Businesses all over the world are paying more attention to reporting on their sustainability performance, specifically related to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects of their activities. This is often directly driven by investors’ and consumers’ increasing interest in the ESG performance of a company. Reporting helps companies to communicate their multifaceted value, benchmark their own processes against the market, reduce costs and improve efficiency, develop long-term policies and management strategies, and eventually mitigate negative, and boost positive, ESG impacts.

Traditionally, ESG reporting is done via an annual sustainability report (corporate sustainability reporting, CSR). Although, more and more organisations are now reporting on their non-financial performance as part of their annual report (integrated reporting). Following common reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, helps to guide organisations through the process and present a comparable result valued by stakeholders.

When choosing what and how to report on the ESG aspects, organisations should first indicate why it is necessary, its importance for internal and external stakeholders, the possible legal requirements, what the company’s largest impacts could be, and the resources available to conduct the reporting. Such elements help to identify relevant aspects and indicators, as well as the framework of reporting.

Relevant sustainability performance and targets are often industry-specific, but one common target is shared between many industries: the company’s carbon footprint. Measuring your carbon footprint is an advantageous way to begin looking into the overall impact your product and organisation have on the environment and society, and set emission reduction targets, including Science-based targets. Carbon calculations are also necessary for sustainability reporting, such as complying with the Global Reporting Initiative standards, participating in the Carbon Disclosure Project, or seeking an Ecolabel.

Focusing on reporting the health and safety (HSE) performance of the company’s activities (or separately its products) could be one of the most traditional approaches. While characterised by less connectivity to environmental, financial, and landscape-social aspects, nowadays HSE’s value for the modern investor and customer is somewhat limited. This is because it is grounded in direct impacts and norms, it is one of the most straightforward methods, and will inevitably comply with regulations.

Companies are also reporting on their ESG impact via impact reporting that is focused on the negative and positive externalities of the company’s business activities. Businesses and organisations rely on many resources including raw materials, industry knowledge, employees, investors, and consumers, which can be categorized into different forms of ‘Capital’. These are Natural Capital (environmental), Economic Capital (financial), Human Capital (knowledge and skills), or Social Capital (societal).

One way to assess the contribution of a company is to measure the value of these resources by quantifying the impact in financial (monetisation) or physical terms. By assigning a value to various environmental impacts, it can be more easily compared to other indicators and communicated to management. For example, this approach can be applied using Eco Efficiency Analysis, where financial information is combined with environmental information in order to optimise reduced environmental impact in proportion to a product’s cost-effectiveness.