CSR reporting has become the norm for any company committed to responsible business practice. But, when done incorrectly, reporting can do more harm than good. The following are 10 mistakes to avoid when planning, conducting and promoting your CSR report:
Sustainability reporting is harder than it looks. Companies new to reporting often pick up the reports of competitors, suppliers, or customers and think, “Well, that’s not rocket science. We already have a corporate brochure and a website. We’ll just add some ‘sustainability facts’ to that stuff and we’re good to go.”
Then they produce a report that looks like a corporate brochure mashed up with a website and a data dump, and they wonder why no one is impressed.
In-depth view of its CSR priorities, from helping people on their path to better health to reducing environmental impacts
Press Release
WOONSOCKET, R.I., May 9, 2013 /3BL Media/ - CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) today released its 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, which gives stakeholders an inside view of the company’s CSR strategy, priorities and performance on its sustainability goals and CSR initiatives. The report is available online on the company’s website at www.cvscaremark.com/CSR.
What format will your corporate sustainability report (CSR) take? Determining how to present the final product is one of the key decisions to make as you develop the strategy and project plan for a CSR. The format not only has budget and timeline implications, but it also impacts the way your report is organized and written. For example, writing for the web requires a very different approach than a long-form printed copy.
Producing a Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR) is a big job that requires significant time andexpertise. It’s easy to underestimate the full scope of resources that reporting requires. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of consultants and agencies available that can help handle many parts of the workload – from strategy, to writing, to data management, to graphic design, as well as agencies that can do it all. Typically, reporting teams only consider hiring a consultant or agency in order to fill obvious gaps in internal resources orexpertise.
