Innovation in Reporting

We are currently living in the age of digitalization and data visualization, and the sustainability and impact universe are not exempt from this trend.

Stakeholders will hold corporates, the public, and development sectors accountable; with an expectation of access to accurate and dynamic data-driven information.

In today’s fast-paced, content-heavy world, stakeholders will not make time for 100 – page reports. Organizations will need to focus on quality over quantity, increased disclosure, and insights on year – on – year progress. The objective will be to cut through the extras and clarify impact.

Both consumers and investors have had a growing interest in the social and environmental implications of the products they are consuming and investing in. The Covid-19 pandemic will only intensify these growing sentiments, with the world ever more empathetic to disparity and environmental degradation.

Reporting in its traditional sense will not work in this new environment, more people want to be in the know, and with that, there needs to be accessible.

Reports need to be summarized, digitalized, and dynamic. Corporates like Coca Cola have digitalized their sourcing locations and Intel has introduced a ‘report builder’.

Not every company has the resources to fully develop a digital report, and therefore small steps can be made to make the report more accessible, for example making an executive summary available on the website.

Communicating transparently and dynamically to stakeholders is an expectation and therefore, to do this innovatively will help your organization stand out.