Double recognition at the Digital Impact Awards!
We were delighted to attend the Digital Impact Awards ceremony recently, where we celebrated our work on Informa’s Online Annual Report and AI tool.
We took home:
GOLD – Best Online Annual Report
BRONZE – Best Use of Artificial Intelligence (for the Elysia tool)
The way audiences engage with corporate reporting is changing fast. Informa’s Online Annual Review reimagines the user experience through an immersive digital platform that leverages the power of AI and sets a new benchmark in digital reporting.
The judges said:
“Informa and Luminous’ 2024 annual report is a meta-report that deploys Informa’s own proprietary AI search and chat function to help investors navigate and explore the data.”
One judge called it “a truly out-of-the-box WOW experience, with so much to see and explore. Digital creativity unleashed!” Others noted that it “was a unique and highly interactive approach” and that “the innovation here is truly remarkable.”
You can view our case study for Informa here.
For further details, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Senior Marketing Manager, Matilda Paterson.
Social Matters: Change is coming, are you prepared?
This Social Matters publication takes a deep dive into key social reporting trends and best practices.
This year, we’ve refined our research approach following the release of Reporting Matters 10 in July, which explored the significant reporting changes on the horizon, such as IFRS 1 and 2, CSRD and TPT.
Our social reporting analysis spans a diverse selection of annual reports from across the FTSE 350, excluding closed-end investments.
We hope that the insights and examples we provide will inspire and motivate preparers to embrace the changes ahead and see their reporting as a vital tool in telling their story to investors and other stakeholders.
Launch event
At our launch event on July 9, Luminous’ Stephen Butler, Investor Communications and ESG Disclosure Director, Nina Kefer, Senior Consultant, IE & ESG Disclosure, along with Kay Kayachith, Investor Communications and ESG Disclosure Associate Director, shared the outcomes of our research.
If you would like to access the recording, slides, or transcript from our event, please get in touch.
Mind the gap: meeting investor expectations on mental health
During the current reporting season, companies are being placed under the spotlight as investors and ratings agencies increase their focus on how organisations are ensuring success by protecting their workforce and prioritising mental health.
With 15%[1] of the world’s working population estimated to experience a mental disorder at any given time, and mental ill-health now becoming one of the most common causes of work-limiting conditions (aged 44 and below[2]), it is unsurprising that investors, alongside ratings agencies, are placing more emphasis on analysing what companies are doing to support workforce mental wellbeing.
What are investors and ratings agencies are looking for in disclosures?
Owing to the financial and non-financial impacts mental health can have on companies, investors are increasingly viewing mental health as a critical element of a company’s ESG performance. Investors and ratings agencies have evolved their approach to mental health by incorporating it into ESG frameworks. The recently published CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark is a good example of this evolution. The benchmark is the culmination of a joint project between the CCLA and Chronos Sustainability, with support from an expert panel, which has been designed as a tool for investors to assess and monitor companies on their mental wellbeing efforts, while also holding them accountable to claims.Investors and analysts are looking for companies to show exactly how they are monitoring, embedding and improving employee wellbeing, going beyond ‘boilerplate’ statements across communications. The benchmark highlighted that while 93% of UK companies stated mental health was a priority for them, less than half equip line managers with the necessary mental health training to monitor wellbeing. Investors are calling for companies to look beyond boilerplate commitments and produce concrete targets for things such as manager training on mental health to illustrate a commitment to supporting employee wellbeing.
Alongside this, the study found that only a third of UK companies are using employee feedback to inform their mental wellbeing programmes. Investors are looking to understand exactly how companies are actively engaging with and listening to their employees on a regular basis to ensure wellbeing programmes are fit for purpose.
Looking to the future of reporting, we are seeing more and more human-related issues being integrated into regulation. The ISSB has announced that it will integrate disclosures on risks and opportunities related to human capital into its next round of research to develop its next standards. The recent formation of the TISFD also signals an intention to place greater scrutiny on human-related issues. It could be suggested that mental health along with other human-related issues will become the ‘norm for reporting’, with investors’ expectations only expected to grow in the near future.
How should companies respond?
