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Sustainability Reporting:Why You ShouldExtendYour Influence to Others

Are youthinking of a way to enhance the performance of yourorganization? Perhapsyouwant to make a better impact on society and have been wondering about the best strategy. One of the top options issustainabilityreporting. Unlike in the pastwheninvestorssimplyused to check the financialreturns and customers, ads on television, times have changedsomuch. Now, theyscrutinizeeveryorganization’soperations and onlyworkwiththosethat are focused on sustainability. This iswhyyoushouldalso notbeleftbehind in adoptingsustainability. But instead of workingalone, wewill tell youwhyitwillbe a greatidea to askothers to alsoadoptsustainability.

Why Sustainability Reporting?

The sustainability concept was first broughtforwardduring the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)in 1992 whenmember states sought for answers to addressenvironmental challenges. It is the disclosure of social, governance, and environmental impacts of an organization’soperations. However, the process extends to setting goals and strategiesthat help companiespromote a sustainable global economy. Whenyouadoptsustainability, itcomeswith the followingbenefits:

  • Increasingawareness of opportunities in an organization.
  • Cutting down costs of operations in an organization.
  • Better long-term management strategy and planning.
  • Makesiteasy to compare an organization’s performance bothinternally and across the industry.
  • Mitigatinggovernance, environmental and social issues iseasy.

The benefitsthatwe have listedabove are only a few. You shouldexpect more by following the right procedures for ESG sustainabilityreporting. To enjoythem and even more, youshouldalsoconsiderusing the right sustainability management software.

The Importance of WorkingwithOthers for Sustainability

The following are some of the main reasonswhyyoushould not considerwalking the path of sustainabilityalone. Indeed, roping in others to addressdifferent issues can winyou a lot of admiration from stakeholders, includinginvestors and clients.

  • The Challenges Facing the Globe are Trans-Boundary

The main reasonwhy the UN Convention on Environment and Development (UNCED) of 1992 and the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD) of 2002 emphasizedsustainabilityreportingisthatmany challenges today are trans-boundary. For example, even if you put a lot of effort intocutting down emissions or wastereduction, but others do not, the damage to the atmospherewillstill continue. Indeed, the polluted air or water willstill have an impact on yourfirm, perhapsdirectly or indirectly via the supplychain. Therefore, youbettertry as much as possible to get more playersalsojoin the sustainability initiative.

  • It HelpsCompaniesOperate on the SameLevel

One thingthatyouneed to appreciate about ESGsustainabilityreporting isthat the activitiesyou select come withsomecosts. For example, if youopt to fund conservation activities or install new equipment, the requiredfunds have to befactoredinto the budget. This can raise the cost of operations and those not focused on sustainabilitymightget an undueadvantage. This iswhyyoushould encourage more enterprises in yourindustry or supplychain to focus on ESG sustainabilityreporting.

  • Achieving Global SustainabilityisEasierwhenWorking as a Group

By encouragingotherplayers to join in sustainabilityreporting, itbecomeseasy to make a bigger impact. For example, if all the manufacturers in your country agree to cut down emissions by 50%, the impact willbe more significant. The best parties to target are the ones in yoursupplychain, especiallythosethatyou have entere dintospecificagreements with by askingthem to addsustainability.

If youwant to besuccessfultoday, itis prudent to implement sustainabilityreporting correctly and in line with the coreprinciples, such as accuracy, materiality, transparency, and flexibility. As we have demonstrated in this post, your efforts for global sustainabilitywillbe more effective by workingwithother stakeholders. Remember to capture such efforts correctly on your report alongsideothersustainability-related info gathered on yourorganizationinternally.

Maxim Joy
the authorMaxim Joy