[h4_heading]Corporate reporting no longer skirts the environmental impacts of the organization’s performance.[/h4_heading]
In the last decade, companies have had to adapt to the “new era of transparency”. Therefore, organizations publish their environmental data and define the actions they are involved in to minimize the environmental impact of their activities.
Environmental involvement is now an important and growing competitive value.
However, there are companies that have yet to realize the benefits of being accountable for their environmental performance.
The value of transparency
In certain sectors, the concept of transparency is not fully understood and there is a certain lack of knowledge about the type of information that should be shared by the organization and how accurate or verifiable this information should be.
The first thing to understand and accept is that transparency is not an option. It is a reality that permeates all aspects of society and in its entirety is present on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and social networks.
Whether voluntarily or not, information ends up reaching the public in many ways.
The only real option for managers is to turn the internet and social media into a corporate asset or a communication channel that especially impacts the investor community and the market.
Honesty as a competitive advantage
A company that is not transparent with the data it discloses risks tarnishing its reputation. A damaged reputation leads to costly economic deviations and unforeseen time costs to redress the situation (fight against rumors, costly legal proceedings…).
Therefore, any investment aimed at projecting transparency in the presentation of information is justified and becomes an important competitive advantage.
Accurate, honest and complete information
The first golden rule when analyzing how sustainability information is disclosed is to make sure that we are not publishing incomprehensible data that could give rise to suspicions about the veracity of what is being published.
It is important to know that, ultimately, uncomfortable or negative data will eventually be revealed. Therefore, if there is an uncomfortable truth that may affect a company’s reputation, it is necessary to act with perspicacity, without disrespecting honesty and demonstrating the efforts being made to resolve the situations.
Control of external factors
To avoid uncomfortable and crisis situations, it is necessary to control the external factors linked to the organization. Such as, among others, the environmental impacts derived from the organization’s activities, accidents, effects on the environment, etc.
Denial is not an effective strategy. Neither evade responsibility or obligations
Identifying a problem before it occurs is the most tangible example of leadership in the business world, and the ultimate model of excellence in the age of transparency.
