What are the benefits of including environmental disclosures in CSR reports?

Disclosing environmental information can improve a company’s reputation with key stakeholders - not only shareholders, institutions and NGOs but also employees and job candidates, especially from younger generations. It also enhances the credibility of the company’s ESG plans and helps attract additional resources for further green innovation activities.

Incluir la divulgación de información ambiental en los informes de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE) ofrece desde mi punto de vista importantes beneficios: 1. Ayuda a construir una imagen positiva de la empresa al demostrar su compromiso con la sostenibilidad. 2. Puede haber inversores y clientes conscientes del medio ambiente, que se sientan identificados con este “compromiso sostenible” y quieran aumentar su participación o invertir por primera vez en la compañía. 3. Hay un progreso de la eficiencia operativa al identificar áreas de mejora ambiental y fomentar la transparencia, fortaleciendo la confianza con stakeholders y reguladores. 4. El cumplimiento de la Agenda 2030 y sus ODS se logra con cada acción. Juntos somos +.

Environmental disclosures are a crucial part of a company's smart strategy for sustainable growth. Our economies thrive when the environment is healthy. By looking into and openly sharing how a company affects biodiversity and nature, businesses can figure out where they need to take serious action, come up with effective plans, and tell a complete story to their clients, customers, and shareholders. Target 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework strongly encourages companies to share how they impact biodiversity. But what makes this target really powerful is its goal to gradually reduce these impacts over time. It's pretty straightforward: you can only reduce the harm to nature and biodiversity if you know what that harm is.

Environmental disclosures in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports enhance transparency, build trust, drive internal improvements, and attract environmentally conscious customers and investors. They align businesses with global sustainability goals, contribute to long-term resilience, and foster responsible corporate citizenship. By proactively sharing their environmental performance, companies can attract environmentally conscious customers and investors.

Le manioc, une culture à faible empreinte carbone Le changement climatique est l'un des défis les plus urgents de notre époque. L'agriculture est responsable d'une part importante des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES), notamment du méthane et du dioxyde de carbone. Dans ce contexte, il est important de rechercher des cultures à faible empreinte carbone. Le manioc est une de ces cultures. Une culture peu gourmande en ressources Le manioc est une plante qui pousse bien dans des conditions difficiles, notamment dans les sols pauvres et acides. Il nécessite peu d'eau et d'engrais. En moyenne, la production d'une tonne de manioc émet 0,2 tonne d'équivalent CO2, soit environ 10 fois moins que la production d'une tonne de blé.

1. Environmental Policy, Strategy, and Governance: Articulate how environmental values are integrated into corporate culture and decision-making. 2. Material Environmental Aspects: Focus on crucial areas like energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, waste generation, and natural resource depletion. 3. Performance Indicators: Implement metrics to evaluate environmental performance, impacts, and progress. 4. Targets, Initiatives, and Outcomes: Clearly define and report on environmental objectives, such as emission reduction or increased renewable energy use, including the strategies employed and the results achieved. 5. Methodologies: It’s equally important to mention the methodologies used for data collection and analysis.

Um bom começo para a estratégia de divulgação de informações é entender quais são os temas materiais para a atuação da empresa e de seu segmento. É recomendável aplicar o exercício de dupla materialidade, a fim de checar se a percepção externa também está alinhada e será contemplada. Desta forma, é possível estabelecer os indicadores estratégicos que devem ser controlados e, desejavelmente, as metas a serem perseguidas. Com um quadro de acompanhamento em mãos, define-se os limites do relatório, delimitando o foco e comunicando o que é, de fato, relevante para a empresa e seus principais públicos de interesse. Importante ter também os ciclos de atualização de KPIs para medir o progresso, corrigir rotas e rever objetivos ao longo do tempo.

Deben revelar cómo están identificando los riesgos materiales (doble materialidad), como los miden, y cómo los gestionan. Deben pasar del paradigma RSC al de valor compartido.

You should always start with a materiality assessment. Working with internal and external stakeholders, this exercise helps you rank the environmental indicators that are meaningful to your business.

