THE STATE OF CSR REPORTING

AND COMMUNICATIONS 2016

THE ETHICAL CORPORATION CSR REPORTING
AND COMMUNICATIONS REPORT 2016

Proving the value of sustainability, engaging key stakeholder

groups and spending less time on the reporting process

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COMMUNITY
@ETHICAL_CORP
AND #ECRCEU

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the first Ethical Corporation State
of CSR Reporting and Communications report.
Through original research this white-paper will
identify the critical issues for CSR departments
relating to reporting and communications. 948
professionals from around the globe contributed
to our research via a survey conducted during a
three-week period in July and August 2016.
Well highlight key trends and opportunities for
the coming 12 months. In some instances, we
separate out responses from those working
in sustainability to those working across other
departments mainly to spot differences, and
nuances in priorities and focus.
Key issues and opportunities in this report
were echoed over the past few months in our
routine conversations with leading sustainability,
reporting and communication practitioners.
These opportunities and issues form the
key focus at the upcoming 10th Annual CR
Reporting and Communications Summit,
which is taking place in London on the 20th
and 21st October. The summit is Europes

N AV I G AT E

948

PROFESSIONALS
FROM AROUND
THE GLOBE
CONTRIBUTED
TO OUR
RESEARCH

leading event that focusses on CSR Reporting

and Communications discussed solely from
a corporate perspective. The event features
an un-rivalled speaker line-up with a crossindustry perspective from the likes of; Pirelli, The
European Commission, Ericsson, SAB Miller,
Barclays, IKEA Group, Sky and Standard Life to
name a few. If you find the content of this white
paper useful, then please do take a look at the
conference: ethicalcorp.com/reporting.
METHODOLOGY
This report is based exclusively on findings
from an online survey of the Ethical Corporation
community in July and August 2016. The survey
was sent to people from the Ethical Corporation
database that had either sustainability, reporting
or communication related job titles, or, had
actively tagged themselves as interested in
sustainability reporting issues.

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

Back Next

Top

KEY TAKEAWAYS
As part of the build up to the 10th Annual CR Reporting and
Communications Summit, we wanted to gauge the top trends
and issues both now and looking into 2017. So we reached out
to our global community to get an understanding of the global
patterns.

N AV I G AT E
The below key findings give you a brief snapshot at some
of the stand-out findings from this report, helping you get a
quick digest of some of the key takeaways. More detailed
analysis of the nuances between CSR departments and the
rest is outlined in the report.

Proving the value of sustainability: Nearly 40% of organisations identified this as the biggest opportunity in 2016/2017
Increasing engagement with key stakeholder groups: 51% of our community identified this as the number one issue.
Engaging Millennials is the least important issue over the next 12 months
Too much time is being spent on the reporting process: 60% of respondents agreed that too much time is being spent on
the reporting process. This drops to 57% when focussing on just respondents that work within the CSR department
Increased CFO engagement: Only 25% of executives stated their CFO is absolutely convinced of the value of the CSR
report. Its evident that more engagement is required with the CFO around the value of the CSR report.

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE

The 10th Annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit (London, 20-21 October) will bring together 200+ business
practitioners to debate and learn how to engage key stakeholders and prove the financial value of sustainability. Hear
from the likes of; Pirelli, Sky, Barclays, Ericsson, IKEA Group, European Commission, and many more. 25+ sessions, 30+
speakers, 2 days of insight and networking.

Click here to find out more

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SETTING THE SCENE

RESPONDENT SECTOR:
Over a three-week period in July and August
2016 Ethical Corporation conducted a survey
of its global community to identify key issues
and opportunities around CSR reporting and
communications.
There were 984 respondents in total from a
variety of companies, industries and locations.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the majority of our
respondents are Ethical Corporations core
audience the corporate/brand professional
working for a large corporation. Therefore, the
insights we identify in this report will give a
good gauge on key trends faced by corporate
practitioners.
RESPONDENT COMPANY TYPE:
Over 50% of our respondents work within
B2B organisations, 18% work within B2C
organisations and a further 29% work for a split
B2B and B2C focussed organisation.

