Over the past 20 years, corporate social responsibility reporting, which is also referred to as impact reports or sustainability reports (environmental, social, and governance), have become very crucial in company management. By 2020, more than 90% of the S&P 500 firms published their CSR reports, a huge jump from only 20% reported in 2011.
However, preparing a good ESG sustainability/ CSR report is a complex undertaking, which starts with the development of the right strategy, gathering data, and finally, creating the report that stakeholders will use to gauge your company's operations/ solution. To make the process easier and straightforward for you, you should make sure to have and always use ESG sustainability/ CSR reporting software.
With an appropriate CSR reporting program, it becomes easy to figure out the entire process from the start to the end. You will also be able to protect the corporate data and race ahead of competitors. Keep reading as we dig deeper into ESG sustainability /CSR reporting software, including how to select the best one for your facility.
What is CSR Reporting?
Today, unlike any other time in the past, your customers are not simply persuaded to buy the products from your company by simply getting an ad on television. Instead, they always dig back to know how responsible your company is.
Well, it is not just the customers, but all other stakeholders, from investors to regulatory authorities, want to be associated with companies that use ethical and sustainable operations in their systems. To demonstrate this responsibility, you generate CSR reports for stakeholders.
CSR reporting is the process of evaluating a company’s opportunities and risks and finally creating the ultimate report that stakeholders can use to understand and make their decisions about your company’s impact.
The most important thing about CSR reporting is ensuring that the data contained therein is correct, verifiable, and comparable. It should also be easy to read and use to assess compliance and selected solutions. You can only achieve these attributes by using appropriate CSR reporting software. Do you know how to calculate carbon emissions?
Why is a CSR Reporting Software Important?
Before we can look at how you can select the right corporate CSR reporting program, it is important to start by understanding the key benefits. Apart from simplifying the process of CSR reporting, a good program also comes with the following benefits:
- CSR reporting software can help to cut down the cost associated with the sustainability reporting process.
- With a good corporate CSR reporting program, it is possible to automate data collection, manipulation, and reporting.
- Reporting programs can easily integrate with the business management software.
- It is also easy to track different key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Generating regular reports is easy and convenient.
- Makes compliance easy and enjoyable.
- You are sure of keeping the company data safe when working with good CSR reporting software.
How to Select the Right CSR Reporting Software
Once you understand the main benefits that come with corporate CSR reporting software, the next big question is, “how do you select the best?” Here are some expert tips to consider:
● Ease of Use
When selecting a CSR reporting program, the chances are that your departments already have long lists of to-do things in their areas. Therefore, a program that is complex is likely to make things more challenging (know more about ESG consulting).
The environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting software you select should be pretty easy to understand, install, and use.
After installation, the software should provide an easy-to-use interface, showing where to add data, pull more info from the management system, and rapidly analyze it on demand. Within a very short moment or with some demonstration, the team responsible for CSR reporting should be able to correctly use the program. Well, the program should be fun, professional, and make it straightforward to achieve product, energy, corporate, or other targeted impact/ solutions with ease.
● Compatible with Your Company and the Selected Reporting Framework
If you take a closer look at CSR reports from different companies, they will have notable differences in their structures and focus on solutions for their problems. This is because the companies use varying reporting programs. Therefore, it is important to figure out a number of things, from industry type to sustainability objectives that you will be dealing with during the reporting process.
Then, look for the CSR reporting app that is capable of handling all that info. You might even want to ask for demonstrations from the developer for guarantees and compliance.
The program you select should also be compatible with the reporting framework used in the company. For example, some companies use the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) while others go for the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) for reporting. Well, the program has to be compatible with the framework you want to use.
● Scalability
As we indicated earlier, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) or CSR reporting has become the new norm, and it is a matter of time before all firms, both small and large, are required to prepare them. If you pick a CSR reporting program when your company is still small, it should be scalable when the enterprise grows.
For example, if you only report on three CSR topics, such as supporting conservation groups, compliance to safety requirements for the company and staff motivation, will the software be able to work when the time to include multiple products, collaborative efforts, supply chain-related data, and other futuristic targets? If it can, that is the program for you!
● Good Customer Support
In addition to the attributes we have looked at above, it is also very important to pick the one that comes with good customer support. Like other programs out there, it is not uncommon to find the program malfunctioning at some point or not working as expected.
Whether it is an issue with the program or your system, the program developer should be there to help you diagnose and fix noted issues. The support you want should be prompt, professional, and reliable in rectifying issues.
As you can see, having the right CSR reporting software can come in handy to help simplify the entire reporting process. Indeed, it will deliver a lot more because the information you gather can be used to draw useful strategies for company operations.
In addition to the software attributes we have looked at above, it is paramount to also check for key features, such as analytics for data assessment and automated signaling. Reach Diginex today for the best CSR program and further assistance with CSR reporting solutions or compliance. It is time to partner with experts to take your enterprise to the next level and enjoy positive internal impacts and across the globe too!
