Sustainability Reporting Webinar Series 2025

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As sustainability reporting continues to shift from voluntary to mandatory practice, companies must ensure that their disclosures not only meet regulatory standards but also provide coherent, comparable, and decision-useful information to stakeholders.

The CSRD is now in effect for first-wave companies, and the EU Omnibus Directive is postponing some aspects of its implementation. Meanwhile, the UK government released the exposure drafts of the new UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) are expected to come into effect early in 2026. There is an urgent need for corporate leaders to stay informed to bring clarity to their organisations and proactively align their reporting strategies with upcoming regulations and emerging standards.

To help organisations navigate this dynamic landscape, we are launching a four-part Sustainability Reporting webinar series. Through interactive sessions and practical case studies, the series will equip participants with the tools and knowledge needed to improve reporting quality, strengthen governance, and drive long-term value creation.

Each webinar will focus on a critical dimension of sustainability reporting, reflecting the intersecting requirements of emerging regulatory frameworks and evolving stakeholder expectations.

Throughout the sessions, you will:

Gain insights into the latest sustainability reporting regulations, and discover key trends and emerging issues to strengthen and future-proof your reporting approach;
Learn from case studies shared by leading companies navigating both mandatory and voluntary disclosure frameworks;
Understand practical approaches to emissions reporting, social impact data collection, and governance transparency;
Hear directly from experts, including investors, policymakers, and corporate leaders shaping the reporting landscape;
Engage in live Q&A and polls to explore challenges and solutions with peers and speakers in real time.

Past Sessions

Navigating Regulations: Lessons from CSRD Implementation and What Comes Next for Sustainability Disclosures in the UK and EU

Wednesday, 8 October 14:00 - 15:00 BST

This session summarised important points from the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards exposure draft. It also outlined and updated any differences between UK SDS and CSRD, which companies will be scoped into each standard, and when. Further discussions were preparing for implementation of ISSB-aligned standards – lessons from the first phase of CSRD reporting: stakeholder engagement, collecting data, and assurance and EU Omnibus Changes – what amendments have been made to ESRS so far, and how companies can streamline reporting but stay ahead of evolving requirements.

Speakers:
Dr Márcia Balisciano, Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, RELX

Nicolas Heath, Partner, ERM

Lara Martini, UK & Europe Lead, World Wide Generation

Reporting on Emissions and Transition Planning: The Advancing Landscape for Businesses

Wednesday, 15 October, 14:00 – 15:00 BST

Topics discussed were: Obligations under frameworks such as ESRS and ISSB; learning how to align disclosures with transition planning, laying the groundwork to achieve long-term targets; sensible and best-practice approaches for SMEs to report emissions; reporting on emissions as a growing and evolving business; and streamlining data for reporting and getting to know your value chain.

Speakers:

David Harris, Head of Partnerships, LSEG

David Carlin, Founder, D. A. Carlin and Company

Nicky Conway, Senion Sustainability Manager, Severn Trent

Daniel Altman, Net Zero Manager, SME Climate Hub

Upcoming Webinars:

A Hallmark of Better Business: Social Sustainability Reporting to Shape Resilience and Drive Innovation

Wednesday, 22 October, 14:00 – 15:00 BST

Topics to be discussed:

CSDDD Update – what impact is this legislation set to have on companies in Europe and beyond?
Taskforce on Inequality and Social-Related Financial Disclosures – a global gold standard for reporting on people and society;
Learn how to pinpoint social impact and risk areas for your business and in your value chain;
Demonstrate best practice in reporting on the social dimensions of your business and strengthen long-term resilience through the people and society lens.

Clodagh Connolly
Global Director
B4SI

Mark Lumsdon-Taylor
Global Executive Lead, Sustainability and Development
MHA

Yadaira Orsini
Consulting Director, Social Impact and Human Rights
ERM

Benafsha Delgado
Head of Social Sustainability Programme
UN Global Compact Network UK

Reporting as a Strategic Asset: How to Get the Most from Your Resource, and Build Stakeholder Trust

Wednesday, 29 October, 14:00 – 15:00 GMT

Topics to be discussed:

Using sustainability data to create intelligent criteria for risk assessment, planning, and engagement with the board;
The role of good governance in overseeing reporting to build stakeholder confidence, ensure strategic alignment, and demonstrate responsiveness to risk;
Meeting audit and assurance requirements, and cutting through over-complexity in reporting;
Managing the costs of sustainability reporting and getting the most for your resource.