N AV I G AT E

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10%

15%

2%

n Accademic
n Corporate / brand

7%
34%

3%

n Corporate / brand
agency / service provider /
consultant
n Government
n NGO

29%

n Investor
n Other

*The majority of the respondents that replied Other stated trade association or media

Introduction
Key Takeaways
Setting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

2%

n B2B

29%

n B2C
51%

n B2B and B2C

n Other

18%

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SETTING THE SCENE

N AV I G AT E

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headings to navigate
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25%
43%
2%

5%

RESPONDENT LOCATION:
There was a good number of representatives from around the
world which ensures we have a good indication of global trends.
The most represented region is Europe comprising of 43% of
respondents. The second and third most represented regions
are North America and Asia Pacific with 25% and 19%

Introduction
Key Takeaways
Setting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

6%

19%

of respondents respectively. Its no surprise these three

regions provided nearly 90% of our respondents as these
are the three areas of focus for our Responsible Business
Series. Theres a considerable drop off from this point to
Africa, Middle East and South America all representing the
remaining 10% of respondents.

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SETTING THE SCENE

RESPONDENTS DEPARTMENT:
We asked our respondents to select
the department within which they work.
The most represented group is the CSR /
Sustainability department. The other group
represents just over a 40% of our respondents
the majority either worked in Procurement,
Management/Board and Operations within a
company or other departments within NGOs,
Academic Institutions and Government.
Beyond that is Communications/Marketing
and then finally Finance.
Moving forward in this report, we focus upon
and highlight responses from those that work
within the CSR / sustainability departments. We
do this to identify gaps and trends between this
group and other business units.
Does the CSR / sustainability team feel they
quantify enough value to their CFO? Do other
professionals value the CSR report as much
as their sustainability peers? What do both
departments see as being the biggest CSR
reporting and communication opportunities in
the coming 12 months?
We look forward to shedding some light on
these questions in the coming pages.

N AV I G AT E

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

n CSR / sustainability
42%

41%

n Communications /
Marketing
n Finance
n Other

4%

13%

Introduction
Key Takeaways
Setting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE

The 10th Annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit (London,
20-21 October) will bring together 200+ business practitioners to debate
and learn how to engage key stakeholders and prove the financial value
of sustainability. Hear from the likes of; Pirelli, Sky, Barclays, Ericsson,
IKEA Group, European Commission, and many more. 25+ sessions, 30+
speakers, 2 days of insight and networking.

Click here to find out more

Back Next

Top

INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

N AV I G AT E

spent on the sustainability report and whether the CFO is

convinced of the value of CSR reporting are all questions
answered in this section.

This section looks to shed light on the internal use of and

engagement around the sustainability report. Increased
collaboration between marketing and sustainability, time

SHOULD THERE BE MORE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE MARKETING AND SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENTS:
ALL

CSR

9%

REST

10%

91%

8%

90%

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

92%

n YES n NO
Taking a closer look at collaboration we sought to
ascertain the appetite for more internal collaboration
between the marketing and sustainability departments.
Over 90% of all respondents feel there could be more
collaboration. CSR professionals are slightly less keen to
see increasing collaboration between the two departments
with 90% stating yes. The rest are more enthusiastic with
92% stating there should be more collaboration between
the two departments.

This increasing level of collaboration between the two

departments was also highlighted in our State of Responsible
Business Report 2016 where we found that 12% of sustainability
teams report to the marketing and communications department a
4.5% increase on the 2015 report.
It is clear to see that internal collaboration between the two
departments will continue to increase over the coming years.

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INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

N AV I G AT E

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TOO MUCH TIME BEING SPENT ON THE REPORTING PROCESS:

ALL

CSR

40%

REST

43%

38%

60%

57%

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

62%

n YES n NO
In many of our conversations with our community we
hear that too much time is spent on the reporting process
instead of auctioning on the data to improve processes and
initiatives. We asked our respondents this question and 60%
agreed that too much time is spent on the reporting process.
Interestingly sustainability respondents are less convinced,
with 57% stating too much time is spent on the process
instead of improving initiatives. This could be a result of

the process being a core component of the sustainability

professionals role, whereas the rest (62%) expect more
operational and strategic work from their peers.
There is a lot of talk amongst the Standards about simplifying
the process; it will be interesting to track this sentiment over
the coming years to see if this is being realised.

