Not everything needs to be in your report

Every year, companies face the same dilemma: how do you fit growing expectations for transparency, data, and detail into a report that your stakeholders will read? The solution isn’t to write longer reports. It is to write smarter (and shorter) ones.

As sustainability reporting evolves, our best recommendation is to treat your sustainability report and your digital sustainability hub as two complementary storytelling tools, each with its own purpose. The report should ideally tell a story of what you achieved that year, while the hub can have all the policies, case studies, frameworks, etc. that are usually unchanged every year.

The report

Your sustainability report should be focused, engaging, and year specific. Think of it as your annual highlight reel. You are trying to tell a story, and anything that is not adding to the story should go on the appendices or your sustainability hub.

What should you include? We suggest:

• Key developments
• Leadership messages (some of them, forward looking)
• Major initiatives and outcomes
•  Progress against targets
• New risks, opportunities, and strategy shifts
• Stories that illustrate impact

The sustainability hub (website)

Your sustainability hub is where stakeholders go for more depth and references. Unlike the report, it doesn’t need to change each year. Use the hub to house all the foundational content and technical details. You can use hyperlinks in the report so people can easily find this additional information.

What should go here? We suggest:

• All policy documents
• The sustainability strategy’s framework (engagement maps, methodology for developing your materiality matrix, etc.)
• Archived reports
• Historical baselines
• Your ratings and certifications
• In-depth positions on how you intend to manage your material topics
• In-depth descriptions of your governance structure (governance bodies’ activities, bios, etc.)
• Topic-specific multi-year case studies (or testimonials)

Pro tip: use multimedia in your hub. Different story telling formats reach different audiences, so think outside the box and include factsheets, videos, infographics, etc. And remember to update your hub in real-time when data or regulations shift, without waiting for next year’s reporting cycle.

Not sure where to start? We can gladly help you design an optimal communications strategy that can deliver impact, clarity, and transparency.

I hope you found this interesting. As usual, if there is anything we can help you with, or if there is an ESG topic you would like to know more about, please let us know.

Best,

Marimar

CEO, Miranda ESG