Giving Compass' Take:

• Julia Wilson, writing for TriplePundit, describes the variety of ESG reporting available to companies and how these entities can make the most of strategic and thoughtful ESG reporting. 

• What are examples of effective ESG reporting? How can companies adopt a strategic approach?

• Read these four steps toward business sustainability.

"There are too many external reporting entities out there."

It’s a common refrain heard among sustainability and CSR professionals these days. Whether you’re looking at the external raters and rankers that seek to stack companies up against their peers, or the standards setters like GRI and SASB, we can all agree that there’s an abundance of organizations in the environmental, social, governance (ESG) reporting game. I, too, have shared in this sentiment, whether speaking among friends at a conference or as part of industry panel discussions; everyday, it seems, a new organization or framework emerges, asking on behalf of clients, investors, or even society more broadly, for information about your company’s ESG performance and strategy.

Managing lengthy questionnaires or responding to these requests on tight deadlines can feel overwhelming, particularly if the effort and resources needed to participate outweighs the value.

 

Sure, an abundance of reporting entities means that there’s plenty of excess out there. However, at the heart of external reporting lies the question: what does this diversity in ESG reporting entities afford us today? For starters, there’s value in recognizing the patterns that emerge.

The ability to spot trends across multiple frameworks or standards is one way to validate your efforts and reconfirm the strategic areas of greatest importance to your key stakeholder groups. Conducting a materiality assessment, understanding your operations and stakeholders, and connecting your business strategy with your top ESG focus areas are all key to developing a coherent strategy. ESG reporting frameworks and standards can provide external validation that your efforts are focused in the right direction.

Read the full article about the value of variety in ESG reporting by Julia Wilson at TriplePundit.