Our thinking

Down in the disclosure dumps

31 May, 2024

Reporting fatigue getting you down? A recent survey by Mitie found seven in ten sustainability professionals are overwhelmed by the demands of non-financial reporting, with many feeling it detracts from more impactful work. But another recent survey provides a glimmer of hope.  

While the complexity of new reporting requirements can be overwhelming (and we have a lot of sympathy if you do), it’s worth remembering that the intent behind them is – ultimately – to change behaviour. If you’re required to talk about what you are (not) doing, then you are more likely to take action, and that is certainly what we are finding in conversations with many clients.  New non-financial reporting regimes such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are sparking new conversations at senior levels of the organisations we work with, focusing attention on targets and policies to support action, and encouraging businesses to concentrate on unlocking opportunities that may arise, as well as managing impacts and risks. All of this can, in the long run, only be a good thing.  

And according to a recent report from the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, 85% of large businesses do in fact view sustainability as a means to create value within their long-term corporate strategies – for them, sustainability is a strategic imperative that can add value to their business, rather than simply a regulatory burden eating away at their resources. Morgan Stanley’s chief sustainability officer, Jessica Alsford, emphasises that sustainability strategies are merging with core business strategies, which will in turn encourage innovation and resilience.  

It’s entirely possible that those pointing to the value of sustainability in their organisations are not those currently struggling with the burden of delivering CSRD-compliant sustainability reports. But for hard-pressed sustainability teams, we’d encourage them to take heart from this perspective, and remind themselves of what they have always known, which is that sustainability isn’t just about managing risks and certainly not just about reporting what you are doing. It’s about long term value creation that supports better outcomes for everyone.

By Nia Vines