When it comes to sustainability and ESG strategies, companies have moved from using compostable straws to integrating sustainability into their business practices, processes, product development, operations and strategy. To help them in this race for extra-financial valuation, many labels and certifications are emerging on the market and offer different levels of analysis : ESG reporting. Discover in this article, all about this tool.
ESG reporting, what is it in reality ?
ESG reporting is the disclosure of environmental, social and corporate governance data. If you want to know more about what is ESG reporting, check out the site. Like all disclosures, its purpose is to shed light on a company’s ESG activities while improving transparency for investors and encouraging other organizations to do the same. Reporting is also an effective way to demonstrate that you are achieving your goals and that your ESG projects are genuine, not just greenwashing, empty promises or wishful thinking.
Because ESG reports summarize the qualitative and quantitative benefits of a company’s ESG activities, investors can screen investments, align them with their values, and avoid companies at risk of environmental harm, social missteps, or corruption. .
Decentralized data in an ESG solution
Similarly, building unified ESG reporting involves relying on a wide variety of media. Spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentations, Word summaries. These different formats also work alongside many reporting systems, whether ERP or CRM. To complicate matters, each department has its habits in terms of processing and managing information. Opting for the digitization of extra-financial reporting therefore also means choosing a single ESG solution that centralizes all the procedures. This tool must constitute a unique support for all the departments and all the subsidiaries of the company. Objective : standardize the mode of data entry, processing and reading.
How to choose the right solution to digitize your extra-financial reporting ?
The choice of an ESG solution should facilitate ESG reporting to regulatory frameworks. It can also, however, facilitate the monitoring of ESG criteria in real time. In this case, the challenge is to adopt a strict ESG control policy, based on the automated monitoring of warning signals. It is this objective that explains why ESG software is equipped with tools such as real-time dashboards, customizable according to the structure’s performance indicators, or KPIs. With this type of software, a glance is enough to have a 360° view of different ESG areas.
The digitization of the ESG report also means the possibility of accessing data layout tools that help convince stakeholders. It is necessary to be able to map the indicators to make them easily readable, and to encourage investors.