Sustainable Automation Journey

For some companies (mostly large or public listed companies) it will become mandatory to do ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting. Whether or not this is mandatory for your company, you should start. One reason is that some of your stakeholders will require it in the future anyway. Another reason is that it gives you valuable insights into your company and will help you with communicating change.

To do ESG reporting, you start by gathering information within your company. Nearly all departments are involved in this process. The positive side effect: All the involved employees’ awareness concerning the ESG topic will increase in collecting these data.

Evaluating reporting frameworks is the next step on the path to ESG reporting. Some standards out there can fit your organization, like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). After choosing a framework, make sure that you communicate transparently and create SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound), a tool created by George T. Doran in 1981 (see “Take Action!”).

The final ESG reporting is one part of the story. To make it plausible for those assessing your reporting, it is important to outline how your ESG goals and reporting are aligned with the strategy of your organization.