Create new value for your business with Sustainability Reports

Chapter 3

¿How to prepare a Sustainability Report?

Preparing an integrated sustainability report implies having an integrating vision, since it gathers all the references to how your company uses "other resources" associated with its business (natural, social, human) and how they interact and impact its results.

 That is why gathering and disclosing this non-financial information is just as important as financial statements or quarterly results, and therefore requires a high level of assertiveness and a dedicated team.

How to do it?

1. Gather and prepare the information

If your organization has specific, measurable and time-bound sustainability objectives and has already started to implement actions to achieve them, it is time to plan and prepare the reporting process.

 Here the team should coordinate with stakeholders and managers of the organization to indicate which aspects should be addressed in the document, based on their experience and business strategies, but complying with the required reporting standards.

 With this information your business will determine the following criteria:

• What the report will accomplish.

• What content it will include.

• How the informatino will be compiled.

• What budget you will allocate.

2. Connect with stakeholders

This step in the production of the ISR is fundamental. As PwC explains , companies must think about the cross-cutting nature of their impacts, their values and their relationships with stakeholders.

Thus, the team designated to prepare the report must consult and involve stakeholders, i.e. the main internal and external stakeholders, in order to consider their opinions in the preparation of the report.

 So it is ideal to consult stakeholders on what is important to them and involve them, generating value, trust and an even closer relationship.

3. Define the objectives of the report

The main objective of this phase is to define what matters, i.e. Materiality, the heart of your report, and how much, i.e. Coverage.

 This involves defining the key aspects to be achieved for your company, responding to the information needs of your stakeholders and managing the impact of your ESG dimensions. This is directly related to your company's core strategy.

 It is also important to keep in mind the time your team will have to gather the information, create the document and disseminate it. This time includes:

• Information gathering.

• Consultations with stakeholders.

• Questions and answer sessions.

• Writing the document.

• Report approval.

4. Preparation of the report

This is the most extensive stage because it involves ensuring that the report has all the relevant information from and for the business. This point is not minor considering that  59% of executives consider that their annual reports generate value to the company's strategy, according to Deloitte's 2019 Sustainability Trends Study.

Once the report has been prepared, and before publishing it to the public, your team must corroborate the veracity of the information contained in it.

Who does what?

It is necessary to ensure the integrity of the information, its timeliness, quality and accuracy. For this reason, it is recommended that there be a dedicated team and that the Finance Manager or CFO lead the team.

Why the CFO?

• The CFO is used to working with high standards and evaluating both financial and non-financial aspects of the business.
• He/she acts transversally throughout the organization, defines the processes and activities that will be required for reporting, which in turn has repercussions on the formation of specialized teams and the acquisition of technological support tools.
• Acquires and develops competencies that complement its business and broadens its scope in relation to other stakeholders.