If you are a manager, entrepreneur, or leader in an organization, what would you want to do to leave a rich legacy? One of the best things that you can do is helping your company to operate sustainably through ESG sustainabilityreporting. The reporting process creates a new force that seeks to make the world a better place, not just for us but also for future generations. This post takes a closer look at sustainability reporting to identify the common issues that your company can focus on.
What is ESG Sustainability Reporting?
Sustainability reporting is a relatively new concept that focuses on measuring an organization’s performance in three main areas: corporate governance, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. The concept of sustainability was first brought out in 1992 during the first-ever UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), but it was emphasized in subsequent conventions, especially the World Summit on Sustainable Development of 2002. During these conventions, member states agreed that everyone, especially corporates, has a role to play in making the globe a better place by adopting sustainability.
It is worth noting that ESG reporting is not a regulatory requirement, but some governments have picked crucial components and ingrained them into their policies. For example, most governments require companies to have elaborate policies for waste treatment to reduce their impact on the environment. However, customers and other stakeholders have forced companies more to rethink their focus on sustainability because of the growing demand for holistic responsibility.
The Main Issues that You Should Focus on for Sustainability
As we mentioned in the definition, the focus of sustainability is the three core components, environment, social, and governance. Therefore, your reporting should be directed at issues affecting the three areas. Remember that this does not mean just the positive aspects; you should also report the negative effects that come with sustainability reporting. Below are the main issues your business should target:
Environmental Issues
When you open a business, whether it is a manufacturing facility or a services organization, it is bound to have some impact on the environment. When planning, the goal for sustainability should be reducing the impacts that your enterprise has on the environment or society. If your business does not have significant impacts, you can target to address common issues affecting the society around the globe. Here are some of them:
- Global warming and climate change.
- Water pollution.
- The problem of solid wastes.
- Loss of biodiversity.
- Depletion of natural resources.
Social Issues
For most people, the term sustainability is mainly associated with environmental issues, but that is not correct. The focus on sustainability cannot be complete without the inclusion of the social sphere of the environment. As a corporate body, sustainability reporting should be rooted on enhancing people’s lives, and this should start with your employees and extend to the community. Here are some of the issues that you might want to target:
- Helping address conflicts in society.
- Labor standards and human rights.
- Improving employee relations.
Corporate Issues
At the corporate level, there are many issues that you can focus on to enhance the success of your brand. Remember that addressing these issues can help your organization succeed and set the pace for others that might want to adopt sustainability reporting. Here are some of them:
- Tax avoidance.
- Director nominations.
- Executive pay.
As you can see, the concept of sustainability is a broad one, and it is paramount to approach it objectively. Therefore, you should set the goals, allocate enough resources, and test the adopted strategy with time. It will be a good idea to select a good sustainability reporting software to help you with the entire process. For example, you can automate the process of data collection to increase accuracy.
