Sustainability Reporting: a means to an end

Sustainability Reporting, and the collection, analysis and presentation of annual data, may be treated as an end goal by businesses keen to comply with investor, consumer or legal requirements – as opposed to a component within an ongoing, long-term commitment. Others, however, consider it a distraction from the very real need for changes in business priorities, governmental policy and corporate behaviour.

Don’t get me wrong, environmental reporting – whether mandatory or voluntary – is a critical component of a company’s decision making, brand identity and reputation. When done properly, it provides insight into the organisation’s environmental impacts and related business risk, and is crucial to business resilience. But all too often it is considered a bureaucratic or checkbox exercise, rather than a step in a process to effectively minimise operational risks.

Reporting with purpose

Critics of sustainability reporting refer to common cases of inappropriate metrics, incomplete or misleading information, and irrelevant milestones that are mere “greenwashing” (Harvard Business Review). Certainly, some of the reports I have seen appear to be one-off datasets that don’t support the key function of reporting against established targets over a given timeline. It’s like going on a diet and only weighing yourself once (or perhaps weighing yourself once month then taking a waist measurement the next) – there is no way to know if it is working at all!

In my 30 years working with travel & tourism businesses, ‘reporting season’ tends to bring a period of almost complete hibernation to the person or team tasked with sustainability. The significant time taken to gather, analyse and interpret data, and produce a well-presented report, appears to prevent those responsible from actually implementing any sustainability measures.

Putting nature at the heart of sustainability

Our society, economies and financial systems are embedded in nature, not external to it. Nature is deteriorating globally, and biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. This poses significant risks for businesses, financial systems and economies, and these risks are increasing in severity and frequency. For long-term resilience, businesses require an understanding of their interface with nature, how operations depend and impact on it, and what actions are necessary to progressively reduce those risks and restore nature (to compensate for unavoidable ongoing impacts).

Thankfully the tide in turning, and in recent years there has been a societal shift from voluntary to mandatory reporting, strengthened since 2022 by the UN Biodiversity Plan. A growing number of national and international reporting requirements put nature at the heart of sustainability, requiring all large and listed companies, at least, to disclose information on the risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues, and on the impact of their activities on people and the environment.

Nature Positive Tourism

ANIMONDIAL’s collaboration with the World Travel & Tourism Council has helped define a process, customised to travel & tourism operations, that enables businesses to regularly monitor, assess and transparently disclose nature-related risks, impacts and opportunities. The Nature Positive Tourism approach emphasises the importance of regular reporting as a means to monitor and report on progress, supporting an ongoing process of minimising biodiversity loss and helping to restore nature in destinations.

To lessen the burden on sustainability teams and the wider business, ANIMONDIAL has also created NATOUR IMPACT . This is an online evaluation tool that enables a travel & tourism business to assess its nature-related impacts and risks, and to identify opportunities to reduce risk and maximise positive impacts. Aligned with environmental standards, business obligations and industry best practice, NATOUR IMPACT provides a cost- and time-efficient way to report on nature-related risk. Our goal is to support businesses, freeing up time to focus on delivering real change.

Next steps:

Find more guidance on environmental disclosure and NATOUR IMPACT on ANIMONDIAL’s new website, packed with information to guide and support businesses towards a nature positive future.??