From Materiality to Strategy

BSR is hosting a BSR Connect event that will explore how to leverage the results of a materiality exercise.

Today, three influential reporting initiatives (the GRI, the IIRC, and SASB) are betting their futures on the all-important materiality principle—the idea that companies should focus their strategy and reporting on the most relevant sustainability challenges and opportunities.

Materiality can also be a robust response to the “comply or explain” principle underlying compliance with a number of disclosure requirements at the national level, including Article 225 of France’s Grenelle 2 law, and at the regional level, such as the recently adopted EU directive PE-CONS 47/14 governing mandatory disclosure of nonfinancial information by certain large companies and groups “of significant public relevance.”

Given this flurry of materiality activity, there is a risk that companies may be confused about the right approach to take and, most importantly, how to leverage such an approach into meaningful strategy. This event will discuss the following:

• Navigating materiality muddle: understanding different definitions, expectations, and approaches to materiality
• Using the results from a materiality exercise to define strategy across the entirety of a company’s operations
   

We also invite you to take a look at related BSR content:

• Integrated Report, or Integrated Reporting?
• Navigating the Materiality Muddle
• EU Disclosure: How Ready Are You to Report on Nonfinancial Information?
• So, You’ve Finished Your Materiality Exercise. Now What?
• Sanofi: Using Materiality to Build a Strong, Focused CSR Strategy