Strategic Approaches to Sustainability Reporting

Companies that are serious about sustainability report on their activities to support internal decision-making and communicate their progress to stakeholders. This report explains the rationale for sustainability reporting, providing examples of how it adds financial and other value to palm oil companies and supports the development of new strategic directions. In response to both regulatory and voluntary interest, sustainability reporting is becoming more common, even expected, in many sectors. The financial sector plays an important role driving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure, including climate-related disclosures and third-party assurance, pointing to increased demand for transparency and credibility. Focusing on Asia, and particularly the palm oil sector, this document discusses guidelines for sustainability reporting content, as well as issues to address when considering sustainability reports and management systems, including examples from the Palm Oil sector and global best practices. The following is the first in a series of three documents that can be used to understand the rationale and context for reporting (Report 1), sustainability report content and
appropriate metrics (Report 2) and specific considerations for the palm oil sector (Report 3). Together these reports provide a starting point to consider internal approaches and provide resources to use as needed to produce materials that suit your particular organisational needs.