Step 1: Identify material sustainability issues  

Identifying material sustainability issues involves a structured process of deciding which environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are most relevant to your organisation and its stakeholders. Assess factors such as stakeholder expectations, regulatory requirements, and the organisation’s impact on society and the environment. This first step in the process will help you as an organisation prioritise which sustainability issues to focus on in reporting and decision-making, ensuring that the focus is directed effectively to the most significant impacts and risks.  

Step 2: Define your sustainability goals and metrics  

Once you’ve identified material sustainability issues, it’s time to define clear and measurable sustainability benchmarks and goals that are aligned with your organisation’s mission, values and stakeholder expectations. Define key performance indicators that will state specific goals for environmental, social and governance performance.  

When defining your goals, make sure the metrics allow you to track progress. Choose quantitative and qualitative indicators that will provide a range of insights into your organisation’s performance. For example, if your goal is to reduce carbon emissions, define a KPI of a percentage reduction in emissions compared to a baseline year.  

You will also need set sustainability benchmarks that are realistic and achievable within the timeframe chosen. Break down those larger goals into smaller, more manageable targets that can be accomplished over a period. Ensure that the sustainability benchmarks are aligned and relevant to your organisation as a whole and set clear timeframes, short-term, medium-term, and long-term targets, to track progress over time. 

Step 3: Gather and analyse data  

Gathering relevant data to measure your organisation’s performance against sustainability goals involves accumulating information on a range of factors such as energy consumption, community engagement and water usage. Utilise appropriate tools and programmes to collect and analyse the data, ensuring its accuracy and reliability. This may include audits or reporting software. By gathering this data, organisations can track progress, identify the areas for improvement, and demonstrate the overall aim to sustainability.  

Step 4: Tailor the reporting framework  

Step 4 in sustainability reporting involves tailors the reporting framework to the organisation’s specific priorities. This starts with an assessment of the organisation’s characteristics, objectives and stakeholder expectations, looking at factors such as the industry sector or geographic location. Once potential frameworks have been identified, have thorough research of their framework to understand the requirements and reporting guidelines. Consider how each framework will address your sustainability benchmarks and goals and look out for the frameworks that will provide the top guidance.  

Once a reporting framework has been chosen, this is where you adapt it to suit your organisation’s needs by customising the reporting indicators and metrics. Tailoring the framework may involve aligning reporting criteria with industry standards or adding additional metrics to meet specific stakeholder concerns. It’s in this step that you tailor the framework to your organisation’s needs and priorities.  

Step 5: Engage with stakeholders  

Engaging with stakeholders is essential for understanding their expectations, concerns, and priorities regarding sustainability. Once you have identified both internal and external stakeholders, communicate with them either online or in person through surveys, focus groups or consultations to gather valuable insights on their priorities regarding sustainability.  

By actively engaging with stakeholders, you can gain the perspectives and interests of all needed for example, employees may prioritise issues such as career development and workplace safety whereas, investors may focus on financial performance and risk management.  

Step 6: Write the sustainability report  

Compiling your organisation’s sustainability efforts into a report involves structuring it clearly and coherently. Break the report down into sections, environmental performance, social impact and governance, to make it easier for the reader to navigate. Ensure you use a mix of visual data and studies to convey your achievements and challenges transparently.  

It’s crucial to address your sustainability goals, progress and areas that still need improvement. Use a reporting standard to adhere to so you can ensure your report is credible. This will not only showcase the commitment to sustainability but also engages stakeholders in the ESG performance.