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Top tips for reading sustainability reports
To mark International Literacy Day, this post is about reading sustainability reports. In 2016, the theme for International Literacy Day actually was “Reading the Past, Writing the Future”. Which is quite similar to a recent blog post about how to transform sustainability reporting to a tool for positive change. But that’s a different story, as…
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Developing roadmaps for reporting – for positive change
On June 22, 2017, I hosted a workshop on sustainability reporting for companies just starting on their reporting journey and those eager to take their reporting to a higher level. Here are some of the key learnings from the workshop, which took place at The Terrace. Start from why We kicked off the workshop with a…
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Non-financial reporting: from comply and complain to explore and explain
In the past months, there has been quite some noise about corporate reporting. There’s nothing unusual about that, as many companies publish their annual report in the first months of the calendar year. But this year, there seems to be more discussion about non-financial (or sustainability) reporting. Part of this is caused by the new…
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Top tips to cut the crap in reporting
In the last decade, transparency and corporate reporting progressed tremendously, allowing society access to performance information that is usually not available in financial reports. Sustainability (or non-financial) reporting enable stakeholders – like investors, regulators, employees, NGOs, communities, partners, etc. – access to information about a company’s social, environmental and economic impacts, directly from the source.…
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How to avoid the materiality traps
This time of year, the materiality marathon is on. Companies and consultants are on a journey to define what topics should be included in the upcoming sustainability or non-financial report. Materiality analysis can be an extremely useful and strategic exercise, with value far beyond reporting. However, the many definitions and adaptations to the concept can…
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Have a bath before you open your kimono
Is your company ready to open its kimono? In 2010, South African corporate governance expert Mervyn King made the audience laugh at the GRI conference. “If you’re going to open your kimono, you better have a bath first.” I really like his analogy for sustainability reporting and performance. And for companies with more than 500 employees in the EU,…
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Materiality: the pain of choices
In search of the right topics to include in their sustainability or integrated report, many companies use the materiality principle. The Global Reporting Initiative placed more emphasis on materiality when it last updated its sustainability reporting guidelines. Dutch sustainability magazine P Plus, recently interviewed me about transparency and materiality. Here’s a summarized translation of the Dutch article. Materiality…
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Integration of sustainability in education
The mission of Harvard Business School is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. So how does sustainability fit into a mission like this? On May 19, 2016, I moderated a panel with professors from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge on this topic. Here are the key outcomes of the discussion on integration of sustainability into…
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The verdict on the S-word – sustainability
At the 2016 Global Reporting Initiative conference, I much enjoyed moderating a panel on the S-word: sustainability. Prior to this conference session, my blog post Naming, claiming, framing the S-word, generated interesting commentary on social media. This input, great speakers and over 100 sustainability professionals (voluntarily in the room by 7:30 AM), made for an inspiring session. Reclaiming agency Kicking off…
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Reporting sustainability data for action
From May 18-20, 2016, I joined the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Global Conference. Here are my overall takeaways, highlights and concerns from this three-day event, focused on collaboration, the SDGs, big data and action for impact. A celebration of collaboration GRI’s Chair Christianne Wood opened the conference with powerful words to inspire collaboration. “There is no…
