
ESG Reporting
ESG Reporting That’s Clear, Credible, and Comparable
August 19, 2025
7 minute read

William Goodman
Intro
Investors and partners want comparability—and a real story. The best ESG reports balance frameworks with business reality, so people can make decisions with confidence.
Start with Materiality
Refresh what’s material each year. Topics, audiences, and risks shift—your KPIs should too.
Align to Leading Frameworks
Map to ISSB/SASB and GRI; support CDP, SBTi, or GRESB where relevant. Reference tables and clear definitions keep analysts (and auditors) sane.
Make Data Defensible
- Define KPI owners, sources, and controls up front.
- Document methods and assumptions; keep a change log.
- Separate narrative from numbers so updates don’t rewrite the story.
Tell the Story Without Green-Gloss
Governance, strategy, risk, metrics, and targets need context and trade-offs. If everything looks perfect, readers won’t believe the numbers.
Ship for Web, Then PDF
Design content as modular web sections first; treat the PDF as an export, not the product.





