There is a return on investment tension when it comes to voluntary impact reporting between the time and resource a report takes to produce and the value it delivers. The truth is, a well-written impact report with a clever communications plan represents one of the most effective pieces of content an organisation can produce. At their best, an impact report’s value extends across and beyond the organisation. It turns employees and customers into ambassadors. Financial benefits reveal themselves. Your organisation is inspired to achieve and even surpass its environmental and social targets. Documenting your genuine, lasting and positive work compounds the beneficial impact of your organisation
More people trust your organisation
Your impact report gives people a single source of truth, a reliable source of information. By demonstrating your direction of travel, the background to your work, and the data and stories that show your progress your readers can even become your biggest advocates. They can use it to make a compelling case with customers, future talent, suppliers and with potential investors too. One business I work with reported that employees across the business have been lifting sections of the report to include in proposals and tenders to help them win new work.
Your organisation becomes more attractive
In today’s job market, people, particularly Gen Z, are not just looking to join organisations that provide them with meaningful work. They want employers who prioritise mental wellbeing, provide flexible working arrangements, champion diversity and inclusion, and offer career growth and learning opportunities. According to this LinkedIn article they “value authenticity, purpose, and flexibility”. Your impact report is THE place they will go to find out if your strategy and activities align with their needs and values. It’s a key tool in helping you attract talent who align with your strategy and values.
…and you save money
With competition high for top talent, and recruitment a significant business cost, hiring people already aligned with your goals has been proven to help improve employee engagement, morale and retention, reducing the need to re-recruit thus saving you money.
You win more work & become more profitable
Increasingly businesses and investors are looking to work with organisations that align with their own values and strategies. Legislation is also requiring more and more businesses to report on supply chain emissions and employee welfare. Sharing your targets, data and impact now gives you an advantage over any competitors who aren’t.
If you’re a B2C business, the public will love you more if they know you have, and are making meaningful progress against, environmental and social goals. This could not only win you more customers and sales, but, according to a 2024 report by PwC, 80% of people are prepared to pay an average of 9.7% more on sustainably produced or sourced goods. That means your impact report could positively impact your profitability too.
You’re more likely to achieve your goals
An impact report is not just backwards looking. It sets out your future plans and your success metrics, which is key for making lasting change. Setting out your strategy, documenting the impact of your actions to date, and publishing your future plans holds the people in your organisation accountable for achieving them. Put simply, publishing and making your goals public makes progress against them much more likely.
Recognition leads to more action
An impact report is a clear demonstration of the value of your team’s work. Sharing the achievements and impact of employee networks, volunteering activities, systems improvements, carbon reduction efforts, training, wellbeing initiatives etc is a way of recognising the efforts of your team. This recognition creates a virtuous circle of action and impact. Gladiator Events has definitely felt the benefit celebrating their team. Zip through to the last page of their report for quotes from team members expressing their excitement for the initiatives they will be implementing in the year ahead.
You find the others
Creating impact is a collaborative endeavour. It’s much easier to overcome challenges when everyone pulls in the same direction.. By sharing your progress and challenges in your impact report, you open the door for others in a similar position to contact you to join forces. This collaboration can have two positive outcomes. Firstly you can accelerate progress towards your goals and secondly you can have a bigger overall impact together. Tony’s Chocolonely is a great example of this. By highlighting their work in their Open Chain Impact Report, they have grown the number of organisations joining them.
It gives your communications team an endless content bank
Your impact report is a veritable library of the most meaningful activities. Your comms team can break this down and blow some minds. You’ll have a wealth of engaging content for different audiences. Think social media posts, podcasts, in store displays, brochures, webinars, training material and more. Your impact report grants you multi-channel engagement opportunities.
In summary…
A lot of positive change can result from creating and publishing an annual impact report. But, (yes, there’s a caveat) as I mentioned in the introduction. It must be accompanied by a strong communications plan that meets your different audiences where they are. Creating your report then burying it as a pdf on a forgotten sustainability page on your website isn’t enough. Check out this article for ideas on how to distribute your impact report for maximum impact. And, if you want to unlock the benefits discussed in this article book a call or drop me an email. We’ll discuss how we can work together to engage, inspire and motivate your audience with your next impact report.