Implementing a sustainability strategy - that's complicated, isn't it? "Forvis Mazars clarifies the process for you."

This covers not only the environment, but also society and governance. While many companies do have an idea about this, the starting point sometimes feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, long searches are unnecessary if you have a partner who finds out for you how you can even obtain a competitive edge in the process.  

Alicia Timal, Consultant of Digital Transformation & IT, and Jos Baars, Sustainability Manager, are in daily contact with Forvis Mazars clients who want - and need - to become more sustainable. "The combination of legal obligations, as well as social pressures and public interest, is increasingly pushing business owners to take sustainability measures," Jos kicked off. This calls for actual results. Companies may claim to have a positive or more positive impact on nature and people, but they now also have to prove and explain this. However, you can only get to that stage if you have first defined an appropriate sustainability strategy. 

The sustainability strategy  

A sustainability strategy is the starting point for more sustainable business operations. Firstly, it provides support as processes become smarter, more efficient and cheaper and/or more cost-effective. Secondly, it makes the organisation more future-proof as it ensures compliance with laws and regulations and stakeholder demands. The strategy leads to a structured action plan comprising short-, medium- and long-term objectives.  

The goals in the action plan should be in line with the desired global and social objectives (e.g. the Paris Agreement). If they are, they are also in keeping with current and emerging laws and regulations. The first step is to determine where your company stands now. You do this by conducting a double materiality analysis, which will give you an understanding of the topics that are relevant to your organisation.  

Collecting data 

"Company-wide data can be used to show you where you are as a company and to identify where changes need to be made," Alicia explained. From the supplier to the consumer, all aspects are identified. These hard figures and facts are then used to prepare analyses, interpretations and ultimately KPIs and to explain the current situation. This provides the client with a starting point. What happens next? 

"The company defines a number of key themes and we set out their impact, the risks and any opportunities. Where is the climate impact, how are employees, suppliers and customers treated, how is the value chain actually structured? When these data emerge, it's no longer about the brand story. Then it's the data that tell you the substantiated story," Jos added. Alicia nodded. "Having obtained those data, we start looking at what information is still missing. Once the information is complete, you have a kind of baseline measurement for your ESG reporting." This reporting focuses on the environment, society and governance and allows any progress on sustainability to be tracked. This way, the company knows exactly where it stands, where there are areas for improvement and which themes require immediate action.  

Transparency as a starting point  

 "The reliability and quality of these data are both of the utmost importance," said Alicia. Again, this is the starting point. "These themes, which we display in clear dashboards at the client's request, continue to be supplemented with new data capturing and demonstrating the company's sustainability curve. This requires a strict collection process that is both transparent and verifiable. Once you start deviating from this process, you contaminate the data." And contaminated data are of no use to anyone.  

Transparency and verifiability are important because they build trust and enable better decision-making for stakeholders, especially if the company has the desire to expand internationally. "As companies look to expand internationally, they increasingly have to deal with stakeholders with differing values," Alicia added. And you want to accommodate all these stakeholders. Jos explained this in more detail. "Stakeholders represent the parties involved, which means that social value creation is prioritised over its financial counterpart."  

Forvis Mazars' support 

Complex ESG legislation can feel like an obstacle to international expansion. If you want to expand internationally, the trick is to regard this compliance issue as a way of identifying opportunities and risks at an early stage. It is precisely during that process - from the collection of the first data to a plan of action and clarification of the progress made - that Forvis Mazars can add value. Forvis Mazars will guide and support you in implementing the goals defined in the strategy.  

"Ultimately, of course, the aim should be to integrate your entire ESG dashboard into your business operations," Alicia concluded. "This will allow you, every year, every quarter or even every month, to see which theme needs work and it will give you the opportunity to make interim adjustments, or you can see the extent to which you have already made sustainable progress on environmental, social and governance matters."