How to write a sustainability impact report for your business

If you’re reading this, you already know you need a sustainability report or perhaps you’re looking for inspiration to make this year’s report better than the last one.

The question is: how do you write one? As a relatively new practice for businesses, there is always room for improvement.

Fresh off the back of publishing our 2025 annual report, we’ve written a handy guide for how to write a sustainability report, including how to introduce your report, what to include, and keeping it accessible.

Sustainability report, impact report, annual report - what’s the difference?

First, a brief explainer. You might see several terms used to describe a report that shares a company’s commitments, actions and achievements beyond their commercial performance. These include sustainability report, impact report and annual report.

They’re often used interchangeably, but here’s how we think about them at Articulate:

• Sustainability report: A sustainability report does what it says on the tin. It reports an organisation’s efforts to help improve people’s lives, protect the environment and prosper commercially to keep doing good.
• Impact report: This typically refers to a sustainability report that shares tangible progress for people, planet and prosperity in a specific time period. We labelled our first report an impact report as it was the culmination of 20+ years of conscious choices as a business. But you could also use impact reports to mark a significant milestone since you first started reporting.
• Annual report: Many companies produce annual reports for investors focused on commercial performance. But they can also provide annual updates on sustainability efforts. This is the term we use for our subsequent sustainability-focused reports, recognising that doing more good is a core part of our mission as a business.

Start with why

Any sustainability report you write should start with the purpose behind your efforts. What’s driving you and your organisation to go the extra mile?

• Is it a core part of your business’s mission?
• Is it a step towards formal certification of your sustainability, like B Corp?
• Is it a desire to have a more positive impact on the world than last year?

Whatever the driving force behind your report, share it with your readers.

In our 2025 annual report, for example, our CEO set the scene by reflecting on progress since our first impact report and how our purpose has evolved. A thoughtful introduction sets the tone and makes the report more than a box-ticking exercise.

It doesn’t have to be penned or co-signed by your CEO, but the more senior the author, the more it signals to buyers and investors that sustainability is a priority for your business.

Choose a clear framework

There are many reporting frameworks out there for environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. These include the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Depending on the size and funding status of your business, investors or industry standards might require you to report using a certain framework.

If you’re a smaller business like Articulate, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a great place to start. They’re globally recognised, flexible and meaningful.

We anchor our reporting around three focus areas:

• Prosperity: Creating economic value responsibly
• People: Supporting wellbeing, equality and growth
• Planet: Reducing our environmental impact

Of course, other companies may prioritise other SDGs in line and the largest companies may need to report on all 17.

A simple structure like this makes it easy for readers to see where you’re focusing your efforts and why. Depending on your commitments or activities in each area, you can break those categories down further, such as employee health and community work.

Set measurable goals

Vague ambitions don’t match the spirit of true sustainability efforts and savvy readers see through them in seconds. Concrete goals inspire confidence in your commitment to being a good egg for a better world.

We set relevant and measurable targets for ourselves, such as:

• Reducing Scope 3 emissions by 5 per cent
• Running six roundtables a year to improve accountability, quality and client experience
• Getting four voluntary sign-ups for physical and mental health champions

Once you set yourself goals, you have benchmarks you can report against the following year.

They don’t have to be big, headline-grabbing goals to be valuable. Small, incremental improvements count too, as long as they’re proportionate to your business.

Be transparent about progress

Show us a business that hits all of its annual goals (without tweaking the goal posts or numbers) and we’ll show you a liar or a company that set the bar too low. No business hits all of its targets, and that’s okay. What matters in sustainability reporting is honesty and accountability.

A good sustainability report is as much about what didn’t go to plan, and why, as it is about the wins.

In our 2025 report we celebrated re-certification as a B Corp and exceeding benchmarks across all categories. But we also shared where we fell short, like not using all our learning days. Transparency builds credibility and highlights areas of opportunity.

Show, don’t just tell

Back up your achievements with clear evidence. Charts, numbers, testimonials and case studies—visuals make progress tangible. They also break up text-heavy sections and make your report easier to browse and digest.

We shared our carbon footprint graphs from Ecologi to show clearly how we reduced emissions and offset our impact.

(We’re only halfway through this financial year, hence the current chasm between our FY’24 and FY’25 figures, but we’re very happy with how it’s tracking!)

Celebrate people and culture

Reducing carbon emissions and donating to charity are always heartening to see in sustainability reports. But your sustainability efforts include your own people too.

Highlight initiatives or accreditations that reflect your efforts in wellbeing, diversity, equity, inclusion and culture. These could include:

• Updating your recruitment process and practices to encourage talent from more diverse backgrounds
• Workplace awards from credible organisations like Investors in People or Great Place to Work.
• New workplace benefits like therapy, gym discounts or learning and development budgets

In our case, we celebrated appointing mental and physical health champions, running allyships on topics like women in STEM and LGBTQIA+ and reaching 1200+ books in our company Kindle library.

Keep it accessible

Even if you have to do some dense write-ups for compulsory ESG reporting, the sustainability report you share with potential buyers and investors shouldn’t feel like a regulatory filing.

Here are our top tips for avoiding information bloat and reader boredom:

• Write with clarity, warmth and optimism.
• Ditch jargon, or make sure you explain terms first if they’re necessary.
• Add visuals, icons or infographics where possible.
• Use executive summaries and callouts to highlight key points

Don’t be afraid to inject some humanity. After all, the report is about doing good for people and planet. If you’re not sure how to approach writing sustainability communications, we’ve got a free guide and template for ESG tone of voice.

Reporting for duty

At its best, a sustainability report is much more than due diligence. It’s a mirror for your business and a promise to your stakeholders, as well as a compass for the year ahead. If you can weave in purpose, honesty and progress, you’ll produce an invaluable trust-building asset.

Need a progressive marketing partner that can help you build a brilliant, brand-elevating sustainability report? Let’s talk. Book a meeting with one of our consultants to discuss how we can help you build your Difference Engine®️ for growth.