Creating a Sustainability Business Plan: A Guide to Report with GRI Standards

Module/Week 1: Planning Process

Review the GRI standards in-depth and find specific metrics that are clearly related to your project topic.

 

Please go to the following web page: https://www.globalreporting.org/how-to-use-the-gri-standards/gri-standards-english-language/ Look for the "File Resource" list. Download the "Consolidated set of GRI standards."

 

For security purposes, you will need to click on a link that is sent to your email address to download the standards. The "Consolidated set" contains all of the GRI Standards.

 

To complete this week's assignment, you only need to read the following GRI Standards:

GRI 103: Management Approach

GRI 204: Procurement Practices

GRI 302: Energy

GRI 413: Local Communities

Instructions for the individual parts of the project are detailed below.

Module/Week 1: Planning Process

The goal of this first assignment is to draft preliminary strategic, operational, and financial answers to the questions of a sustainability business plan. The answers to these questions will provide the foundation for creating the metrics required for the project parts.

To begin, consider a business plan that you have used in a previous course, or create a business/company/innovation that you can use for this course. If you need assistance from your Instructor to come up with a viable idea be sure to contact him/her immediately.

Next, answer each of the following 15 questions with a brief paragraph of two or three sentences, supplemented by an explanatory illustration for each of the three sections. Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 375 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Strategy

1. What are your mission and vision?

2. What strategic implications do you face when you use resources?

3. How do the current market and consumer trends support this idea?

4. How will you define and track your performance?

5. What risks and opportunities will draw your attention?

Operations

1. How many resources (inputs) will you need to conduct business?

2. What are your critical business activities?

3. How many products or services (outputs) will you sell?

4. What other outcomes will result from your work?

Finance

1. What investor or bank will help you ensure financial solvency?

2. What manufactured goods will you purchase?

3. What intellectual property will you develop?

4. What human capital (e.g. employee) skill sets will you develop?

5. What external relationships will you develop?

6. What external and internal working environment will you maintain?

Module/Week 2: Reporting by Category

You will add to the project content from last week by identifying 5 or more metrics that are defined by organizational category. The goal of this assignment is to produce a report that recommends at least one GRI metric for each of the fifteen questions that you answered in week 1.

Review the project content for your business idea that you submitted in Week 1. Revise it to reflect new information that you are learning this week, and then prepare (and add to your content) the following:

1. Identify 5 or more metrics from the GRI reading assignments that are relevant to your answers to the 15 questions.
2. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why the metric is relevant to an answer.
3. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why it is appropriate to answer the question with a metric that reflects a categorical approach to sustainability.
4. Supplement your paragraphs with at least one explanatory illustration.

Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 750 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Module/Week 3: Reporting by Industry

You will continue to add to the project content from last week by identifying 5 or more metrics that are defined by industry. The goal of this assignment is to produce a report that recommends at least one SASB metric for each of the fifteen questions that you answered in week 1.

Module/Week 2: Reporting by Category

Review the project content for your business idea that you submitted in Week 1. Revise it to reflect new information that you are learning this week, and then prepare (and add to your content) the following:

1. Identify 5 or more metrics from the SASB reading assignments that are relevant to your answers to the 15 questions.
2. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why the metric is relevant to an answer.
3. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why it is appropriate to answer the question with a metric that reflects an industry approach to sustainability.
4. Supplement your paragraphs with at least one explanatory illustration.

Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 1,125 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Module/Week 4: Reporting from External Perspective

This week you will focus on the external perspective reporting by identifying 5 or more metrics that are defined from an external perspective. The goal of the project is to produce a report that recommends at least one metric for each of the fifteen questions that you answered in Week 1.

Review the project content for your business idea that you submitted in the previous weeks. Revise it to reflect new information that you are learning this week, and then prepare (and add to your content) the following:

1. Identify 5 or more metrics from the UN SDG reading assignments that are relevant to your answers to the 15 questions.
2. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why the metric is relevant to an answer.
3. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why it is appropriate to answer the question with a metric that reflects an external perspective to sustainability.
4. Supplement your paragraphs with at least one explanatory illustration.

Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 1,500 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Module/Week 5: Specialized Reporting by Segment

This week you will focus on reporting by segment and continue to add to the project that you have been working on in the previous weeks. The goal of this assignment is to produce a report that recommends at least one metric for each of the 15 questions you answered in the first week.

Review the project content for your business idea that you submitted in the previous weeks. Revise it to reflect new information that you are learning this week, and then prepare (and add to your content) the following:

1. Identify 5 or more metrics from a specialized segment source that is relevant to your answers to the fifteen questions.

Note: You are not restricted to the TCFD reading material when you complete this task. You may conduct research and identify and use a different professional resource that is relevant to your project topic. You are encouraged to communicate with your instructor if you require feedback about your choice.

1. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why the metric is relevant to an answer.
2. Write a brief paragraph for each chosen metric that explains why it is appropriate to answer the question with a metric that reflects an external perspective to sustainability.
3. Supplement your paragraphs with at least one explanatory illustration.

Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 1,875 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Module/Week 6: Holistic Sustainability Reporting

This week you will continue your project by combining all of the identified metrics into a single holistic sustainability framework. The goal of this assignment is to produce a report that recommends at least one metric for each of the 15 questions you answered in the first week.

Review the project content for your business idea that you submitted in the previous weeks. Revise it to reflect new information that you are learning this week, and then prepare (and add to your content) the following:

1. A list of 15 metrics, with each metric addressing each of the fifteen questions that you answered in week 1.
2. A detailed and annotated illustration that is formatted like Figure 2: The value creation process of the reading assignment (https://integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/13-12-08-THE-INTERNATIONAL-IR-FRAMEWORK-2-pdf), i.e. an illustration that summarizes your 15 answers and 15 metrics.

Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 2,250 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Module/Week 7: Finalizing Project Content

This week you will take all your previous project content and expand the holistic sustainability framework into a business sustainability plan.

Review your project content for weeks 1-6. Revise the content to reflect the new information you are learning this week and then prepare (and add to your content) the following:

1. An Executive Summary
2. A Conclusion
3. An addendum that summarizes limitations to your report and activities that you completed to address these concerns.

Your final submission must be a Word document of at least 2,625 words, excluding any illustrations you may use.

Module/Week 8: Developing a Persuasive Report

This week you will add persuasive elements to your report by creating a presentation that clearly explains and demonstrates the elements of your sustainable business plan. This presentation should be created as though you plan to give a presentation to a panel of your peers in a business meeting: engaging and professional.

Take the content that you created in weeks 1-7 and create a PowerPoint (or similar) presentation that summarizes your report. There is not a required length for your presentation; however, it must engage your viewer and provide the information for your business plan report in a succinct manner. You must also include a final “How to Proceed” checklist that addresses the most significant considerations that impact the three labels that appear in Figure 2 of the reading from week 6 (i.e. Governance, Business Model, External Environment).

All descriptions and metrics must be derived directly from the previous modules of your business plan. Your presentation does not require notes or audio recording; however, should you choose to include these elements they must align with the overall professionalism of the presentation.