Sustainability & Reporting
Energetics' Sustainability and Reporting services will assist organisations to demystify corporate social responsibility and reporting standards including the development of sustainability business strategies for private, public and government organisations.
The outcome for customers is the identification of specific business priorities and appropriate stakeholder programs that can be implemented in Australia and internationally. The consultancy services offer a full range of CSR management advice on environmental and social issues including:
- Identification of direct and indirect impacts of companies and the assessment of stakeholder priorities;
- Development and delivery of stakeholder engagement programs including facilitation and consensus building for agreed outcomes between protagonists;
- Development of Board and Executive Management strategic sustainability priorities;
- Sustainability industry benchmark analysis, including international global norms such as the OECD Guidelines for MNE's, the Global Compact, Equator Prinicples and the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights;
- Identification and analysis of investor priorities for sustainability ratings including DJSI, RepuTex, FTSE4Good, CDP and TruCost;
- Development and implementation of organisational frameworks that ensure embedded program and implementation; and
- Advice on approaching the development and delivery of triple bottom line reporting.
The Growth in Sustainability Reporting
International, local and stakeholder pressure for companies to provide information and data on environmental and sustainability performance is growing rapidly. Increasingly, government programs, corporation law reviews, stock exchanges and investment analyst surveys are focussing on sustainability performance reporting. Many companies are using sustainability reporting protocols (such as the Global Reporting Initiative or GRI) to respond to these pressures and remain competitive in their markets.
The Benefits of Sustainability Reporting
Risk mitigation and market opportunity lie at the heart of the growth in environmental and sustainability reporting. Investors and other stakeholders are actively seeking explanations of how companies are addressing and managing emerging risks, such as climate change. Companies are wishing to understand their current performance and position to identify opportunities for cost efficiencies and new market developments afforded by embracing sustainability.
Utilising Energetics' market leading services and technologies, many leading companies have produced award-winning reports, and are also seeing associated benefits, such as; improved reputation, increased investor confidence and enhanced operational management performance.
A Recognised Part of Standard Business Practice
Many organisations are now reporting against a broad set of sustainability measures and indicators, not only to respond to increasing stakeholder demand, but also as a means of demonstrating leadership in this emerging field and gaining a competitive edge for the future. Sustainability reporting is now recognised as standard business practice for some Australian industries, (such as the mining and resources sector, telecommunications, property management, utilities and financial and investment groups) and a sustainability report is a tangible aspect to this recognition.
Rio Tinto, the former WMC Resources, and BHP Billiton have all responded to the stakeholder pressures placed on the mining industry and, partly as a result, are among the 17 Australian companies listed in the global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).
Investa Property Group is another Australian organisation that is taking its sustainability performance seriously and reaping the benefits. Investa Property Group has consistently ranked as the leader of 'Real Estate Investment Trusts' industry in the Australian SAM Sustainability Index (AuSSI) since it was launched in February 2005.
It is clear that sustainability is now an accepted part of business reporting and impacts on investment decisions within many industries.
A commitment to report is one thing, but delivering a valuable sustainability report with specific targets, measures and comparative data is quite another.
The Importance of "Getting it Right"
Companies should ensure that the indicators that they choose for their reports are relevant and will assist them in delivering sustainability business strategies. Providing appropriate and credible sustainability data is also of crucial importance. Company leaders are well accustomed to querying and verifying financial reports prior to public release, but sustainability data often receives less scrutiny. This presents a major risk to reporting companies of potentially exposing incorrect data to stakeholders. Therefore, getting the reporting framework right is of fundamental importance to the credibility of the report and to minimise risk of adverse stakeholder reaction.
Energetics' objective is to make it easy for our clients to engage with the complex nature of sustainability and reporting more effectively. We have assisted leading organisations to put in place the systems and practices required to provide credible information on environmental and sustainability performance that leads to sustainability reports that are informative and relevant for the organisation's stakeholders. We understand that successfully communicating environmental and sustainability performance requires an entirely different skill set to the traditional elements of financial reporting.
Knowing where and how to start and how to interpret and manage the data can be a daunting task. Although financial reports are a powerful tool in today's business world, comprehensive sustainability reports encompassing all facets of organisations' activities hold the key to the future.
