Foreward
The world is changing. Consumer tastes, technological advancements, and shifting societal norms are a few factors impacting businesses’ operations. The pressure on organisations to address sustainable development challenges is also growing. In recent years, companies have come under increased scrutiny from all corners to ensure that they take the necessary steps to mitigate their impact on the environment and society. This trend has led to a strategic shift in how businesses operate, with sustainability now playing a significant role in investment decisions and organisational processes. As the importance of sustainability reporting grows, organisations must stay up-to-date with the latest disclosure standards and frameworks to know which best captures their operations. Corporate leaders also need to set aside resources and create policies that can drive ESG progress within their organisations. By doing so, they can mitigate ESG risks and harness potential opportunities.
Sustainability reporting is vital as organisations that will build business resilience need to communicate their progress on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues to all stakeholders. An effective sustainability report will provide insights into an organisation’s ESG performance, highlight material issues, and set out the organisation’s plans for improvement. There are different frameworks and standards that organisations can use to guide their sustainability reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards is the most used framework, it provides a comprehensive and internationally recognised reporting framework.
When reporting on their sustainability performance, organisations should be transparent, consistent, and reliable. They should also make sure that their report is accessible to all audiences and takes into account the different needs of different stakeholders.
In this thought leadership publication, we share insights on sustainability/ESG reporting from a global perspective to focus on Nigeria and some underlying global and regional trends and drivers. We hope these insights catalyse the discourse on sustainability generally and engender sustainability reporting across organisations.
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