Climate change, sustainability, and ESG considerations are increasingly taking center stage in corporate boardrooms across the world. When measuring and communicating corporate sustainability performance through sustainability reports or ratings, executives face a rapidly evolving and complex set of choices. As a result, companies are at risk of falling behind or choosing inappropriate reports and ratings that don’t drive sustainability performance and open the door to accusations of greenwashing. This article introduces the sustainability reporting matrix, a tool that helps executives and sustainability managers to focus on the sustainability reporting standards and ratings that are most closely aligned with their strategic requirements and the information needs of their stakeholders.
Deciding which metrics to use when reporting on corporate sustainability performance can be overwhelming for executives. Some companies report only their greenhouse gas emissions, while others publish glossy reports about their CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives or use their ESG (environment, social, and governance) ratings as a badge of honor. But most executives don’t know why — or when — to choose one of these reports over another.