The indicators which are common and most companies include in their CSR reports are: 1. Carbon Footprint - Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3. You shall clarify which operations or activities are included in there. 2. Water withdrawals- Fewer companies talk about which kind of water is used, but if you use different sources, for instance, grey instead of blue water, stakeholders would be interested in knowing that. 3. Waste generation, by type. How much waste you generate that is hazardous and not hazardous? Now it is not enough to have a quantity. It will be really important to let know the stakeholders how you manage your waste, the percentage that is recycled, upcycled, downcycled or any other reprocessing.

Quantitative data is always better than qualitative data. It does not matter if your company is too small and you think that the impact is so small that what is relevant is what you do to reduce it, but what is no measured cannot be improved. Once you have identified both your environmental aspects according to your Environmental Management System, or the material topics regarding the environment, you shall define the quantities, but more importantly, the goals and timeframe for the progress. A comparison with the previous years is always better than just providing the numbers for the specific reporting year. Make it the most visual possible for easy and quick understanding: a picture worth a thousand words.

Usar marcos de referencia es una excelente guía para saber qué y cómo reportar información cuantitativa. Para muchas compañías que están incursionando en estos temas, les puede ayudar a comenzar a construir una línea base para medir y comprar sus progresos de forma anual.

The best way to disclose environmental information will naturally depend on the size, industry, context, values, and objectives of the company and their stakeholders, even as some general principles universally apply: including being transparent, relevant, consistent, clear, and responsive when it comes to reporting. In a world that demands more sustainable business operations, environmental information disclosure in CSR reports is the most direct way to communicate the ecological impact and performance of a company to stakeholders. The benefits of disclosing environmental information include improving performance, reducing costs, increasing innovation, and attracting people who put a premium on sustainable and ethical business practices.

Quantitative data with verified information provided by external parties helps. However, it is not always possible. It is fundamental to be consistent and to make data available at any moment. the data should be verifiable and proven. The information should be easy to understand and relevant for the end market.

The simple approach is to consider the best ways to engage with your key stakeholders. Rather than simply deciding how best to issue information, consider how it will be consumed by the people you want to engage with. Don't be too inward looking when thinking about how to disclose information.

The biggest benefit of such disclosures is that they allow for sharing the data and the methods between industries and geographies, therefore spreading the sustainability culture. Reputation wise, it offers an opportunity to show that the company delivers on its public statements.

The key benefits of communicating environmental initiatives through CSR reports are: raise awareness on the organization's sustainability objectives as well as developing a solid platform of credibility among its overall stakeholders. I teach a Sustainability course and this information is what my students learn as future CSR lead professionals.

For your external stakeholders, like customers, it makes your brand trustworthy if they find reliable, accurate and honest information in your report. Internally, it helps to demonstrate progress and encourages employees to bring ideas on how to improve not only the company's environmental performance but they will come as well with quality improvement ideas or cost-saving alternatives that would have a positive side effect on the environment.

environmental disclosure in customer service is a strategic approach that not only benefits the environment but also positively influences customer perception, loyalty, and overall business success.

La divulgación ambiental trae beneficios significativos, mejorando la transparencia y la confianza, lo que a su vez mejora la imagen pública de la empresa. Atrae a inversores interesados en prácticas sostenibles y responsabilidad corporativa. Facilita la identificación de riesgos y oportunidades, permitiendo anticipar cambios normativos y de mercado, e impulsando innovaciones sostenibles. Ayuda a cumplir con regulaciones ambientales, evitando posibles sanciones. Mejora la toma de decisiones empresariales, proporcionando datos para estrategias de negocio más eficientes y sostenibles. Además, incentiva a la empresa a adoptar prácticas más responsables con el medio ambiente, siendo clave para la sostenibilidad y competitividad a largo plazo.

Enhanced Transparency - Including environmental disclosures in CSR reports is akin to opening the curtains to let sunlight in. It builds trust with stakeholders by providing a clear, unobstructed view of your company's environmental impact. This transparency is not just about showing successes but also about acknowledging areas needing improvement. Informed Decision-Making - These disclosures serve as a compass for both internal and external decision-makers. For investors, it's like having a detailed map that guides investment choices, aligning them with environmental values. Internally, it helps in steering the company towards more sustainable practices, much like a captain using a lighthouse to navigate treacherous waters.

