Når virksomheder slipper compliance-tankegangen og begynder at bruge deres data aktivt, kan bæredygtighed blive et værdifuldt strategisk kompas frem for en administrativ byrde. Sådan lyder det fra professor Andreas Rasche, der ser et stort uudnyttet potentiale i mange virksomheders rapporteringsprocesser.

(Find the English version below)

Mange virksomheder åndede lettede op, da ESG-rapporteringskravene blev lempet og delvist tilbagerullet sidste år. Færre krav betyder mindre arbejde og dermed en mulighed for at komme hurtigt igennem det, der af en del virksomheder gennem tiden er blevet betegnet som en sur pligt.

Men det er en helt forkert måde at anskue rapportering på. Det mener Andreas Rasche, professor i business and society ved CBS Centre for Sustainability.

“Bæredygtighed bliver ofte tilgået fra et compliance-perspektiv, hvor virksomheder gør det, loven kræver. Men det er en meget reaktiv tilgang”, siger han.

I stedet bør man som virksomhed se rapporteringen som en mulighed for at udvikle sin forretning, mener Rasche. For det, virksomheder skal undersøge om sig selv og deres værdikæder for at kunne afrapportere på ESG, er vigtige brikker i at udvikle fremtidssikrede og succesfulde forretninger.

“Virksomheder, der vil vokse i fremtiden, er nødt til aktivt at kunne håndtere bæredygtighedsrisici og -muligheder. Hvis man kun fokuserer på compliance, når man aldrig frem til en reelt strategisk tilgang.”

Data er din fremtidskikkert

Ifølge Andreas Rasche gør virksomheder derfor klogt i at arbejde langt mere aktivt med deres bæredygtighedsdata. Ikke for at kunne leve op til krav eller producere en flot rapport hvert år, men fordi processen i sig selv skaber en unik indsigt og udsigt.

Han ser et stort uudnyttet potentiale i netop denne proces hos mange virksomheder.

“Rapportering tvinger én til refleksion. Det er et skifte i tankegang”, siger Rasche og fortsætter:

“Tænk på dobbelt væsentlighedsanalyser. De er i bund og grund refleksionsøvelser for organisationen. De stiller spørgsmålet: Hvad er det egentlig, vi gør? Hvad er vores påvirkninger?”

Når virksomheder arbejder med deres data, deres påvirkninger, deres risici, sker der noget, som ikke nødvendigvis findes i rapportens indhold, men i de samtaler, der opstår undervejs.

Og på den måde kan rapporteringsprocessen blive virksomheders gyldne fremtidskikkert.

“Nogle vil måske mene, at det ikke er relevant lige nu, men hvis man ser på sin forretning fem år frem, er mange af de problemstillinger, vi taler om, allerede til stede i dag. Klimaforandringer har allerede en betydelig effekt. De skaber allerede omkostninger for virksomheder”, siger Andreas Rasche.

”Hvis du overvejer en investering eller en opkøbsaftale, hvad er så din tidshorisont? Indregner du en skyggepris på CO₂ i din analyse? For at kunne gøre det har du brug for data. Du har brug for rapportering.”

Vi hører af og til virksomheder sige, at de med mindre rapportering nu har fået mere tid til rent faktisk at handle. Er det ikke en fair betragtning?

“Jeg køber ikke den argumentation. Hvis man tænker på finansiel rapportering: Ingen ville sige: ‘Lad os stoppe med at indsamle finansielle data, så vi kan skabe reel økonomisk værdi.’ Det ville ikke give mening. Men inden for bæredygtighed dukker det argument nogle gange op, og det er misvisende.”

Bæredygtighed skal ind i maskinrummet

Når de vigtige samtaler er taget, og potentialer og risici er afdækket, kommer endnu et vigtigt skridt, siger Andreas Rasche: at implementere indsigterne i virksomhedsstrategien.

Det kræver, at bæredygtighedsarbejdet flyttes fra kontoret nede på den mørke gang og ind i maskinrummet, hvor beslutningerne træffes.

Erkendelserne skal integreres gennem den øverste ledelse, så bæredygtighed kan få en ny karakter, siger Rasche:

“Lige nu anerkender de fleste af os, at bæredygtighed er vigtigt. Men vi har endnu ikke fuldt integreret det i beslutningsprocesserne. Det ligger stadig lidt ved siden af. Næste skridt er at flytte det ind i kernen af beslutningstagningen.”

Kan skabe effektivitet på den lange bane

For mange virksomheder handler modstanden på rapportering ikke om manglende vilje, men om usikkerhed, siger Rasche.

“Jeg mener, at der er en helt reel bekymring blandt virksomheder. De er forsigtige, fordi reguleringen har været ustabil.”

Når reguleringen ændrer sig undervejs, bliver det sværere at træffe langsigtede beslutninger. Det kan føles risikabelt at investere i noget, der endnu ikke ligger fast.

Dertil kommer en ustabil geopolitisk situation, hvor virksomheder risikerer at blive straffet for at fokusere på ESG.

