Trends in Sustainability Reporting in Sport (1/4)

Source: Sudan Ouyang, Unsplash

In this convoluted world, where the clutter of content disguised as information often distracts us from learning about things of actual substance and value, sustainability reports often struggle to find the audience they deserve (Guardian article, 2015). 

The overarching challenge this mini-series sets out to address is how sustainability reporting in sport should be communicated to reach the full potential audience it seeks. The first article in this series looks at why organisations report and how the ball started rolling in sport, the second offers ten tips on attracting target audiences; the third article highlights eye-catching reports; and the fourth pinpoints future trends for sport organisations reporting on sustainability information.

Why organisations report

If you’re new to sustainability reporting, you’d probably find it useful to understand why sustainability reporting is necessary. Reporting often has the dual aim of facilitating learning and demonstrating accountability. Sustainability reporting is no different. It tracks an organisation’s efforts to address its most significant social, environmental, and economic impacts. 

Today, roughly 90 per cent of the S&P 500 companies now use a sustainability report to record their social impact (Global News Wire, 2019). The trend of sustainability reporting has been growing steadily since the turn of the century but especially so in the past decade due to global socioeconomic events twinned with the recent thirst by investors for company ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings.

Sustainability reporting in sport

As far as I’m aware, the first sustainability report in sport – written in adherence to international standards – was that of Brazilian football club Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, back in 2009. I once had the opportunity to congratulate the club’s CEO and asked him how the club became a pioneer; the response was somewhat underwhelming, albeit logical: he came from a corporate finance background and simply saw the need to report on both financial and non-financial data for full accountability and transparency.  

Right after that was the Vancouver Organising Committee, as part of the Winter Olympic Games in 2010 – who took on the huge task of reporting on a mega event, and that was followed up by the London OCOG in 2012. Back to sports clubs, it was again football that led the way, with VfL Wolfsburg in the German 1. Bundesliga, who started producing a report every couple of years from 2012, and FC Djurgardens from the Allsvenskan in Sweden, at around the same time. UEFA and FIFA began to use GRI’s Event Organiser Sector Supplement (since changed to ‘Disclosures’ but now outdated) to report on the sustainability of their European and World Championships, in 2012 and 2014, respectfully. 

In 2018, the IOC produced its first sustainability report, which at the time was a standard setting report for the sport industry. It set out its scope – illustrating its control and influence over sustainable development at three levels: organisational, event organiser, and leader of the Olympic Movement – which has gone on to provide the framework for so many others in the sport industry. The IOC report adhered to several important reporting concepts: impact, materiality, and stakeholder engagement. It also reported against the GRI standards, demonstrated its contribution to the UN SDGs, and had its report assured by a third party.

Great! But…

…No one reads reports!

I hear that a lot. And I’m here to say that’s not quite true. So who does read them? Well, that’s almost a trick question. I don’t believe many people pick up a report and read them from start to finish. But there should be elements within reports that are useful for various key sport stakeholders: sponsors, governments, employees, athletes, fans, community groups, suppliers, and so on. 

One crucial factor is not to try not to write them for everyone because then they’ll be of use to no-one. Write them in a way that targeted audiences can easily find the information that is relevant to them. Some are more interested in how your organisation addresses climate change, using the CPD standards, others human rights, against the UN’s Principles on Business and Human Rights, others corruption, and so on. The most impactful issues are all in your report, in a way that readers expect to find them reported, so you should present it (if it’s only one report) in a way that it’s easy to find all of them.

Read more suggested tips on how to write attractive reports for target audiences in the second article in this mini-series, due next week!