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INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

N AV I G AT E

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headings to navigate
around this report

IS THE CFO CONVINCED OF THE VALUE OF THE CSR REPORT:

25%

Absolutely

n ALL

22%

n CSR
n REST

36%
34%
37%

To an extent
No

30%
29%
29%
28%

Largely

7%

The CFO controls the budgets of an organisation, so

convincing the CFO of the value of the CSR report is a critical
internal issue.
CSR respondents are most positive about the perceived value
of the CSR report with 30% stating their CFO is convinced

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

10%
13%
of its value. The rest were more negative, with nearly twice
as many (13% compared with 7%) stating their CFO isnt
convinced of its value. It would appear that there is a lot
more work to be done to around engaging the CFO on the
CSR report and its value. This leads us on nicely to our next
question

OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE

The 10th Annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit (London, 20-21 October) will bring together 200+ business
practitioners to debate and learn how to engage key stakeholders and prove the financial value of sustainability. Hear
from the likes of; Pirelli, Sky, Barclays, Ericsson, IKEA Group, European Commission, and many more. 25+ sessions, 30+
speakers, 2 days of insight and networking.

Click here to find out more

Back Next

Top

INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

N AV I G AT E

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

LEVERAGING THE CSR REPORT TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL:

11%
11%
12%

YES: we're leveraging

our CSR report to its full
potential

n ALL
n CSR
n REST

42%

SOMEWHAT: we're
certainly seeing the benefit
of our CSR report

37%
32%
32%
31%

TO A LIMITED EXTENT:
we see some benefit from
our CSR report
NO: we're not able to drive
real benefits from our
CSR report

48%

9%

Utilising the CSR report to its fullest potential offers an

array of opportunities for a company, both internally and
externally. The benefits of a successfully constructed and
communicated CSR report can include; increasing internal
buy-in and helping identify new opportunities, improving
investor engagement and showcasing leadership in
responsible business.
Just over 10% of our respondents feel theyre leveraging their
CSR report to its full potential. Rather concerning is the fact

15%
20%
that more respondents (15%) stated that theyre not able to
derive any real benefits from their CSR report. When splitting
out the responses the main negativity comes from the
respondents not working within the CSR department, where
20% indicated theyre not delivering any real benefits from
their CSR report.

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

It appears that sustainability practitioners need to work with

their key stakeholder groups, both internal and external, to
help them better understand the CSR report.

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THE BIGGEST ISSUES IN 2016 AND 2017

In a world where brands have an increasing number ways of
engaging their customers than ever before, and where key
stakeholder groups have more power to influence a brands
strategy and reputation, it is incredibly important for businesses
to deliver a successful CSR reporting and communications
strategy. It's imperative companies put themselves in a position

N AV I G AT E

to leverage and engage its key stakeholders across the key

channels at their disposal.
There are six issues that over 30% of all respondents classed as
essential for the year ahead.

ESSENTIAL ISSUES FOR 2016/2017:

51%
48%
53%

Increasing engagement with

key stakeholder groups
Aligning the SDGs and your report
Leveraging big data within
the reporting process

n ALL
n CSR
n REST

22%
23%
22%

20%
20%
21%

27%

31%

Creating a year-long reporting

communication strategy
Using the report to increase
internal engagement
Quantifying CSR impacts
in financial terms

19%
17%
21%

36%
36%
38%
35%

Engaging investors around

sustainability initiatives
Engaging Millennials

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

34%
31%
37%

Understanding the regulatory

risk landscape
Using the CSR report to inform
business decisions

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around this report

30%
30%
31%
29%
29%
29%

37%
40%
34%

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THE BIGGEST ISSUES IN 2016 AND 2017

inform business decisions and understanding
the regulatory risk landscape with 36% and
31%, and then finally creating a year-long
reporting communications strategy with 30%.

The number one issue is increasing engagement

with key stakeholder groups which 51% of
respondents identified as an essential focus for
2016/2017.
Following that are quantifying CSR impacts
in financial terms and engaging investors
around sustainability initiatives, with 37% and
36% respectively, and then understanding the
regulatory risk landscape, using the CSR report
to inform business decisions and creating a
year-long reporting communications strategy
with 34%, 31% and 30% respectively.
As already identified in this report increasing
engagement with key stakeholder groups is
of course a critical issue for business. Rather
surprisingly for us fewer CSR respondents
perceive it as an essential issue in 2016, with
48% labelling increasing engagement with key
stakeholder groups as essential, 40% say the
same for quantifying CSR impacts in financial
terms and 38% see engaging investors around
sustainability initiatives as being essential in
2016 and beyond. The fourth and fifth most
essential issues are using the CSR report to

N AV I G AT E

51% IDENTIFIED
HUMAN RIGHTS
AS AN ESSENTIAL
FOCUS IN THE NEXT
12 MONTHS

The rest of our respondents agree with our

CSR respondents on many of the essential
issues, however there are some nuances.
Understanding the regulatory risk landscape is
the second most essential issue with 37%, and
quantifying CSR impacts in financial terms is
less important with 34% stating it as essential
for 2016 and 2017.
Interestingly, the respondents not based
within a CSR department only list five foci
as essential. Using the CSR report to inform
business decisions was only deemed essential
by 27% of the respondents. The CSR report
offers great insight and can be a valuable tool
for any business to use when making business
decisions. Its the job of the CSR department
and others involved in the reporting process
to showcase its potential and value in shaping
decisions.

