Taking the rigmarole out of reporting: Outsourcing your sustainability reporting - the right way.

Facing up to the challenge

Sustainability reports are undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to communicate an organisation's ESG approach. Done well they can speak to a whole host of stakeholders including customers, investors, employees and rating agencies.

However, as someone who's been an in-house sustainability manager and produced their own company's sustainability report, I know firsthand that it can be a real challenge.

It's a juggle – one that combines many pressures and requires a broad range of skills. To create even a rudimentary report, you need to be skilled at stakeholder engagement, data analysis, regulatory understanding, copywriting, design and project management, as well as having ESG knowledge and expertise. Confounding this in recent years is the changing regulatory and best-practice landscape. The challenge can feel overwhelming.

Is outsourcing the answer?

Understandably, many organisations are now choosing to outsource all or part of their sustainability reporting process. But choosing the right partner can be a challenge in itself. They need to be able to simplify complex reporting requirements, bring in specialist expertise, keep projects on track and produce a report that reflects the reality of your business and meets the needs of stakeholders.

And not all ESG reporting consultancies are the same. Many may be able to design a report, but will they make the process an easy one? Or add to your workload because they don’t manage the project effectively? You need to choose carefully.

Which sustainability reporting partner?

Evaluating potential ESG reporting consultancies can feel overwhelming. It's easy to get carried away by the beauty of a designers’ work, or the big ‘name’ they’ve worked with before. And while it should be a key factor in your decision-making, it's how the design exemplifies and amplifies the content and other brand assets that really matters from a sustainability reporting perspective.

And, if you want to really reduce your headaches, you're not just buying a sustainability report, you're buying a ESG reporting consultancy for the journey too. The consultancy team will be people you work with day in, day out for months to define, shape, and bring to life your company’s sustainability approach. Working with them needs to be pain-free and enjoyable.

So, when you're thinking about your sustainability reporting partner there are three criteria you need to look for:

1. Technical expertise.

Sustainability reporting is nothing without content, and that content has to be carefully considered and managed. You need an ESG reporting consultancy that:

• Knows the compliance and best practice reporting standards (GRI, SECR, UK SRS, TCFD, ESRS, IFRS, SASB, UN Global Compact, EcoVadis etc.) and can make sure you meet them.

• Understands ESG materiality and can identify the topics that need to be covered in the report.

• Appreciates that data, policies, processes and strategy (where available) are the foundations to a good report but that to bring it to life you need case studies, context and structure to the content.

• Accepts that you can only convey what a company is doing or committed to doing and doesn’t misrepresent your organisation or plans.

2. Intelligent and effective creative talent

You need an ESG reporting consultancy that:

• Makes it distinctively your document by understanding your brand positioning: reflecting your business’ visual identity and your unique tone of voice. After all, your sustainability report is a vital expression of your brand’s ethos and approach.

• Understands and communicates the bigger picture of the report - the key messages and themes the report is trying to convey, and how the report complements other company documents or strategies.

• Has proven expertise in editorial design. Creating a report that keeps people reading through its messaging and design system is an art, as is ensuring every page, chart and case study is created for clarity, legibility and inclusivity.

• Writes with expertise, ensuring impact and effectiveness, and is experienced in writing for brands. With a detailed approach to messaging, pace and hierarchy of information, your report will be both accessible and engaging.

  
  

3. Exceptional project management

You need an ESG reporting consultancy that:

• Delivers on time and brief, to multiple stake holders, handling complexity and timely communication with ease.

• Plans, plans, and plans. Creates and manages delivery against detailed and transparent project plans that cater for multi-stakeholder engagement and review cycles.

• Communicates effectively and succinctly with stakeholders, keeping deliverables on track and updating everyone on the project’s progress.

• Organises report drafts and other information systematically, securely and confidentially.

• Is available routinely through weekly project meetings and replies to queries quickly and effectively.

Reduced headaches, clear progress, and a visibly better result.

There's a lot to consider when it comes to reporting, and at Rawstone we partner with experienced, industry-leading creatives to make sure that we meet all the above. It's this combination of ESG, design and copywriting expertise that's worked time and time again and again to produce sustainability reports that delight our clients.

“Our sustainability report process was streamlined thanks to Rawstones' excellent project management. Additionally, JMG’s creative design work truly brought our achievements to life within the report, making it both informative and visually engaging. We highly appreciate their professionalism and expertise.” Tamsyn Laity, National Sustainability Manager at Aldi UK.

To talk to us about your sustainability reporting and how we could help, get in touch.

Authored by: Caroline Johnstone