Supporting the Journey Toward Sustainable Transparency

In the modern globalized world, businesses have significant power to impact the planet, society, and climate. Today, companies are prioritizing social and environmental issues just as much as generating profits. It is crucial that businesses take responsibility for their impacts and communicate them through a global common language, enabling transparency and effective communication between companies and their stakeholders.

Our client has enhanced sustainability reporting practices, empowering global organizations and their stakeholders to take actions that generate economic, environmental, and social benefits. When these organizations actively improve internal processes and decision-making, they strengthen their sustainability performance, minimizing negative impacts on society. Sustainability reporting has become a trusted and valuable tool for stakeholders to evaluate an organization’s role in promoting sustainable development—a practice established by our client and now embraced by many other organizations.

Project Scope & Progress So Far:

The scope of this project is to prepare five case study reports on mining companies that are active reporters. These companies will include two from the U.S., two from Canada, and one from a developing country. The objective of the report is to provide evidence of a potential correlation between sustainability reporting using global standards and improvements in sustainability performance.

Our team is not aiming to establish causality but rather to contribute to the understanding of whether sustainability reporting influences a company’s sustainability performance over time, using established criteria/matrices. Over the past month, we developed the measuring criteria and presented them to the client. Phase 1 of the project is now complete, but we need to incorporate client feedback regarding the scoring model for each criterion. The scoring methodology will assign scores to each criterion, which will sum up to provide the company’s final score, allowing us to compare performance over a five-year period.

Criteria Selection Story:

After meeting with the client, we agreed to prioritize the social impact on people and future generations, as this aspect is often overlooked in the industry. Based on our analysis of the key impacts of the mining sector and our discussions, we developed an initial measurement framework consisting of three criteria: two social and one environmental, all ultimately contributing to social impact. Once the framework was established, we moved on to the criteria selection process using a top-down approach. Our methodology followed four main steps: First, we identified key factors for evaluation based on industry trends and challenges. After consulting with our professor, she provided valuable feedback, encouraging us to utilize research papers and case studies from the World Bank and OECD to further support and strengthen our criteria selection. Thus, our second step was to review existing literature and reports. Third and fourth, we benchmarked our criteria using existing materiality assessments.

It’s important to note that our criteria framework and selection methodology were not linear but rather a feedback loop, where we iterated between steps. For example, we initially selected two social criteria—Local Economy and Social Development, and Gender and Diversity—and one environmental criterion, Water. However, after attending a presentation by an in-class guest speaker, a medical doctor specializing in public health, who discussed the far-reaching public health impacts of unregulated mining in low-income countries, we adjusted. He referenced a 2021 Stanford University study that identified gold mining in Brazil as a major factor in the spread of malaria. This prompted us to add Health & Wellbeing as a criterion, resulting in a total of four instead of three.

As a team, we decided that each criterion must address key industry challenges with a direct impact, prioritize social impacts on people and future generations (even after mine closures), and ensure long-term value. Additionally, the criteria must be measurable, comparable over time, and supported by reliable data.

Challenges & Proposals:

The main challenge we faced was reducing the number of criteria from four to three, as we believed all four were equally important and contributed to the completeness and representativeness of the study. Each criterion was integral to the overall evaluation. Therefore, we proposed to the client to keep all four criteria. The client agreed and appreciated that we were willing to take on additional work to ensure the delivery of a high-quality outcome.

However, we were cautious about the materiality assessments published by the companies in their sustainability reports, which could be biased or lack transparency. This leads to the second challenge: ensuring the accuracy and transparency of the sustainability reports. The numerical data presented might not capture the full picture, and the assessments could be skewed. To address this, we proposed to the client that we include qualitative data alongside quantitative metrics. This would help ensure that the measurable data is fair, inclusive, and adds depth to the analysis. For example, incorporating impact stories could provide valuable insights beyond the numbers. It’s worth noting that this idea was inspired by feedback from our in-class guest speaker, a senior VP at a consulting firm.

Team Dynamics & Roles:

I believe our team of four has established a healthy and productive rhythm. After each consulting meeting, we take time to debrief and absorb the client’s feedback, making sure everyone understands the client’s questions or comments. During our meetings, we focus on three key areas: implementing client feedback, outlining next steps, and delegating tasks among the team. Each member is hardworking, proactive, and willing to take the initiative, whether it’s sending emails or refining presentation slides.

We typically meet twice a week—once before the client meeting to prepare, and once briefly afterward to discuss feedback and plan the next steps. The team is collaborative and accommodating of our busy schedules, always ensuring we find meeting times that work for everyone.

While all team members contributed to the criteria selection process and framework, my specific role was to support the social criteria—Local Economy and Social Development—by researching studies to ensure they were socially impactful. I also developed subcategories and questions for these criteria to determine how we would measure and score them. Additionally, I lead our internal meetings to ensure that all content is ready before our client sessions.

Key Learnings: 

I have learned the importance of using multiple sources when evaluating a company’s sustainability performance, rather than relying solely on what they publish, as their reports could be biased, and their measurement matrices may lack full transparency. During the in-class presentations, I gained valuable insights into what other teams are working on, which introduced me to new perspectives and creative approaches, such as the use of graphics and visuals to communicate solutions more clearly. I also realized the value of seeking feedback from professors and professionals, as their input has been crucial in refining our framework and approach. The client’s feedback has consistently helped guide future implementations and will be essential in improving our next presentation.

Next Steps:

We have successfully completed the first phase of the project, which involved criteria development, and are now embarking on the next phase: company selection. We need to choose five companies that represent a diverse range of minerals and have been actively reporting using sustainability standards. Based on the feedback received during the interim presentation with the client, we will need to make some modifications to our scoring and subcriteria questions. Specifically, we aim to focus primarily on quantitative measurement questions, with one qualitative question included. This approach is important to ensure we avoid making changes after we begin working on the case studies. I will select one company from North America, and each team member will choose one company as well.

I look forward to continuing our work on the project, as I am confident that the criteria we have developed are solid. I am motivated to contribute meaningful insights to the organization, particularly as it encourages more companies to adopt global sustainability reporting.