With investor expectations around mental health only expected to grow, based on its research, the CCLA has encouraged companies to consider the following actions[3]:
1. Acknowledge workplace mental health as an important consideration for the business
Our recommendation: Embed your commitment to mental health as a core narrative, ensuring it is strategically highlighted across all reporting channels and digital touchpoints to demonstrate leadership and accountability. Our team can support you in embedding mental health as part of your board oversight, ensuring alignment with ESG priorities and leadership accountability to investors.
2. Signal board and senior management commitment to promoting mental health in the workplace, and encourage a culture of openness on mental health
Our recommendation: Showcase leadership commitment by detailing board-level discussions and decisions on mental health in governance disclosures. Highlight how mental health is integrated into the organisation’s culture strategy, workforce engagement mechanisms and leadership accountability frameworks.
Examples of good reporting: Legal and General signalled its commitment to ensuring a culture of positive mental wellbeing in its 2023 Annual Report [4] disclosures by including a short statement on the importance of mental health in the CEO’s statement as well as including the promotion of mental wellbeing in customers in one of its six strategic pillars.3. Publish a commitment to workplace mental health in a policy statement together with a description of the scope of commitment and governance practices that will ensure the policy is effectively monitored
Our recommendation: Include detail on your mental health commitments, including information on the adoption rates of mental health initiatives, their outcomes, and any measurable impacts on the workforce, such as reductions in absenteeism or improvements in employee engagement.Examples of good reporting: First Group publishes both a standalone ‘dignity at work’ [5] policy and an ‘equal opportunities and diversity policy’[6], both of which clearly state the group’s position on ensuring all colleagues are treated fairly and with respect. Both policies also clearly set out the board’s responsibilities in fostering an inclusive and safe working environment for all colleagues.
4. Set objectives and targets to improve workplace mental health
Our recommendation: Ensure objectives are measurable, quantifiable and suitably stretching, so that progress can be regularly reported upon, for example, training 80% of line managers in mental health by year end or reducing work-related mental health absences by 15% within three years.Examples of good reporting: In its 2023 Sustainability and Society Report [7], Sage clearly reports upon its mental health-related goals and targets and progress made. Targets include rolling out its Colleague Assistant Programme to all countries by 2024, and doubling the number of ‘Healthy Mind’ Coaches by 2025.
5. Report annually on progress against the company’s mental health policy and objectives
Our recommendation: Include associated disclosures across the reporting suite and ensure transparency by sharing successes alongside challenges, supported by data and real-world examples, such as testimonials or case studies of employees benefiting from mental health initiatives. Our team can support you with mapping key disclosures across your reporting suite and maximising their impact.Discover how Luminous can help you integrate mental health into your corporate communications and investor engagement strategy. Contact us today to explore tailored solutions to meet evolving investor expectations.
[1] https://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-2019
[2] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/mental-health-work-statistics#:~:text=Mental%20ill%20health%20is%20now,has%20more%20than%20quadrupled4.
[3] https://www.ccla.co.uk/documents/global-investor-statement-workplace-mental-health/download?inline
[4] https://group.legalandgeneral.com/media/o4harb42/legal-and-general-2023_annual-report-and-accounts.pdf
[5] https://www.firstgroupplc.com/~/media/Files/F/Firstgroup-Plc/Responsibilty%20Reports/policies/firstgroup-dignityat-work-policy.pdf
[6] https://www.firstgroupplc.com/~/media/Files/F/Firstgroup-Plc/Responsibilty%20Reports/policies/firstgroup-equal-opps-diversity-policy.pdf
[7] https://www.sage.com/en-gb/company/sustainability-and-society/#reports
Who’s the new kid on the block: TISFD!
The Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) is developing a disclosure framework for companies to report on their inequality and social-related issues.
Launched in September 2024, the TISFD envisions an economic system in which businesses effectively address their impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities related to people – resulting in fairer, stronger societies and economies.
What is the need for the TISFD?
People around the world have benefited from the social and economic progress made over the last century from a growing private sector, technological advances and rapid globalisation. Yet these gains have not been distributed evenly. Hundreds of millions of people are still unable to attain basic needs, and within many countries, inequalities of income and wealth stand at historic highs.[1]
These social challenges present risks and opportunities to market actors. Some of the risks include eroding social cohesion in society, undermining institutions and trust in government, hampering productivity, reducing economic dynamism and increasing financial instability. On the flip side, tackling inequalities presents significant opportunities for economies and market actors by rebuilding social capital and stability.
