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Engagement
How do I understand which issues are important to our stakeholders?
Are you trying to address and report on all sustainability issues at once because you’re not sure what your stakeholders expect? Stakeholder engagement can help.
Many businesses are wary of stakeholder engagement as they believe it may not provide clear answers and creates a risk of difficult questions being asked. However; smart stakeholder engagement is focused, provides clear recommendations for sustainability strategy and delivers guidance on developing competitive advantage at the same time.
Stakeholder engagement and materiality have been a core part of IMS Consulting’s business for many years. We refined the process and developed online methods, facilitation techniques, questioning styles, statistical analysis processes and project management steps that allow us to deliver clear and business-focused findings that stand up to scrutiny from sustainability frameworks and peer groups.
See some examples of stakeholder engagement in action for clients here.
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Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Nadia Provenza, sustainability consultant and engagement specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717
Strategy
I don't know where to start, help me!
With a big subject like sustainability, it’s often difficult to know where to begin. Over the years, IMS Consulting has worked with many large businesses to help them define their objectives and plot a course towards improved performance. We find that the Roadmap approach is very helpful.
Building a Roadmap that’s relevant, appropriate and durable isn’t a half-hour flipchart process. It can take several months and certainly calls for plenty of commitment and time from those who are going to play a part in shaping it. But done properly, the resulting roadmap will be a valuable tool that can help shape your business planning and sustainability reporting.
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Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Graham Sprigg, managing director and strategy specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717
Reporting
How do I report?
Are you thinking about producing a sustainability report but haven’t quite worked out who it is for?
Or are you a seasoned reporter and need to step up to the next level?
Before you invest time and resources into reporting it is worth defining exactly why you are reporting as this will shape the report and process. In our experience, sustainability reports fulfill a range of purposes, including:
• meeting legislative requirements
• highlighting current performance
• demonstrating non-financial activities to use when bidding for new work
• building trust in your business or brand
• responding to stakeholder demands
• explaining your future direction and targets
Before you decide the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of reporting – you should also consider ‘who’ you are targeting with the report. Stakeholder mapping can be used to identify and prioritise the stakeholder groups that have most influence or involvement in your business.
Download the IMS guide
Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Alex Nichols, sustainability consultant and reporting specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717
Carbon
How do I develop and deliver a meaningful carbon strategy?
Understanding your carbon account is an important part of responsible business.
The Paris Agreement at CoP 21 and the subsequent report by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) puts the spotlight squarely on how businesses understand and manage their carbon. Having a clearly defined carbon strategy is now an important aspect of a business’s licence to operate. The world of financial accounting is waking up to carbon!
IMS has delivered carbon reporting, disclosure and strategic planning to scores of global and multi-national businesses.
If you’re looking for guidance on what to focus on as you develop your carbon strategy, our carbon experts can help you through the process; avoiding the pitfalls and potentially costly errors.
Download the IMS guide
Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Graham Sprigg, managing director and carbon specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717
Benchmarking
How do I understand which standards and benchmarks to use?
Are you at the point in your sustainability journey where you would like to measure your performance against competitors? Standards can help but it can be confusing which ones to use.
With the ever increasing number of sustainability and CSR reporting standards available to businesses, it’s understandable that many companies feel overwhelmed and have a hard time deciding which standards to use. But this shouldn’t discourage you; standards can help determine your position in the market, compare your performance to others, improve your reputation in the eyes of stakeholders and see your efforts recognised externally. Crucially, standards can also inform your strategy and help improve performance.
That said, standards can be hard work and it’s important to approach your choice strategically to focus on the right ones.
Download the IMS guide
Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Vittoria Caselgrandi, sustainability consultant and strategy specialist.
+44(0) 117 905 5050
Benchmarking
How do I understand which standards and benchmarks to use?
Are you at the point in your sustainability journey where you would like to measure your performance against competitors? Standards can help but it can be confusing which ones to use.
With the ever increasing number of sustainability and CSR reporting standards available to businesses, it’s understandable that many companies feel overwhelmed and have a hard time deciding which standards to use. But this shouldn’t discourage you; standards can help determine your position in the market, compare your performance to others, improve your reputation in the eyes of stakeholders and see your efforts recognised externally. Crucially, standards can also inform your strategy and help improve performance.
That said, standards can be hard work and it’s important to approach your choice strategically to focus on the right ones.
Download the IMS guide
Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Vittoria Caselgrandi, sustainability consultant and strategy specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717
Training and eLearning
How do I get employees to understand and engage with our sustainability approach?
Are you struggling to make progress against your business sustainability targets because your employees don’t know what they are or why they’re vitally important?
This is an issue most businesses face at some point. You can have the most robust strategy in place, but unless your employees are convinced that sustainability is important and relevant, you get nowhere fast. Training, and specifically eLearning, is one of the most effective ways of getting employees briefed and on board quickly. But is has to be planned and executed in just the right way to engage and inspire your employees – rather than patronise and bore them.
Download the IMS guide
Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Roxanne Ratcliff, sustainability consultant and learning specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717
Communications
We're doing great work but how do i make sure everyone knows about it?
Do you find it frustrating when you have put so much hard work into being a responsible business but no-one knows about it? Or struggled to raise the profile of what you’re doing, both inside and outside your organisation?
It’s a common problem. Although we communicate every day, in a multitude of ways, sustainability communications brings a set of unique issues to consider and pitfalls to avoid. Sustainability activities are often complex, frequently involving months or even years of planning; the last thing you want is your work to be ignored, misrepresented or labelled as ‘greenwash’.
Download the IMS guide
Help me solve this problem
Have a chat with Kim Barton, sustainability consultant and communications specialist.
+44 (0) 7785 921717