Men her bør virksomheder tænke langsigtet, ikke kun kortsigtet, påpeger Andreas Rasche. Synet på bæredygtighed skal ændres så det, der kan føles som en risiko her og nu, i stedet kommer til at handle om opbygning af erfaring og interne kompetencer.

Det tager tid og kan ikke indhentes fra den ene dag til den anden. Til gengæld giver det en langsigtet gevinst for dem, der kontinuerligt investerer i arbejdet, lover professoren.

“Hvis virksomheder engagerer sig tidligt, opbygger de intern forståelse og kompetencer. Det vil hjælpe dem med at implementere regulering mere effektivt senere.”

Usikkerheden forsvinder ikke, kravene til rapportering vil ændre sig igen, og den geopolitiske situation vil udvikle sig i hidtil usete retninger. Så Andreas Rasches bedste råd er at holde fast. Fast i de værdier, der betyder noget i virksomheden.

“Det handler ikke kun om at sætte flueben. Det handler om, hvilken slags organisation man vil være.”

English version

From Reporting to Direction: “It’s not just about ticking boxes. It is about what kind of organisation you want to be”

When companies move away from a compliance mindset and begin to actively use their data, sustainability can become a valuable strategic compass rather than an administrative burden. This is according to Professor Andreas Rasche, who sees a large untapped potential in companies’ reporting processes.

Many companies breathed a sigh of relief when ESG reporting requirements were relaxed and partially rolled back last year. Fewer requirements mean less work and therefore an opportunity to quickly get through what many companies over time have described as an unpleasant obligation.

But that is entirely the wrong way to view reporting, says Andreas Rasche, Professor of Business and Society at the CBS Centre for Sustainability.

“Sustainability is often approached from a compliance perspective, where companies do what the law requires. But that is a very reactive mindset,” he says.

Instead, companies should see reporting as an opportunity to develop their business, Rasche argues. What companies need to examine about themselves and their value chains in order to report on ESG are important building blocks for developing future-proof and successful businesses.

“Companies that want to grow in the future need to be able to actively manage sustainability risks and opportunities. If you only focus on compliance, you will never get to a truly strategic approach.”

Data is your telescope into the future

According to Andreas Rasche, companies would be wise to work much more actively with their sustainability data. Not to meet requirements or produce a polished report every year, but because the process itself creates unique insight and foresight.

He sees a significant untapped potential in this very process across many companies.

“Reporting forces you into reflection. It is a mindset shift,” says Rasche, and continues:

“Think about double materiality assessments. They are, in essence, reflection exercises for the organisation. They ask: what are we actually doing? What are our impacts?”

When companies work with their data, their impacts, and their risks, something happens that is not necessarily captured in the report itself, but in the conversations that arise along the way.

In this way, the reporting process can become a company’s golden telescope into the future.

“Some might think this is not relevant right now, but if you look at your business five years from now, many of the issues we will be discussing are already present today. Climate change is already having a significant impact. It is already creating costs for businesses,” says Andreas Rasche.

“If you are considering an investment or an acquisition, what is your time horizon? Do you include a shadow carbon price in your analysis? To do that, you need data. You need reporting.”

We sometimes hear companies say that with less reporting, they now have more time to actually take action. Isn’t that a fair point?

“I don’t buy that argument. If you think about financial reporting: no one would say, ‘Let’s stop collecting financial data so we can create real economic value.’ That would not make sense. But in sustainability, this argument sometimes appears, and it is misleading.”

Sustainability must move into the engine room

Once the important conversations have taken place and potentials and risks have been identified, another key step follows, says Andreas Rasche: implementing these insights into the company’s strategy.

This requires moving sustainability work out of a back office on a dark corridor and into the engine room where decisions are made.

These insights must be integrated at the top management level so that sustainability can take on a new role, Rasche explains:

“At the moment, most of us acknowledge that sustainability is important. But we often have not fully integrated it into decision-making yet. It still sits somewhat on the side. The next step is to move it into the core of decision-making.”

Can create long-term efficiency

For many companies, resistance to reporting is not about unwillingness, but about uncertainty, says Rasche.

“I think there are valid concerns among companies. They are cautious because regulation has been unstable.”

When regulations change along the way, it becomes harder to make long-term decisions. It can feel risky to invest in something that is not yet clearly defined.

On top of that, there is an unstable geopolitical situation, where companies risk being penalized for focusing on ESG.

But here, companies should think long-term rather than short-term, Andreas Rasche emphasizes. The perspective on sustainability needs to change so that what may feel like a risk in the present instead becomes about building experience and internal capabilities.

This takes time and cannot be achieved overnight. In return, it provides a long-term benefit for those who continuously invest in the effort, the professor promises.

“If companies engage early, they build internal understanding and capabilities. That will help them implement regulations more effectively later on.”

Uncertainty will not disappear, reporting requirements will change again, and the geopolitical situation will evolve in unprecedented ways. So Andreas Rasche’s best advice is to stay the course—hold on to the values that matter within the company.

“It’s not just about ticking boxes. It is about what kind of organisation you want to be.”