February 1, 2016
For all of the growing interest in CSR and sustainability communications and reporting, one of the most commonly asked questions is still, “Where do we start?” The easy, wisecrack answer is, “At the beginning, of course.”
For many organizations, the right, practical answer should be, “Wherever you are.”
For example, if you know your organization is involved in sustainability- and CSR-related activities but no one is coordinating and communicating them, the place to start is probably with an internal inventory of what is currently happening. If you’re wondering what your peers or competitors are doing – or if your biggest customer keeps asking what you’re doing to keep up with the state of the art – then an evaluation of current practices, at the good, better, best levels, is probably in order. If you’re wondering who should own responsibility, then convene a cross-functional group to figure that out.
The path to CSR and sustainability communications and reporting is a journey. Like most journeys, not everyone will start at the same place and we are not all racing to the same finish line. Don’t waste time and energy trying to figure out where the beginning is. Start wherever you are and see where the path takes you.
Want to start a conversation about this? Email me or give me a call.
