What new challenges will we face in the reporting process?

The Global Reporting Initiative(GRI) is preparing for the new era of reporting and has launched a project called Sustainability and Reporting 2025 ( link ). This has been the result of the analysis of publications, articles and videos obtained after conducting interviews with 12 business executives and 12 experts in the area of sustainability, from different economic sectors and regions (Spain, India, USA, Italy, etc).

The 24 experts determined that 5 categories can be identified where the challenges that will be key to many of the decision-making processes in the next decade will fall:

1. Global issues: grouped into world population growth, climate change and data technology development.
2. Challenges associated with societal development: food and water security, wealth inequality, human rights protection, peace building, security and conflict management.
3. Environmental challenges: global and local natural resource management, ecosystem protection, and waste and pollution management.
4. Challenges related to efficiency: efficiency in the production and distribution of goods and services and the development of new models and new technologies for energy distribution and production.
5. Challenges to the governance of society and economic models: loss of trust and legitimacy in institutions, lack of creativity of political leaders (resulting in a new role for business and civil society leaders), a clear need to develop more appropriate governance structures for society to meet the challenges described above, and development of a new generation of economic growth and development models.

These 5 categories of changes and challenges will force us to modify the way we report and give greater importance and weight to sustainability data, as it plays and will play an important role in decision making. Thus, they conclude that at least 3 significant changes are needed for the disclosure of all information in the next era:

• New reporting format and multiple sources of information: it will advance as technology advances, seeking a more dynamic data exchange.
• New content and new focus: this change is placing greater emphasis on critical global issues, such as sustainability challenges, climate change and supply chain impacts.
• New role of stakeholders, empowered by information: this will make them become involved in a different way as stakeholders will be able to interact in real time.

With the third change GRI expects that materiality will become an even more dynamic concept and that stakeholders will be invigorated, due to access to company performance information through multiple sources. As a result, companies will have to react more quickly and consistently, and in a more interactive way, and so eventually all parties will become involved.

From Laragon we want to communicate to our clients and followers that we always work focused on offering cutting-edge and flexible solutions, which can be adapted in order to align corporate sustainability strategies with the challenges that organizations such as Global Reporting Initiative pose for the future.