Maximising your CSR reporting

Increasingly companies are switching on to the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the need to report it effectively. However, amongst the increasing number of companies choosing to climb the ethical ladder, there is huge variation in how they report their CSR achievements. There are available minimal formalised guidelines on how or what you should report on, but beyond this it is, at best, confusing for many companies. Here are Madano’s top tips for maximising the way you report on your own achievements…

Begin with research - With few formal guidelines available on how reports should be constructed, it is very much for you to decide what you want to write about and how you present it. Start by looking at examples of best practice within your sector and have a clear understanding of what your baseline reporting might look like in comparison with those viewed as market leaders. This then gives you a strong steer as to the direction you will need to take to develop a leadership position in reporting or, at the very least, give you a strong idea of how others approach the CSR agenda and its importance to them.

Identify and understand your audiences - Who, what and why are the questions you should be asking when creating your CSR report. It must be targeted at your stakeholders, but, who are they, what are they are interested and why does it matter to them? This will help you to set the agenda and define the areas you want to show are important to you as a company. It will also help to give your report the style and clarity of message needed to engage with your audiences.

How to divide and conquer - Reporting can be broken into a number of areas; environment, human capital, health and safety, industry, customers and communities, to name a few. When creating your report you might consider dividing your report into specific areas ensuring clarity and easy reference for readers. Specific sections should be chosen that best reflect your company’s values and areas of activity. For instance, a construction firm will probably have a strong commitment to health and safety, but a food retailer might want to highlight their commitment to animal welfare standards.

Don’t make a promise you can’t keep - It may sound obvious, but if you do make commitments within your report make sure they are relevant and achievable. You would never make a claim around your business profits that couldn’t be supported – so don’t do it around your CSR activity. Look at recent exposes on major organisations attacked for indirectly condoning the use of child labour; if you don’t practice what you preach there can be serious reputational consequences.

Base success in statistics where possible - Within CSR reporting, there is often a tendency to state commitments or give examples of projects, but not necessarily back these up with actual figures or statistical results. Try to be precise in what commitments actually mean and wherever possible try to include quantitative information. For example, if you implement water saving schemes tell everyone how many actual units of water you have reduced consumption by. This then proves what you have done and allows you to set tangible targets for the future.

Best practice benchmarking - For CSR reporting to be taken seriously, you must be able to demonstrate genuine progress – by how much did you reduce your energy consumption last year and what are your plans for the next? Benchmarking is one way to express your achievements by marking out a set of parameters and challenging the results in a given period. This does not have to remain internal to your organisation. Benchmarking against your sector or competitor statistics can really show the value you bring and elevate you to the leader in your field.

Do all this and… -
You have a valuable business tool that not only reflects your values and progress, but resonates with your stakeholders, whether that’s employees, financial investors or clients. After all the aim of reporting is to ensure those people who matter most know about your achievements, and everyone feels proud of the organisation they represent or work with.