Insights

The value of sustainability reporting

The team at Think Impact are delighted to share our first ever Sustainability Report: Towards a new prosperity. As the title suggests, it provides disclosure on our progress towards delivering on our vision for a new prosperity where social and economic value are seen as truly interconnected and equal. Starting our reporting journey is a key step in exploring how, why and with whom we are creating a positive impact.

As practitioners of sustainability reporting and impact management, our work focuses on supporting our clients to understand their impact, tell their story and disclose their performance. We embarked on this process because we understand the value of walking the talk and continuous improvement. As a team we have worked hard to create a culture that values learning and development. Taking ourselves through the process of developing our first sustainability report is part of this commitment to learning – both from the perspective of testing methodologies and building capacity, but also learning about ourselves – our people, our theory of change, our clients and our community.

While we were driven by our commitment as signatory to the United Nations Global Compact to disclose our progress against the ten key principles for responsible actions towards people and planet, we also shared our journey of recertifying as a B Corporation; benchmark standards for companies that use business as a force for good.

Taking on the challenge of our first sustainability report created both momentum and opportunity. It gave us the chance to pause and reflect on who we are, what we have achieved and where we want to go. There is great value to be gained from looking in the mirror and holding yourself to account.

This reporting experience has reinforced our commitment to transparency – exposing ourselves to scrutiny is daunting, but the rewards are there. We have always understood the importance of having a robust theory of change, but taking ourselves through this process made it more than theoretical, and has bolstered our commitment to supporting our clients to understand, communicate and transform their social and environmental impact. This report also has created the impetus for us to think more deeply about the contribution we make through our work to creating that positive change we all seek.

Perhaps most importantly, it also enabled us to plan and prioritise our next steps. We have learnt a great deal about Think Impact, our purpose, our stakeholders, what’s material to our business and used this to guide the development of a series of commitments and actions to deliver over the next six months that will position us to have a better story to tell next year.

And our story next year will be a different one. 2020 has been an extraordinary and challenging year and we are only half-way through. We are not alone in our experience of social isolation, remote working and holding grave fears for the health of our family and friends. But we are weathering the storm and doing all we can as a business to support others to do the same. This is part of the story we hope to tell next year as we continue to move towards a new prosperity.

Click to read or download a copy of Think Impact's 2019 Sustainability Report

Watch Amanda's interview below reflecting on why Think Impact undertook the journey to publish our first sustainability report and the process of delivering on our annual commitment as a United Nations Global Compact signatory.

If you have any further questions about Think Impact’s Sustainability Report or related topics of sustainability reporting, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), materiality assessments or the UN Sustainable Development Goals please contact Amanda Nuttall amanda@thinkimpact.com.au

Amanda specialises in sustainability performance management and disclosure, Including best practice application of leading tools and frameworks such as the GRI Standards, the International Integrated Reporting Framework and the AccountAbility suite of standards and guidance.