Action Lab on the Future of Impact Measurement in the Era of Mandatory Sustainability Reporting

Throughout 2024, E4S hosted an Action Lab to shed light on the challenges and opportunities around mandatory sustainability reporting.

EXPLORE SESSION

In our online EXPLORE session on January 26th, together with some key partners from industry and academia, we explored key challenges in sustainability reporting and proposed five ways in which academia could support the ecosystem.

Key challenges:

• The lack of clear metrics and unsatisfying data quality
• The mismatch between sustainability reporting and strategy
• The lack of reporting guidance and an increased reporting burden
• The shortage of talent and knowledge

The role of academia:

• Act as a facilitator
• Conduct action-oriented research
• Provide comprehensive perspectives on sustainability reporting
• Better disseminate knowledge
• Develop training programs on sustainability reporting and governance

For more details on this session, have a look at our summary.

COALESCE SESSION

Based on the previously identified challenges, on April 18th, E4S then hosted a COALESCE session with around 25 people in person at IMD to brainstorm action-oriented project ideas. This dynamic event brought together diverse stakeholders to tackle key challenges in impact measurement and mandatory sustainability reporting. Throughout the session, experts engaged in focused discussions at individual roundtables, addressing critical issues. Each group emerged from these discussions with tangible ideas for solutions, emphasizing continued collaboration beyond the lab.

Project ideas:

• Sustainability ambidexterity in leadership
• Turning the CSRD into gold – when if not now?
• Leaving no SME behind
• Making sustainability reporting cool again

For more details on this session, have a look at our summary.

Three follow-up sessions took place between May and December 2024, in the context of which participants shared project updates and exchanged professional insights.

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