ESG Reporting

commWhy Companies need to Report

Key drivers of reporting growth and maturity include:

• Regulatory compliance

• Investor relations

• Reputation management

• Competitive benchmarking performance

• Climate transition commitments

• Global growth in standards-based reporting

Ways Reporting has Evolved

Today's reports have taken a sharp turn towards providing more useful insights to regulators and investors.

This means ESG reports require more than attractive PR narratives or stories to demonstrate impact. Claims increasingly need to be backed by detailed evidence and auditable data trails to prevent greenwashing risks.

Balance is also key. Companies are expected to report positive and negative impacts, risks and opportunities. Principles of transparency and integrity in reporting depend on strong governance processes and structures.

Companies meeting reporting best practices show evidence of clear policies, targets, actions, financial resources and long-term plans dedicated to material ESG issues. In addition, the quantitative data requirements of require greater methodological clarity and data quality controls.

In other words, quality improvements in reporting leads to stronger internal business management overall.

Balancing Depth and Usefulness

A key challenge of preparing a high quality annual ESG report is not the question of “what to report” but “how to report it.” Reports often satisfy multiple demands within an organization:

• Strategic alignment and crafting compelling narratives for internal stakeholders

• Demand for decision-useful insights

• Investor-grade qualitative and quantitative data requirements

• Timeliness and accuracy in meeting regulatory requirements to minimize reporting risks

• Repurposing captivating report narratives for marketing or stakeholder engagement purposes

• Presenting information in multiple reporting formats beyond annual reporting (CDP questionnaires, EcoVadis questionnaires, etc)

It is essential to filter information through the lenses of strategic alignment and materiality to know how best to report for a given organization.

From Reporting burden To Benefit

Organizations that view reporting as an opportunity have a greater chance to strategically benefit from the reporting process.

ESG transparency has immense potential to embed a clear direction and purpose within a corporate value creation strategy. It’s necessary to motivate stakeholders and mobilize resources toward building a strong brand, embedding supply chain resilience, and making operational improvements.

Leveraging the reporting process requires strategic planning to implement change from current to desired states for reporting communications, capabilities, controls and broader strategic sustainability.

Support for ESG Reporting Communications

As a certified ESG specialist, I support corporations preparing their annual sustainability reports and strategic communications narratives.

• 25+ ESG reports as the lead copywriter

• Direct support reporting companies’ sustainability teams or

• Support for teams in reporting consultancies

My expertise blends highly effective corporate communication skills with an in-depth knowledge of corporate sustainability regulatory policies, trends and reporting standards and frameworks.

I’ve supported annual ESG reporting projects for companies across diverse industries, including: IT, banking, commercial real estate, retailers, rail industry manufacturing, steel industry manufacturing, building supplies and energy infrastructure.

Here are more details about my ESG reporting process:

Reporting project Steps

• Strategic planning and report benchmarking

• Key message development

• Gap assessment

• RFI creation and stakeholder interviews

• Report outline

• Copywriter content development

• Design development

• Revision rounds and stakeholder approvals

• Proofreading

• Final board-level content approval

Approximate project timeline

• 4 months without assurance before publication

• 6 months with limited assurance for CSRD reports

• 6 months for inaugural reports

My Unique approach to reporting

• Brand voice and messaging: Developing a report aligned to a company’s brand voice and identity is essential to effective disclosures and strategic narratives. I use companies existing reported information, communications approach and brand voice guidelines to integrate an appropriate tone for the report and its key audiences.

• Strategic disclosure: As most companies know, disclosure is an art, not a science. I work with companies to promote information-rich transparency into their sustainability activities. I always treat my clients as the experts of their own business strategy, while offering insights into stakeholder, investor and regulatory expectations as needed.

• Project optimization: ESG report writing is a collaborative process requiring significant coordination with designers and sustainability leadership teams. I work effectively with an organization’s key team members to meet internal deadlines and goals, including project management and scheduling to drive timely project completion.

👉 Schedule a discovery call to learn about my rates and process.