Energy and Utilities Industry Insights
Developing a utility sustainability reporting framework
(Part 2 - preparing the report to show your organization’s accomplishments)
August 2013
Steps to preparing a sustainability report
When a company first chooses to implement sustainability reporting standards, there are a series of steps that need to be taken in order to
prepare for your organization’s first sustainability report. The G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines provides the detailed steps that should be
followed in order to prepare a complete sustainability report. The first step is to obtain an overview of sustainability reporting, which includes
becoming familiar with the key terms and reporting principles. The second step, which this paper will focus on, is choosing the preferred “in
accordance” with option, and after that is chosen, prepare the general standard disclosures and specific standard disclosures that will make up
the report. The final step is to prepare the sustainability report.
Which “In accordance” option is right for you?
The G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines offer two options for preparing sustainability reports, (1) core and (2) comprehensive. The
option chosen is not influenced by the size, sector or location of the organization but rather by which option is best suited to the needs of your
organization and stakeholders. No matter which option is chosen, the focus of your sustainability report will focus on material aspects that
impact your organization on economic, environmental and social levels.
The characteristics of the core option include only the elements fundamental to sustainability reporting. Fundamental elements include more
limited general standard disclosures and specific standard disclosures than the comprehensive option, which will be discussed later in
this paper.
The comprehensive option includes additional general and standard disclosures resulting in a sustainability report that details the organization’s
strategy, governance, ethics and integrity in much greater detail.
General Standard Disclosures
The core option includes General Standard Disclosures which encompass the following categories:
>>Strategy and Analysis
>>Organizational Profile
>>Identified Material Aspects and Boundaries
>>Stakeholder Engagement
>>Report Profile
>>Governance
>>Ethics and Integrity
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Many of the reporting requirements for the core and comprehensive options are the same for general standard disclosures except in the areas
of strategy and analysis, governance and ethics and integrity. The following table is a summary of the significant differences:
Core
Strategy and Analysis
Statement from most senior individual in
organization
Governance
Identify any individuals or committees
responsible for decision making
Comprehensive
>>Statement from most senior individual in organization
>>Description of key impacts, risk, and opportunities
>>Identify any individuals or committees responsible for
decision making
>>Includes 21 additional reporting requirements for disclosure
of extensive detail regarding the tone at the top of
sustainability reporting structure
Ethics and Integrity
Description of values, principles, and
standards
>>Description of values, principles, and standards
>>Methods that may be utilized to seek advice on
ethical behaviors
>>Methods used for reporting possible ethical violations
or suspicions
An example of general standard disclosures included in a report that utilizes the core “in accordance “ option is the 2013 Sustainability Report
issued by the City of Warsaw in Poland. It is the first report published using the G4 guidelines and can be found here.
Another detailed example is provided by Hydro Quebec—a Canadian utility. This can be found here.
The G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines provides further detail on what is to be reported in each category as well as illustrating the differences between the core and comprehensive options in summary tables.
Specific Standard Disclosures
Specific Standard Disclosures encompass the following categories:
>>Disclosures on Management Approach
>>Indicators
There is significant content included in the specific standard disclosures under either option chosen. Generic disclosures on management
approach should be disclosed for material aspects only under both options, but reporting using the core standards only requires the disclosure
of one indicator related to each material aspect while the comprehensive must disclose all indicators related to each identified material aspects.
The specific details required for specific standard disclosures are covered in-depth in the G4 Sustainability Reporting Guideline and will be the
focus of later articles in this series.
The City of Warsaw’s sustainability report referenced above contains an index of specific standard disclosures included in their report which
allows the required disclosures to be easily identified.
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How can Baker Tilly help your organization?
Developing a new set of reporting standards can be an overwhelming experience for any organization. As with any such initiative, using a
trusted advisor to provide insights into establishing and reviewing the framework will provide assurance to both internal preparers and readers
of the reporting and to external stakeholders that they can place reliance on the reliability of reporting and that the metrics will be beneficial in
furthering your organization’s strategy implementation.
For further information, contact Megan Decker (608 240 2527).
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