Preparing a sustainability report should begin with one question: why does the company need a sustainability report?For some companies, it is needed because of ESG requests from clients, partners or banks. For others, it is part of preparing for CSRD requirements. For others, it is a way to better understand their impact on the environment, employees, the supply chain and business governance.
A clear purpose helps define the appropriate scope of the report. Not every company needs a complex or very extensive sustainability report. In some cases, it is enough to structure key ESG information in line with VSME .In other cases, more detailed preparation may be needed under ESRS , including Scope 3 GHG emissions calculation, climate-related risk assessment or double materiality assessment.
Another important step is to assess how much sustainability knowledge the company’s team already has. If sustainability, ESG, sustainability reporting or GHG emissions topics are not yet clear, preparing a sustainability report can become complicated and inefficient. In such cases, it is worth starting with short introductory training that helps the team understand the key concepts, the logic of preparation and the data needed.
Žemyna offers initial free training for companies that want to become familiar with sustainability and better understand where to begin. This can be a first practical step before preparing a sustainability report, collecting ESG data, calculating GHG emissions or developing a sustainability strategy.
After this initial assessment, it becomes easier to decide which path is most suitable for the company: whether to start with training, review existing data, begin preparing a sustainability report, calculate GHG emissions first, assess climate risks, or identify the most material sustainability topics.
A sustainability report should not be just a formal document. A well-prepared report helps the company understand what it already does, what data is still missing, which issues matter to clients, partners and financiers, and how sustainability information can be used in business decision-making.
That is why the best place to start is not with a template, but with a clear purpose, an assessment of the company’s readiness and a shared understanding within the team. This turns sustainability reporting from a one-off task into a useful process that helps the company move consistently towards sustainability.
Not sure where to begin?