Sustainability Reporting is a medium for corporates to demonstrate their commitment to transparency of their performance and impacts in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. It enables companies to be more transparent about the risks and opportunities they face—giving stakeholders greater insight into performance beyond the bottom line.
While Sustainability & Annual Reports were used to be large documents filled with words on printed papers, nowadays, these reports are presented in more visually appealing ways, with emphasis on clean design, readability, and accessibility.
In this article, we looked at how several top companies were able to develop creative innovations to level up their Sustainability Reporting. Scroll down to find out the 3 Sustainability and Annual Report Design Trends in 2022.
3 Sustainability and Annual Report Design Examples
1. Easy Accessibility
It is not a surprise that traditional, printed Sustainability & Annual Reports are being overshadowed by digital, interactive versions that are more engaging. By having the report online, viewers can absorb information while sharing what they are reading with others on their personal social media accounts, messaging apps or email, which led to a massive audience reach. People can also easily access the annual report through any of their devices, whether from home, office or on the go.
One of the examples is from People with Disability Australia (PWDA) Ltd – an Australian disability rights, advocacy and representative organisation that is led and run by people with disability. Since 2009, they have been making their Annual Report accessible through PDFs that can be downloaded on their website. The report is also made to be compatible with any device.
Accessible from: PWDA’s Annual Report 2021
When it comes to accessibility, it is important to add alt text to images and optimise the reading order to help visually impaired readers. For instance, PWDA provides an “Easy to Read” version which has fewer texts and sections; and it includes main talking points only.
The PWDA’s Easy to Read version of Annual Report.
2. Interactive Content
Corporates can communicate with their stakeholders in a more engaging way by incorporating interactive features into an online sustainability report. A number of companies have managed to successfully transform static infographics into dynamic data visualisation; and statements into visual storytelling through dynamic web pages.
As a good example, the Japanese multinational cosmetic company, Shiseido, shift their way from presenting their annual report on a static webpage, to a more appealing and dynamic way to present their topics. The Shiseido Annual Report 2020 webpage combines auto-triggering animated elements with compelling photos and data visualisation to create a “storytelling” point of view for the readers.
Image source: Shiseido
3. Digital videos and documentaries
Storytelling can be a compelling way to make your Sustainability & Annual Report seems more tangible for the shareholders, but it requires a good medium to communicate the idea. That is where a digital video or documentary can be very useful.
As an example, SATS – Singapore Airport’s leading provider of Gateway Services and Food Solutions – began their 2020 Annual Report, “Resilience in Action”, with a short video clip presenting the compilation of their works. In their Annual Report, SATS highlighted the challenges that they face during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, and their commitment to achieving sustainable development goals through innovative food technologies and resilient supply chains.
Visual: screen record of the annual report on the website
Accessible from: SATS Sustainability Report 2019-2020
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