Past Speakers:

Dr Márcia Balisciano
Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility
RELX

Nicolas Heath
Partner
ERM

Lara Martini
UK & Europe Lead
World Wide Generation

David Harris
Head of Partnerships
LSEG

David Carlin
Founder
D. A. Carlin and Company

Nicky Conway
Senior Sustainability Manager
Severn Trent

Daniel Altman
Net Zero Manager
SME Climate Hub

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Billie Armstrong, Project Manager – Sustainable Finance and Reporting

Sustainability Reporting Webinar Series 2024

The UN Global Compact Network UK hosted the Sustainability Reporting Webinar Series throughout June-July 2024 to unpack the current sustainability reporting landscape for UK companies and provide practical guidance on how businesses should prepare. Aimed at sustainability and finance professionals leading non-financial disclosures, this series highlighted concrete actions companies can take to plan, execute, and communicate their sustainability reports.

Discussions and Q&A sessions in the five-part series brought together representatives from leading companies already implementing these changes in their disclosures and experts shaping the landscape of sustainability reporting to provide guidance and highlight best practices across a range of sectors and various stages of the reporting journey.

2024 Past Sessions

Driving Decisions & Long-Term Value Through Sustainability Reporting

Wed 3rd July, 10:30 - 12:00 BST

Investors and large, multi-national companies are increasingly seeking high quality sustainability information to ensure their partners and investments align with their goals. The final webinar of the Sustainability Reporting Series explored how sustainability reporting can be a tool to inform strategy and investment, and ultimately drive value for internal and external stakeholders. Experts, investors, and business leaders discussed how sustainability data is key to future business decision-making and value creation with sustainability at its core.

SPEAKERS:

Caroline Haycock, Group Head of Sustainability, Ricardo (Moderator)
Simon Rawson, Director of Corporate Engagement & Deputy CEO, ShareAction
David Harris, Head of Sustainable Finance Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships, London Stock Exchange Groups
Lucy Bond, Global Head of Sustainability, Man Group

Telling a Compelling Story: How to Shape Your Own Narrative and Communicate with Different Stakeholders

Wed June 26^th, 10:30-11:45 BST

With so many legislative changes around sustainability reporting, companies can easily get lost in data and lose sight of the bigger picture. It is crucial that sustainability reporting is decision-useful internally, and responsive to increasing stakeholder demands for companies to demonstrate tangible sustainability efforts. Businesses need to understand what metrics matter to key stakeholder groups and communicate their sustainable impacts while avoiding greenwashing claims. In this webinar, we heard from experts and world-leading companies how to develop engaging reporting that is both compliant and effectively demonstrates business value.

SPEAKERS

Richard Howitt, Moderator
Patrick Linighan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Clyde & Co
Solitaire Townsend, Co-Founder & Chief Solutionist, Futerra
Melanie Plank, Director of Content and Planning, Common Objective

Building An Effective Internal Approach to Data and Governance

Wed June 19th, 10:30-12:00 BST

To ensure compliance with emerging reporting regulation and to plan for future needs, companies must have strong internal organisation in place. This webinar provided practical insights on how organisations can ensure readiness for the rapidly evolving reporting landscape. Drawing on case studies, we dove into the specifics of how companies of various sizes and sectors are preparing processes and governance routes, from building an implementation roadmap and gathering data from complex supply chains, to upskilling finance and sustainability functions.

SPEAKERS:

Tim Dee-McCullough, Sustainability & ESG Technical Director, MHA
Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, Partner and Head of ESG, MHA
Jennifer Creek, Head of ESG, Ricardo Plc
Victoria Smith, Group External Reporting Director, Aviva

Materiality and Double Materiality: Risks and Opportunities

Wed June 12th, 10:30-12:00 BST

A common challenge for companies when complying with new reporting frameworks is deciding on a materiality approach and quantifying this. This webinar compared the global ISSB standards single materiality framework with the European ESFS double materiality framework and discussed how the double materiality assessment can help companies define a forward-looking sustainability strategy. Experts and advanced companies shared practical advice on how companies of various sizes and sectors can approach their materiality assessment, gap analysis and maturity map.

SPEAKERS:

Maren Steinkemper, Moderator
Corporate Sustainability Managing Consultant, ERM
Victoria Cross, Corporate Sustainability Partner, ERM
Ayca Bora, Global Head of Sustainability Programs,
Lipton Teas and Infusions
Hannah Pathak, International Managing Director, Forum for the Future

Towards a 'global baseline' for sustainability disclosures: breaking down new regulation and interoperability for companies

Wed June 5th 10-30 - 12:00 BST

The first webinar in the series provided an overview of legislative and regulatory developments across the globe in recent years, then focused on the UK and EU picture. Expert speakers discussed how relevant regulatory frameworks including ESRS, TNFD CSRD, and upcoming UK SDS will impact businesses, and companies already scoped into CSRD for 2024 shared learnings thus far. We also discussed interoperability between existing and new standards, and how companies can maximise efficiency if they are scoped into more than one mandatory framework.

SPEAKERS:

Richard Howitt, Former CEO, International Sustainability Standards Board
Hilary Eastman, ESG Reporting Partner, KPMG
Richard Barker, Board Member
International Sustainability Standards
Harriet Cullum,Global Head of ESG Insights, Diageo

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