Trends in Sustainability Reporting in Sport (2/4)

Source: Unsplash, Annie Spratt

Top tips

Based on my experience, the best reports – i.e. those that are most widely read and shared – have the following attributes: 

1. They know their audience.

Is this a report for members, fans, employees, local authorities, … or all of the above? In the case of the latter, it’s sometimes useful to keep the report very short or produce several reports, or even a report with a ‘pull-out’ / separate section, that is relevant for one or more audience. Some companies even produce separate reports for qualitative and quantitative data.  

1. They’re in it for the long haul

Don’t commit to writing a report unless you know there’ll be another, and another, and another… It’s an obvious one but the worst thing you can do to your audience is to raise expectations by producing a great report and let them down by not following up according to your reporting commitments. 

1. Content is reused and repurposed, according to the audience

It’s a wasted opportunity to write a report once a year and not use the content to communicate to your audiences through various channels on different occasions through the year. It may be that you engaged various stakeholders through your review process – they will be expecting to hear about your progress. This is your opportunity to ensure that you reach your entire audience with the information they expect. 

1. There’s a digestible summary report 

Some call it an executive summary, but whatever name you give it, it’s useful to have a short breakdown of the key messages that have been conveyed in your report. This summary has something for everyone on a very thin level. It may even be conveyed in the form of infographics. 

1. They use existing standards to compare like for like

Take what you can from the standards that are out there – such as GRI. Aside from GRI’s disclosures, which may be too detailed or not cover the full breadth of your impacts, GRI documentation sets out a clear reporting process, including how to assess materiality, listing reporting principles and setting out general disclosures. This information is relevant to everyone. Comparability is a key principle of reporting, and these standards are there to support it.

1. They incorporate reporting principles 

The reporting process has to be explained. How did you identify material topics? Which stakeholders were consulted? How often to you intend to report? What data will you publish? What are your KPIs and associated targets? Reporting principles including comparability, sustainability context, and verifiability are there for a reason!

1. Balance the two aims of proving and improving

This is sometimes one that is easy to say, but difficult to do. One of the main aims of reporting is to demonstrate transparency and accountability; to openly share your organisation’s sore points and to show, or prove, how you’re working on them. And another aim is to improve your working processes – which means measuring SMART objectives and reporting on key metrics. A report with two aims can conflict if you don’t consider first how you will balance the two to produce a concise, readable, report. 

1. They’re honest about their progress

Greenwashing and sportwashing are terms that have entered the mainstream over the past couple of years. It’s important not to write a report that only mentions your organisation’s positive actions. It’s as important not to only mention the negative. This is another area that you’ll need to find a balance with. We all fail at times. Imagine how refreshing it can be for an organisation to throw its hands up in the air and say, “Look, this wasn’t the outcome we were hoping for, but here’s how we’re going to try and fix it.” 

1. Be innovative in your design

If you plan to produce your report in design form, I would also recommend finding a very capable design partner for your report. It’s perhaps another obvious one to say, but half of the battle to attract readers is in producing a report that is easy on the eye and conveys a professional approach that invites the reader to open it and keep reading. 

1. Consider a link to finance reporting 

What better way to symbolise the importance of sustainability to your organisation that to publish it in unison with your annual finance report? Or, at the very least, bring together that relevant quantitative non-financial data and integrate it alongside the financial data with links to other reports or information with sustainability information.  

Oh, and a quick bonus tip: Save on paper, make it available only in electronic format!