The company that aims to be sustainable, aligning its actions with the ESG concept, has a long way to go. In this journey, a crucial step is defining its materiality.
Materiality can be understood as the definition of relevant topics for the organization, concerning environmental, social, and governance sustainability strategies and practices. It is related to the main impacts that the organization promotes or is subject to, as well as the opportunities linked to each of its risks.
Whether large corporations or small and medium enterprises, it is essential to consider the particularities of organizations, even if they operate in the same sector.
The impact of topics on business is not the only aspect to be considered through the materiality lens. Likewise, it is essential to shed light on what matters to stakeholders, who are employees, suppliers, customers, consumers, all stakeholders involved in this process.
Each stakeholder has different affinities and understandings of what is most relevant in their daily lives. Depending on social, economic, environmental, political, and even geographical conditions, an employee may prioritize important issues such as labor practices, diversity, or relationships with leadership. For the local community, the relevance of the business may lie, for example, in the potential to create jobs. From the employee’s perspective, the main interest is sometimes the employer brand.
Faced with so many specific interests and needs, materiality allows us to understand the relevance and impact that topics bring to the business and contributes to defining action priorities, setting goals and strategies, and reporting results to all stakeholders.
This understanding provided by materiality needs, necessarily, to interpret with precision the biases revealed by each stakeholder. In this sense, we reinforce the importance of understanding “people” to develop suitable, cohesive processes, and with real results.
With the perspective of reducing the risks associated with these biases, we present three points that should not be neglected in the journey.
The first of them is to establish a trust relationship with each group of stakeholders, precisely so that there is genuine interest in providing correct and adequate information for evaluation.
The second measure is to clarify each of the material topics, align expectations, and provide understanding.
No less important, we highlight the need to understand the groups of stakeholders and adjust communication with each of them. We cannot always use acronyms, terms in English, or technical references if our proposal is to ensure the understanding of stakeholders.
Sustainability and the adoption of ESG practices not only differentiate a company in the market in 2025. Truly add an environmentally responsible action and aligned with the social development that this year so much demands, always taking into account the current scenario and the context in which the company is inserted.