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
T
 he biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

Back Next

Top

WHATS NOT IMPORTANT

UNIMPORTANT ISSUES
FOR 2016/2017:
The least important topics in the next
12 months, according to the entire
community, are engaging Millennials,
aligning the SDGs and your report,
leveraging data within the reporting
process and engaging investors
around sustainability.
There is little difference between CSR
professionals and the rest. The only
real noticeable difference is that of the
rest of our respondents 16% place
no importance on engaging investors
around sustainability initiatives,
whereas the CSR department is less
negative with 9% stating it of no
importance in 2016 and 2017.

n ALL

In
cr
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Al ake eng
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r h
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an
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U por bi
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re ers ng da
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in g ris the
fo th k
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En b CS nds
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R
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in nti gag t to y g
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When we flip the question, and identify

the topics deemed of no importance
by our 948 respondents, we find that
theres a strong (and somewhat unsurprising) relationship between the CSR
professionals and their peers.

n CSR

n REST
0

5%

N AV I G AT E

Select chapter
headings to navigate
around this report

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
The biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017

Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

10%

15%

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Top

BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY IN 2016/2017

N AV I G AT E

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headings to navigate
around this report

BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY FOR 2016/2017:

Big data
Mobile apps

2%

5%

1%
1%
1%

Engaging investors

n ALL
n CSR
n REST

9%

Embedding SDGs into

the reporting process

8%

Utilising the CSR

report for year-long
communications

12%
12%
12%
11%

10%
8%

12%
37%
38%
37%

Proving the value of

sustainability
6%

Measurement
Engaging Millennials
Quantifying CSR
impacts in financial
terms

Introduction
Key Takeaways
S
 etting the scene
Internal
engagement
The biggest
issues in 2016
and 2017
Whats not
important
B
 iggest
opportunity in
2016/2017

4%

9%
11%

3%
2%
4%

The number one CSR reporting and communications

opportunity in 2016 and 2017 is proving the value of
sustainability which was identified by nearly 30% of
respondents as the biggest opportunity for their organisation.
The 2nd and 3rd biggest opportunities are quantifying CSR
impacts financial terms and engaging investors identified by
15% and 12% of our respondents respectively. There is very

15%
16%
14%

little difference between the CSR respondents and the rest.

From this is easy to deduce that, over the next 12 months
and more, considerable time and focus will be spent
understanding how to leverage a CSR report to its full
potential and successfully engaging key stakeholders on
the value that sustainability brings to the bottom line of the
business.

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UPCOMING ETHICAL
CORPORATION EVENTS
LONDON

30

TH

SEPTEMBER
2016

The 7th Annual Responsible Business Awards

Celebrate with the
global leaders in
responsible business
www.ethicalcorp.com/
awards

LONDON

LONDON

NEW YORK

20-21 20-21 27-28

LONDON

OCTOBER

OCTOBER

MARCH

7-8

The 10th Annual CR

Reporting and
Communications Summit

The 11th Annual

Sustainable Supply Chain
Summit

The 5th Annual Responsible Business Summit New

York

The 16th Annual

Responsible Business
Summit Europe

Engage stakeholders, identify

business risks and prove the
financial value of sustainability

Drive supplier collaboration.

Create a bigger positive impact for stakeholder

Delivering purposefor
people, the planet and profit

www.ethicalcorp.com/
reporting

www.ethicalcorp.com/
supplychain

Europes leading business

event for CSR, procurement,
communications and
governance professionals

TH

ST

2016

TH

ST

2016

TH

TH

2017

www.ethicalcorp.com/
rbs-usa

WWW.ETHICALCORP.COM/EVENTS

TH

TH

JUNE
2017

www.ethicalcorp.com/rbs

In-depth responsible business research and intelligence

Ethical Corporation provide business intelligence to more than 3,000 multinational companies
every year. Our customers are also NGOs, think-tanks, academia, governments and
consultancies. We publish the leading responsible business magazine, website, and research
reports. Our conferences are widely recognised as the best in the field. Were a part of FC
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Ethical Corporation 2016
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