Sustainability solutions to shape your 2020

Our teams and our clients are taking a hard look at 2020. There is much to plan for now to ensure we meet our sustainability goals.

As you work through your business plan and budgets for the coming year, are you evaluating the sustainability challenges your organization is facing? Do you know:

• How to structure a proactive effective sustainability / integrated reporting process?
• How to focus on material issues and engage stakeholders meaningfully?
• How best to assess and plan for emerging risks, opportunities and scenarios?
• How to meet investor disclosure expectations on ESG and business risks?
• How to set science-based targets on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, and develop the baselines, systems and roadmaps to achieve them?

Steps to support all parts of your sustainability journey

What do you need to take your program to the next level? Consider this series of sustainability steps.

Step 1 – Identify materials issues and business risks

Prioritizing the right topics allows organizations to focus on what matters to business and stakeholders. We support our clients to better understand emerging trends, risks, opportunities, disclosure requirements, standards, labels, best practice, impacts and stakeholder concerns in order to define material / focus topics in line with guidance from leading standards (e.g. GRI, SASB, Integrated Reporting etc).

Step 2 – Build a strategy and plan with impact

Our teams can support you to build a strategy, plan or to complete a review / gap analysis of your current status. This would include the identification of performance indicators, roadmaps and a phased implementation timeline. We also facilitate strategic workshops and internal engagement to advance integrated thinking and future-fit strategies to ensure sustainability is integrated into the business model i.e. business driven sustainability.

Step 3 – Engaging investors / ESG ratings

Many of you will be engaging investors either directly or indirectly. ELEVATE teams will support you to proactively anticipate investor expectations, to build a robust public disclosure strategy and to align your communications with corporate finance and investor relations teams. We do this by helping you to navigate and analyze the myriad expectations of ratings and ranking protocols and partnering to integrate these expectations into your existing program & disclosure.

Step 4 – Reporting and disclosure

Every year ELEVATE teams complete more than 50 sustainability and integrated reports for leading multi-nationals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. These reports align with reporting processes including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), SASB, Integrated Reporting <IR>, Carbon Disclosure Project and local stock exchange requirements. Let us support you on how to communicate a compelling and impactful story on sustainability, your supply chain performance, contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or your transition to integrated reporting.

Step 5 – Focus on climate and GHG emissions

Climate change, energy and GHGs are now evident as one of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. Our expert team can help you navigate the landscape, build a GHG or energy baseline, complete a supply chain risk assessment or set science-based targets for your organization in line with international standards.

Approaching 2020 with confidence

With the acquisition of CSR Asia and BSD Consulting, ELEVATE has expanded its consulting capability and capacity, and extended its geographic reach across Europe, the Americas and Asia. Our global team of around 70+ sustainability consulting professionals on five continents is available to help elevate your sustainability management, strategies and reporting.

Learn more about Sustainability Consulting solutions

These blogs are written by ELEVATE staff members or associates and the views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of ELEVATE.