Creating engaging social value, sustainability, and ESG reports requires a delicate balance. While it can be tempting to pack in all the insights you’ve gathered, the truth is you don’t want to report on everything you possibly can.
First of all, it can take up far too much manpower or capabilities to do so without sacrificing on data quality. You also run the risk of wasting time and resources on reports that fail to actually penetrate the core issues your audience actually cares about.
With this in mind, we’ve got three questions you can ask to ensure you’re staying authentic to your organisation in your non-financial reporting. This way, you can make sure you’re covering all the important data points, putting your reader first, and getting maximum value for money.
What laws and regulations are you bound by?
Depending on your organisation’s size or industry, you could be bound by any number of disclosures. Such as those related to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TFCD), UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDRs), or Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR) – just to name a few.
Staying compliant shouldn’t be the be all and end all of your reporting. But a core first step is understanding all that you’re obligated to include.
While frameworks like these make some disclosures a requirement, that doesn’t mean they’re prescriptive. You can still tailor the information you include according to the individual needs and requirements of your business. As well as the interests of your stakeholders. How do you make the data required by the SECR more relevant to your business and meaningful for your audience, for example?
Who are your stakeholders?
The needs and interests of the users of your reports will prove critical to making them more impactful and effective. Investors, customers, and staff all have very different needs. They’ll all use your reports in different ways.
So for each of these audience types, ask yourself the following: What information will they need to see? What will they want to know? How will they best receive this information? How often?
Putting the needs of your audience first helps you pick and choose only the most relevant, beneficial insights. It’ll help you lay out your reports in more accessible ways and ensure your reports are truly valuable to others – not just a glorified pat on the back for your organisation.
💡Food for thought: The varying needs of different audience types sparks an important question. Can one report truly appeal to all? Or could you be best creating different versions of your report for different audiences? For example, a more in-depth breakdown of data for investors, a simple interactive webpage for customers, and a real-time dashboard for your staff.
What does it mean to your organisation?
Compliance is important. But equally important is sharing the full picture of your organisation’s journey. By focusing too much on compliance, organisations miss out on telling a compelling, authentic story that has a real impact.
What does social value actually mean to your organisation? What are your priorities? And what challenges have you faced? You don’t just want to share the core data that makes you look good. You should have a glimpse into where you started, where you are now, and where you hope to be in the future.
💡Top tip: Anything over and above your reporting requirements should be chosen based on materiality to your organisation and its stakeholders. We love using materiality matrices to help our clients identify the themes and priorities most relevant and valuable for their reporting.
Generating annual, quarterly, or even monthly reports can be a significant time and resource investment. So you want to make sure the finished products are actually relevant and valuable for the end-users. The trick is to take a more holistic, methodical approach to reporting. One that puts your audience first, checks all compliance boxes, and is based on materiality to your organisation.
Impact makes capturing, evaluating, and reporting your social value simple. With decentralised data capture, innovative survey functionality, and real-time reporting, we make communicating your impact easier than ever. To find out more, schedule a demo, or get in touch with the team on 0161 532 4752.