What are the main objectives and messages that you want to convey to your audience? Who are your primary and secondary stakeholders, and what are their information needs and expectations? How will your report align with your organization's vision, mission and values? How will your report demonstrate your compliance with relevant standards, frameworks and regulations? By answering these questions, you can establish a clear and consistent direction for your report, and avoid irrelevant or redundant information.

2 Follow the guidelines

Sustainability reporting is not a one-size-fits-all exercise. Depending on your industry, sector and context, you may need to follow different guidelines and principles for reporting on your ESG impacts and performance. Some of the most widely used and recognized guidelines are the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Recommendations, and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Principles. These guidelines provide you with a common language and framework for disclosing your sustainability information, and help you enhance the quality, comparability and credibility of your report.

3 Use data and stories

Sustainability reporting is not only about presenting facts and figures, but also about telling stories. Stories can help you illustrate the context, challenges and achievements of your sustainability efforts, and connect with your audience on an emotional level. However, stories alone are not enough. You also need to back up your stories with data and evidence, such as indicators, metrics, targets and benchmarks. Data can help you quantify and measure your sustainability impacts and performance, and demonstrate your progress and accountability. Therefore, you need to balance data and stories in your sustainability report, and use them to support each other.

4 Be transparent and honest

One of the key principles of sustainability reporting is transparency. Transparency means being open and honest about your sustainability strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, successes and failures. It means disclosing not only the positive aspects of your sustainability performance, but also the negative ones, such as the risks, gaps, challenges and trade-offs that you face. It also means acknowledging the limitations, uncertainties and assumptions of your data and methods, and the areas where you need to improve. By being transparent and honest, you can build trust and credibility with your stakeholders, and show your commitment to continuous improvement.

5 Engage your stakeholders

Sustainability reporting is not a one-way communication, but a two-way dialogue. It is not only about informing your stakeholders, but also about engaging them. Engaging your stakeholders means involving them in the process of defining, collecting, analyzing and reporting your sustainability information. It means soliciting their feedback, opinions and suggestions, and addressing their concerns and expectations. It also means recognizing their contributions, achievements and perspectives, and highlighting their stories and testimonials. By engaging your stakeholders, you can increase their awareness, interest and participation in your sustainability efforts, and create value for them and your organization.

6 Make it accessible and appealing

Sustainability reporting is not only about the content, but also about the format and design. How you present your sustainability information can affect how your audience perceives and understands it. Therefore, you need to make your sustainability report accessible and appealing to your audience. This means using clear and concise language, avoiding jargon and acronyms, and explaining technical terms and concepts. It also means using visual elements, such as charts, graphs, tables, photos, icons and infographics, to illustrate and summarize your data and stories. Moreover, it means using different channels and platforms, such as print, web, social media and video, to reach and attract your audience. By making your sustainability report accessible and appealing, you can enhance its readability, usability and impact.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?