The key takeaways from this episode are:

1. Because of the climate conversation, more people are becoming aware of the need to choose sustainable products and services2. It is becoming more and more important for organisations to demonstrate a holistic picture through transparent reporting 3. A connected world now puts the actions of almost every company at an international stage. This is both an accelerator for good practice and a quick way to criticise entities that don’t show concern for social, economic or environmental improvement

But then again, what is Sustainability Reporting? And how is it different from terms like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting? Peter Waihenya of CREFF Energy was our subject matter expert in this week’s episode. He helped addressed among other things: 

* What sustainability reports are and why they matter* Who the target audience is and who the beneficiary is* What reasons drive organisations to report on sustainability* The key prerequisite data for   reports* Critical elements of a sustainability report* Arising challenges and solutions encountered while doing sustainability reports?

Sustainability Reports and why they matter?

Sustainability Reports are, in simple terms, reports shared by an organisation about how their activities impact the society’s social, economic and environmental makeup. These three perspectives are commonly referred to as the Triple Bottom Line  of profit, people and the planet.

Sustainability reports are important because they help give a better picture of show stakeholders how a company is carrying out its activities. They are also important in documenting transformation towards supporting local and global initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals

Therefore, it also means that Corporate Social Responsibility is only just a component of Sustainability Reporting. 

A list of the top 8 companies with their 2019 sustainability reports out, according to  Google, are:

* Safaricom* Co-operative Bank* LafargeHolcim Kenya* Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM)* Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB)* Strathmore University* Huawei Kenya* Finlays

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Beneficiaries of Sustinability Reports

These reports are targeted towards the organisation’s stakeholders, as well as any other third party who might be interested. The Government is also an important party in ensuring the company is being transparent to it, and to the public. 

Drivers of sustainability reporting

Going back to the triple bottom line, an organisation’s primary motivation is a need to increa...