Steps to a Successful Sustainability Roadmap and Reporting
Energetics' simple process integrates the knowledge of our experienced sustainability consulting staff to assess the roadmap with our award winning information management application, EnTERPRIZE.EM.
Delivered alongside a range of demonstrated sustainability support services, our unique process has helped many leading global organisations to successfully integrate their sustainability objectives and strategies within their wider business and communications plans.
1. Understanding the Sustainability Roadmap
Energetics helps clients to understand the complete sustainability landscape, including;
- Identification of direct and indirect impacts of companies and the assessment of stakeholder priorities;
- Development and delivery of stakeholder engagement programs including facilitation and consensus building for agreed outcomes between protagonists;
- Development of Board and Executive Management strategic sustainability priorities;
- Sustainability industry benchmark analysis, including international global norms such as the OECD Guidelines for MNE's, the Global Compact and the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights;
- Identification and analysis of investor priorities for sustainability ratings;
- Development and implementation of organisational frameworks; and
- Advice on approaching the development and delivery of triple bottom line reporting.
2. Setting the Reporting Framework
At Energetics, we have a dedicated team that specialises in assisting our clients to carefully consider the elements that will form an appropriate sustainability reporting framework.
Our experienced team of consultants takes the client through such considerations as understanding:
- What data is required and how to collate this data for a report;
- What stakeholder requirements are;
- What the appropriate standards and protocols are (e.g. conformance to GRI, GHG Protocol, survey requests);
- Where data is located and accessibility;
- What the format, frequency, accuracy and audibility of the data is; and
- What indicators are required within the report.
3. Managing the Information
Energetics has captured and integrated resource management know-how gained over a period of more than 20 years within our award-winning EnTERPRIZE.EM (E.EM) information management application. E.EM is used by many leading global organisations to effectively manage, monitor and report on sustainability key performance indicators (KPI's) from all areas of their business. E.EM is accessible to our clients anywhere and any time via an easy to use web browser and helps clients to:
- Collate all data into one data set (internal and external);
- Cleanse data through validation and identification of missing data.
4. Tools for Sustainability Reporting
Our EnTERPRIZE.EM is a powerful information management solution that simplifies the reporting process for our clients by providing them with the ability to:
- Manipulate and aggregate data;
- Generate a series of useful and meaningful Web-based management reports;
- Provide visibility to a variety of internal and external stakeholders;
- Tailor report formats and templates.
From this point onwards, the use of EnTERPRIZE.EM and assistance from the Energetics' team makes it simple for clients to:
- Establish a baseline;
- Develop sustainability KPIs and targets (corporate, divisional and site);
- Analyse associated trends;
- Measure KPIs and identify trends (across varying organisational levels);
- Benchmark sustainability performance against site specific targets;
- Track projects (positive impacts, relevant schemes e.g. NGACs, RECs).
5. Sustainability Reports
Our experienced team of professionals also provides valuable support to clients to assist with sustainability reports including protocol compliance, case study development for internal or public release (in partnership with the clients or through Energetics' marketing support), and professional design and publishing of sustainability reports (electronic and hard copy).
6. Managing Assurance and Verification Requirements
Energetics provides a range of services to help our clients manage independent assurance and verification requirements for sustainability data and reports (via Energetics or an external associate). We also provide advice on the requirements of the many Federal and State based schemes, such as the Commonwealth's Mandatory Renewable Energy Scheme and the Energy Efficiency Opportunity Program and the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme.
The Future of Sustainability Reporting
In the next 3-5 years, international pressure to report on sustainability will continue to grow even further. Many organisations have recognised the market advantage of addressing sustainability and are actively striving for continuous improvement. Some sectors are yet to embark on the sustainability journey, but it is fair to say that the business of sustainability and the associated data management systems will become a key element of every Australian industry. Company performance will be judged on the full range of sustainability criteria, not just financial outcomes.
- NEED FURTHER INFORMATION? If you require further information about this service or advice as to how Energetics can assist, please contact Principal Consultant Mary Stewart on 02 9492 9545 or stewartm@energetics.com.au