The sustainability report is the main tool for communicating a company’s sustainability policies. It is also a management tool because it helps the organisation define medium- to long-term improvement paths. It is a document that transparently reports to stakeholders both the positive aspects and the areas for improvement regarding the economic, social and environmental results generated by the company in carrying out its activities.
The Sustainability Report is, therefore, the answer to the market’s and stakeholders’ request to report with consistent, reliable and complete data on the company’s impact in terms of sustainability along all its components: environmental, social and governance.
Its development is not limited to reworking the company’s economic data from a different perspective. The value of a company today is decreed by many factors, such as its reputation, its intangible assets and so on. The sustainability report tells the story of value with a capital V, which is not only read from its turnover and profit. It is an internal process that affirms, first and foremost, the company’s values, designs organisational dynamics and communicates strategy.
Out of this process comes a greater understanding of the organisation’s work and an awareness of its identity and the relationships it has forged.
The report that is published tells all stakeholders about the organisation and its environmental and social commitment.
As explained by the GRI: “Sustainability reporting, as promoted by the GRI standards, is a corporate practice of publicly reporting its economic, environmental and/or social impacts and, therefore, its contributions – positive or negative – towards the goal of sustainable development. Through this process, an organisation identifies its significant economic, environmental and/or social impacts and communicates them according to a globally accepted standard. GRI standards create a common language for organisations and stakeholders to communicate and understand the economic, environmental and social impacts of companies. They are designed to improve the quality and global comparability of information about these impacts, enabling greater transparency and accountability for organisations.
Global Reporting Initiative – GRI
The GRI standards are created with the aim of improving global quality and comparability by enabling greater transparency and accountability of organisations.
They create a common language for organisations and stakeholders through which to communicate and understand the economic, environmental and social impacts of companies. Who is obliged to draw up a sustainability report?Chi ha l’obbligo di redazione del bilancio di sostenibilità?
- Large companies
- Listed SMEs
- Public Interest Entities
- Non-European companies
According to the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) the mandatory areas will be:
- Business model & strategy
- Governance
- ESG Due Diligence
- Intangible impacts
- Management modes
Dual materiality principle applies: inside-out and outside-inside perspective.
Assurance becomes a requirement at EU level Benefits
Benefits
- Improved knowledge and overall management of its impacts (ESG impacts against the 17 UN targets)
- Increased engagement with stakeholders
- Improved internal and external communication on sustainability issues
- Increased brand reputation
- Tool to attract customers, investors and capital
