How to approach a sustainability report systematically?

Sustainability reports are more than just compulsory exercises – they are strategic communication projects. But how do you plan and create a sustainability report step by step? This guide shows the typical phases from the kick-off idea to the finished report and gives tips on how to keep the focus on strategic communication despite uncertain and new ESG requirements (CSRD, VSME & Co.).

Before the sustainability report is started, a project team should be defined for project management, ideally consisting of corporate communications and sustainability management. Define clear roles: Who acts as project lead? Who provides data (e.g. CO₂ figures, employees’ numbers)? Who provides input and who checks the data and facts provided? A project team ensures that all relevant data and perspectives are taken into account.

Another key issue before the kick-off is the choice of reporting standard and the reporting boundaries. Should the report be prepared voluntarily according to a framework such as GRI or DNK, or are you already facing the CSR reporting obligation? This is where uncertainty currently prevails: the regulatory requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are in flux – keywords such as ‘CSRD-light’ (a possible slimmed-down version) and new SME standards (VSME – Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs) are circulating. Many companies are wondering whether they should start now or wait and see.

Every sustainability report begins with a kick-off workshop organised by the project team. This kick-off meeting lays the foundation: Goals, responsibilities and the scope of the project are clarified in a collaborative way. Ideally, top management should provide early support, as a cross-divisional project, because creating a report requires support from the entire organisation and sufficient time. With an official kick-off, ideally by the management (often in the form of a workshop and a general email), resource issues can be addressed directly.

A sustainability report is a team effort – experts from various departments (environmental management, HR, compliance, corporate communications, etc.) should be on board. As part of the kick-off workshop, the key sustainability topics for the report and the lighthouse topics from the individual departments are identified. Ideally, the responsible department prepares for this with a presentation or a short proposal. The materiality analysis, in which internal and external influencing factors are assessed, has proven its worth in advance, but can also be omitted for simple and voluntary reporting. In this step, the key areas of action are identified – from climate and environmental impacts to employee concerns and the supply chain. This often reveals potential flagship projects, i.e. initiatives or successes that are particularly worth highlighting and can serve as examples later in the report.

Once the lighthouse topics have been identified, a solid editorial plan and timetable are required. A sustainability report is a project with a deadline – often linked to annual report publications, trade fairs or CSR reporting cycles. You should therefore prepare a timetable early on: What are the milestones leading up to publication? Typical steps in the timetable are, for example Completion of the materiality analysis, input enquiry in the departments deadline X, first text draft by date Y, feedback loops, final coordination with the management, layout completion, proofreading and finally printing/PDF creation or online publication. This plan serves as a guideline for the team and helps to avoid shortages.

It is worth allowing for buffer times, particularly at the end – especially if there are still uncertainties in the ESG specifications. For example, it may turn out that additional key figures are required or that external stakeholders expect a certain presentation. A harmonised schedule with sufficient flexibility absorbs such surprises.

The decision must also be made regarding multilingualism and the type of publication: Should the report be published bilingually (German/English) in order to reach international stakeholders? If so, time for translations must be considered. Will the sustainability report possibly replace or supplement the traditional annual report? Some companies integrate their sustainability report into the annual report or publish a combined annual report in order to present financial and sustainability topics in a linked manner – in this case, the sustainability, communications and finance departments should coordinate closely. An online extension should also be considered: Many stakeholder groups prefer to obtain information digitally, so a landing page or blog post series can be planned in addition to the PDF/print in order to make core topics of the report accessible online. Ideally, such decisions should be incorporated into the project schedule at an early stage.

While content and data are being collected, the layout development should start in a parallel process. An appealing design that matches the company increases the readability and impact of the sustainability report. Recognition value is important: the report should fit seamlessly into the corporate identity, but still visually emphasise sustainability measures. This can be achieved, for example, by using thematically coordinated colour schemes, meaningful photos of employee initiatives or projects and icons or infographics that illustrate complex topics and data.

The design must also visualise what is to be highlighted in the report – for example, case studies on lighthouse projects in separate boxes, overviews of key figures as graphics, or quotes from the Executive Board. A coherent layout not only makes the report more enjoyable to read, but also makes it easier to recognise the key sustainability messages.

A sustainability report is not created overnight – it usually takes several months from kick-off to publication. To stay on track during this time, a regular jour fixe (e.g. weekly or bi-weekly project meetings) is a good idea. In these meetings, the project team comes together to review progress, clarify open questions and ensure the quality of the contributions. This allows the process to be constantly adapted: Problems or delays are recognised early on and can be managed proactively.

The Jour Fixe is also used to discuss interim results. For example, the team can review initial drafts of the text together to ensure consistency in wording. New developments can also be taken into account – such as updates to ESG guidelines, new projects within the company or new data that supplements the report. Continuous coordination prevents aspects from being forgotten in the end or contradictory statements being made by different inputs and authors.

In this context, quality assurance also means ensuring that the information is complete and correct. Sustainability data should be reliable and correct. Some companies carry out an internal audit of the report at the end or have critical colleagues proofread it to uncover potential greenwashing pitfalls. These quality loops, embedded in regular meetings, ensure that the end result is a credible report that can withstand a reality check.