Altogether, decision-useful information is essential for market actors to act rationally, which is what the TISFD aims to support.
What are the proposed deliverables?
The TISFD will produce a global disclosure framework that aligns with the four-pillar structure of the disclosure frameworks of TCFD and TNFD, with the content tailored to topics related to people.
The TISFD will also produce guidance and recommendations to aid the implementation of the disclosure framework for businesses.
Purpose
Within one to two years of launching the disclosure framework, the TISFD’s short-term objective is to enable businesses and financial institutions to:
- recognise inequality and social-related issues as a source of entity-level and system-level risks, as well as the opportunities associated with improving outcomes for people;
- strengthen the identification, assessment and reporting of social- and inequality-related impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities; and
- act accordingly to respect human rights, improve outcomes for people and reduce inequalities, and thereby mitigate financial risks and realise financial opportunities.
In the medium and long term, the TISFD aims to work with policymakers and standard-setters to embed its recommendations in standards and laws equipping civil society organisations with access to information that allows them to engage responsibly with the private sector.
Ultimately, the TISFD will enable businesses and financial institutions to collectively act to mitigate the system-level risks associated with inequalities and other social issues and seize the significant opportunities that result from building a fairer world.
Whilst the framework is currently under development, businesses should evaluate their impacts on people and potential inequalities, and start preparing for more robust and methodological reporting on these issues.
To find out more about how Luminous can help with your social-related issues and reporting, please get in touch: Anokhi.Kalayil@Luminous.co.uk.
IR Society Webinar: CSRD is here. Are you ready?
The guidance provided by EFRAG on CSRD reporting has been confusing and vague. To help companies navigate the complexity, we analysed 19 early adopters to help address and provide sustainability professionals with tools they need to develop a rigorous approach to reporting.
In collaboration with the IR Society, we are excited to bring you a webinar to help provide clarity on CSRD and explore the key findings from our comprehensive review, including:
- How do I apply the guidance provided by EFRAG?
- What makes for a good sustainability statement?
- What are some tips for moving my reporting further into compliance?
- What challenges might I face when preparing to report to CSRD?
- Best practice examples
- Q&A
Speakers include:
- Liz Coles, Head of Policy & Communications, IR Society
- Stephen Butler, Investor Communications & ESG Director
- Rachel Madan, Sustainability & Impact Director
For more information, please get in touch with our Senior Marketing Manager, Matilda Paterson.
Webinar: Maximising your EVP impact: how to make your digital channels work harder
On Wednesday, 12th of February at 11am, Anna Tugetam and James Croxford shared insights on how to effectively communicate an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and maximise its impact through digital channels.
Competition for talent is fierce, and communicating your employee value proposition (EVP) is essential to attract and retain the best and brightest.
To help companies address these challenges, our Director of Purpose, Brand & Culture, Anna Tugetam, and our Director of Digital Engagement, James Croxford, led an engaging session, sharing insights and best practice recommendations on how to effectively communicate an EVP and maximise its impact through digital channels.
They discussed:
- Key elements of a successful EVP
- Leveraging careers websites to highlight the EVP
- The role of storytelling in creating impactful messaging that resonates with audiences and drives online engagement
- Examples of companies excelling in EVP and what could be learned from them
Better engage and retain your most valuable asset – your people!
This event has now past. If you have any questions about the event, please get in touch with our Marketing Manager, Matilda Paterson.
Environment Matters: Change is coming, are you prepared?
This year, we’ve refined our research approach following the release of Reporting Matters 10 in July, which explored the significant reporting changes on the horizon, such as IFRS 1 and 2, CSRD and TPT.
Our Environmental Reporting analysis spans a diverse selection of annual reports from across the FTSE 350, excluding closed-end investments.
We hope that the insights and examples we provide will inspire and motivate preparers to embrace the changes ahead and see their reporting as a vital tool in telling their story to investors and other stakeholders.
Launch event
At our launch event on July 9, Luminous’ Stephen Butler, Investor Communications and ESG Disclosure Director and Kay Kayachith, Investor Communications and ESG Disclosure Associate Director, shared the outcomes of our research.
If you would like to access the recording, slides, or transcript from our event, please get in touch.