When a company makes positive and responsible choices for the world around it, it has a showcase in which to display them to the public: the sustainability report. If it is indeed a showcase, why limit yourself to a flat and monotonous list of data and figures? This is the provocation put forward in an editorial by Matt Mace for Edie.net, which offers some examples of sustainability reports that do not simply provide information, but do so in a creative and original way.

Read also: Cos'è il bilancio di sostenibilità, a chi e a cosa serve

Technology, music and video in the sustainability report

Some companies have decided to play with new technologies. This is the case of Virgin Media, which in 2010 stopped printing hard copies of its sustainability report, opting instead for infographics, videos and social media content: by 2015 it had gone as far as experimenting with the first 360-degree video.

Heineken USA, on the other hand, chose to make it a game. By completing the levels of a video game one by one, users discover all the progress the company has made on the environmental front. An approach that, according to Heineken USA's CSR manager Dayna Adelman, was more successful than anyone had expected, particularly among millennials (who are especially mindful of sustainability, including when it comes to managing money). Heineken USA's 2015 sustainability report also became a rap song, thanks to the contribution of Kevin 'Blaxtar' de Randamie.

The University of London also decided to set aside the traditional report and communicate its achievements through Twitter.

University of London Sustainability @UoLondon_Sus

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All staff receive a #sustainability induction when they start working for @UoLondon #UoLCarbonCut

♥ 4 18 gen 2017 · Apri su X →

Never forget the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The fixed point of reference in the field of sustainability, for the years ahead, will be the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It comes as no surprise, therefore, that more and more companies are choosing to include them in their sustainability reports. From a communications standpoint, the SDGs can also be useful for placing individual numerical data within a broader context, helping stakeholders understand the deeper meaning of the policies a company has adopted.

What the sustainability report is and what it is for

The sustainability report, also known as a social report or sustainability report, is a document published every year, like the customary financial statements. Unlike the latter, however, which is limited to purely financial data, the sustainability report tells a different story: namely the impact (whether positive or negative) of a company's activities on the world around it. For this reason, it is addressed to all of its interlocutors (known in the jargon as stakeholders): employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, authorities, journalists, communities and local associations.

LifeGate's ten tips

Here are our ten tips for writing an effective report and communicating it as well as possible:

1. Through a materiality analysis, choose the right topics to report on.
2. Take into account environmental, social and economic aspects, without limiting yourself (as is often the case) to the environment.
3. Always be transparent, clear and well-documented, both about achievements and about failures.
4. Make an effort not to be self-referential, but to understand the company's role within its own territory.
5. For each of the identified objectives, choose and report the appropriate numerical indicators.
6. Follow recognised external guidelines, preferably those of the GRI.
7. Have the sustainability report certified by a third-party body.
8. Do not limit yourself to publishing the document once a year, but update it periodically.
9. Work on communication, giving the figures an accessible and eye-catching presentation.
10. Directly involve stakeholders, transforming the social report into a tool for engagement and participation.

The corporate sustainability report is a fundamental communication tool. Contact us for consultancy and further information