All posts by : Huda Ali

Sustainability reporting is not only a legal necessity, but more importantly, it affects your brand and share price. Investors, particularly the younger generations take your sustainability record into account when making investment decisions and if you are not reporting it properly through your sustainability reporting, then you are on the back foot in comparison your competitors who are probably shouting out about their sustainability efforts and initiates. This is not the time to be quiet about the good work you are doing.

Your company’s impact, contribution and how it conducts itself to the preservation and wellbeing of the environment and society (Environmental, Social and Governance) ESG or (Economic, Environmental and Social) EES now plays a key role more than ever before.

The integration of sustainability into a business does have a positive impact on a company, enhancing its operations, finance, investment, innovation and risk management, but as already mentioned it also helps establish and elevate the companies long term brand value and reputation above its competitors in the eyes of potential stakeholders/investors.

As with an Annual Report, Sustainability Reports also need to have a clear, engaging story and message. Covering your approach to sustainability, your strategy, performance, competitiveness, continuity and values. The report needs to be one that is understandable to stakeholders and investors through clear written and visual communications.

There are 3 types of Sustainability Reporting that a company can consider that comes with their own advantages, disadvantages and challenges:

Corporate websites give a company the opportunity to share more than who you are, what you do and how you do things. It is where you can share your story, to give a personality /face to the company and to articulate what makes you great and differentiates you from your competitors.

It is the only platform where you can cater to everyone’s needs and requirements, in an environment where you have 100% control over what you want to say and how you want to say it.

There are 3 elements to an effective corporate website:

The way we develop, view and deliver Annual Reports has evolved from 100% print, to cd’s, pdf’s and flip pages. Some of these changes were driven by stricter regulations and the growing demand by shareholders for more transparency. However, the changes have opened up great new opportunities for Investor Relations professionals to engage with shareholders. The growing global trend of online reporting through microsites is a perfect example and an opportunity for companies of all sizes.

No matter the size of your company the Annual Report is an obligation that cannot be avoided. Unfortunately, many companies, especially SMEs miss the value in producing an Annual Report and merely see it as pure torture that takes up money, resources and time they would rather be allocating elsewhere.

There is no doubting that not everyone will read every single page of your Annual Report, but still it does happen to be the most comprehensive opportunity for a company to communicate on it’s financial performance, activities, corporate social responsibilities and future directions.

One just needs to look at major MNC’s around the world and the investment that is made on Annual Reporting (print and online) and IR websites alone. For smaller companies that do not have the reach of larger companies, the Annual Report becomes even more important in sharing the company’s corporate story, it’s value to shareholders and potential investors.

There is still a serious need for companies to start recognising the importance of Investor Relations and the growing need to invest more resources towards effective and holistic communications, giving investors better and more accessible information to understand your business better. This is where we start to see the digitalisation of Annual Reports meeting and enabling these needs.

Having an Annual Report microsite does not necessarily mean we do away with the traditional print version of the AR or current forms of interactive reporting such as pdfs and flip pages. Instead, if budgets allow they are best used to complement the online report and be a part of your overall communications mix.

There is also the use of social media which speeds-up the distribution of content with a greater reach. This needs to be strategically managed.

What is exciting for all stakeholders involved with microsites – companies, investors, employees and users alike – is the level of flexibility, interaction, engagement, customisation and countless advantages that can be experienced with these microsites. These advantages are simply not possible through a print, PDF or flip page platform.