Real Time ESG Tracking Adds Up to Quality Reporting
How accurate is your organization’s sustainability reporting? What exactly are you reporting? Does it show growth and progress within your environmental, social and governance programs?
The way you communicate your commitment to sustainability can either build trust with your stakeholders, or it can create skepticism. Sustainability reporting matters, and it’s a critical factor in your organization’s ability to build stakeholder confidence and increase access capital.
So, how can you develop quality reporting? Fortunately, the answer is simple: real time metrics tracking with accurate records to back it up. Organizations with robust sustainability programs and goals incorporate ESG into their daily operations. That means setting and adhering to several best practices for data reporting:
Establish a baseline. Begin with an official launch year to maintain data consistency and performance over time.
Build your organization’s strategy and set goals. Think “beyond the E” and bring everyone to the table for this work. Including diverse voices strengthens your strategy.
Be consistent in reporting periods. Ideally, create quarterly updates to compliment a comprehensive annual report.
Be consistent in reporting guideline methods. Select an ESG rating standard that fits your organization and stick with it.
Ensure quality of information. Regular, real-time tracking throughout the year will provide robust performance measurements that will engage stakeholders.
Accurate data is quality data, and the longer you wait to measure it, the less accurate it becomes. The reality is most of us can’t remember what we ate for lunch yesterday, much less how many volunteer hours employees donated nine months ago.
With the right execution including consistent, frequent tracking, they can be transformative tools that lead to growth, resiliency and most importantly, long-term sustainability.
Impacto is a leading strategy and communications firm that partners with organizations to create sustainability frameworks and solutions for real time ESG tracking and reporting.