- Análisis de doble materialidad en relación a cuestiones medioambientales: impactos generados al planeta (materialidad de impacto) como los riesgos y oportunidades que se derivan de cuestiones medioambientales y que podrían impactar en los estados financieros de la empresa (materialidad financiera). - Identificación de métricas relacionadas con aspectos materiales conforme a metodologías reconocidas (cuantitativas y cualitativas) - Identificación de puntos de datos - Identificación de datos de divulgación obligatoria conforme a la legislación general (en Europa huella de carbono) o sectorial. - Diseño de un sistema de gestión interna de información para la recogida y tratamiento de datos

Para empezar con la divulgación ambiental, una empresa debe establecer un equipo específico enfocado en recolectar y analizar datos ambientales relevantes. Es crucial identificar los aspectos más significativos de la actividad empresarial que impactan en el medio ambiente, como emisiones de CO2, consumo de agua y gestión de residuos. Luego, adoptar estándares de reporte reconocidos, como GRI o SASB, garantiza consistencia y comparabilidad. La empresa debe fijar objetivos claros de sostenibilidad y desarrollar una estrategia para alcanzarlos. La comunicación efectiva es clave: se deben utilizar informes anuales para compartir esta información. La transparencia en la divulgación es esencial para generar confianza entre los stakeholders.

Plusieurs vous diront de commencer par cibler des indicateurs de mesure clés... Mais quels sont-ils? En fait, les indicateurs clés doivent à la fois être ceux qui feront une différence pour le consommateur (et attention à la vulgarisation et à la synthétisation des données), ceux sur lesquels l'entreprise peut se positionner et agir, mais aussi ceux qui semblent ambitionner, voire impossible à atteindre. L'entreprise doit se lancer le défi de changer ses pratiques, tout en survivant, mais aussi pour survivre! Ces indicateurs doivent naître d'une réflexion approfondie et difficile; d'une vérité désarmante.

Avant de vous lancer, il est crucial de sensibiliser vos équipes et la direction aux enjeux environnementaux, les impliquant ainsi dans le processus de changement. Un outil collaboratif tel que la Fresque de la Biodiversité peut être un moyen efficace pour reconnecter vos équipes au fonctionnement de la Nature et pour comprendre comment les activités de votre entreprise exercent une pression sur la biodiversité. L'action concrète doit être guidée par une compréhension approfondie de la Nature, un savoir parfois perdu au fil du temps. En reconnaissant et en comblant cette perte de connaissance, vous pourrez orienter des actions concrètes et plus respectueuse envers l'environnement.

Involve your stakeholders. Companies cannot keep working in silos. If companies do not work with all the value chains and even other companies, from the same and different industries, a systemic change will not occur. If you work with other companies in the same building or in the same industrial park, it is time to talk with them and set goals together. If your neighbour, instead of reducing their footprint is increasing it, all your efforts to reduce your own are worthless if you do not push them harder. The disclosure of those collaborations are important too, because it will show that you understand sustainability as a systemic topic.

One thing I have found helpful is not re-inventing the wheel when it comes to disclosure frameworks or templates. While each country's experience is different, and needs to be brought home or 'localised' it is important that we do not compare apples with oranges and ensure that disclosures and reports are presented in a uniform way in order for the exercise to have real use and value . One way to achieve this is for regulators to develop minimum disclosure requirements to ensure that we are getting the right information and in the right way. Therefore it can be helpful to look at the wheels already invented and use what you need from each.

There is no escaping the challenge of reputation management related to all forms of disclosure. That means considering how expectations evolve, maintaining a focus on behaviours and culture, and an organisation holding itself to account at all times rather than waiting to be challenged from outside.

This issue extends beyond simply disclosing information; it's about disclosing the correct information. Organizations must carefully select the KPIs they use for measurement and ensure these are given equal importance as their financial metrics.

La sostenibilidad no es únicamente información ambiental, es necesario considerar los impactos sociales y de gobernanza al mismo nivel. Actualmente los indicadores y la información ambiental actualmente es más habitual medirla, no se ha trabajado al mismo nivel de detalle el impacto social o el de gobernanza.