2nd Edition

Gold Standard Sustainability Reporting A Step by Step Guide to Producing Sustainability Reports

By Kye Gbangbola, Nicole Lawler Copyright 2020

    This highly practical and concise book shows you how to undertake a reporting process and produce a sustainability report in line with the new standards and frameworks presented by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Fully updated to ensure compliance with the new standards, this second edition shows how to actually produce a sustainability report as well as the key processes in the planning: how to produce a business case; the development of actions plans; process and team leadership; and generating cross-functional buy-in. Templates are provided for certain steps in order to simplify the tasks involved at each point in the process. Anyone involved in delivering or developing a process to embed sustainability reporting for an organisation will find this book invaluable, for example, chief sustainability officers, chief financial officers and company secretaries. It will also be of interest to students in the field of sustainability.

    Introduction to Sustainability Reporting

    1 Sustainability Context

    The Journey

    Sustainable Development Goals

    Preliminaries

    Sustainability Leader and Coordinator

    Prepare the business case – Board Approval

    Setting out

     

    2 Prepare

    Assembling the team

    Understanding the GRI Standards and choosing the ’In Accordance’ Option

    Development Plan

    Kick Off Meeting

    Engage Internal Stakeholders (GRI Topic Table)

     

    3 Connect (wide range of stakeholders)

    Identify Stakeholders

    Prioritise Stakeholders

    Stakeholder engagement

    Build Stakeholder Relationships

     

    4 Define

    Determine Material Topics

    Produce Materiality Matrix and determine 'Thresholds'

    Validate Material Topics

     

    5 Monitor

    Monitor Topics and set policies and procedures to measure as necessary

    Set SMART Goals and Targets

     

    6 Report (with Content page template)

    Develop Narrative for the most senior person's statement

    Company Accreditation

    The Decalaration

    Draft Sustainability/Integrated Report

    Content Index

    Omissions

    GRI Report Checking Services

    Finalise Report and send for publication

    Launch Report

    Feedback

     

    7 Software

     

    8 Assurance

     

    9 Additional Insights for Reporters and Non reporters

     

    10 Q&A for Reporters and Non reporters

    Integrated reporting

     

    11 Sustainability Report Evaluation

     

    Biography

    Kye Gbangbola is the founder of Total Eco Management (TEM), a sustainability consultancy providing a variety of sustainability strategy, management and reporting tools and services.

    Nicole Lawler is Global Director of Sustainability at Total Eco Management (TEM).