Materiality Assessment and Sustainability Reporting Project

SUST 6450
Closed
Schulich School of Business
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Professor of Sustainability Accounting
1
Timeline
  • February 14, 2024
    Experience start
  • April 3, 2024
    Experience end
Experience
2/2 project matches
Dates set by experience
Preferred companies
Ontario, Canada
Startup, Family owned, Non profit, Small to medium enterprise, Social enterprise
Any industries
Categories
Community engagement Social work Environmental sustainability Social justice
Skills
stakeholder engagement competitive analysis business strategies sustainability reporting corporate social responsibility management public relations
Learner goals and capabilities

Materiality is the principle of defining the social and environmental topics that matter most to your business and your stakeholders. A materiality assessment should be used as a strategic business tool, with implications beyond corporate responsibility or sustainability reporting. A broad and inclusive materiality process, including stakeholder engagement, can deliver benefits such as:

 

  • Ensuring business strategy takes into account significant social and environmental topics, and the management of sustainability issues is embedded in wider business processes.
  • Identifying trends on the horizon, such as water scarcity or changing weather patterns, that could significantly impact the company's ability to create value in the long-term.
  • Prioritizing your resources for the sustainability issues that matter most to the business and stakeholders, so you can focus time and money on the most important topics, and on collecting relevant data.
  • Highlighting areas where we need to manage and monitor risks that are important but not currently addressed.
  • Identifying the areas of interest to the most important stakeholders, enabling you to report concise Information that gives a meaningful picture of progress to those who need it.
  • Helping to identify where the company is creating, or reducing, value for society.
  • Completing an industry and competitive analysis of the reporting efforts currently in place.
  • Identifying the reporting standards that your organization should consider and their implications.
  • A practical ‘how to’ guide to sustainability reporting for your organization. 
Learners
Post-graduate
Any level
40 learners
Project
50 hours per learner
Educators assign learners to projects
Teams of 4
Expected outcomes and deliverables

A written report and a presentation providing the materiality assessment of your organization, including a matrix and practical recommendations on potential mitigating actions and/or solutions to the issues deemed most material, as well as on your sustainability reporting plans, process and/or strategy.

 

Some publicity via a published story that students will write based on their experience and interactions with you (with your approval) on this platform (note that of the story can be focused on SDGs, it is subject to a prize – Schulich students under my supervision have won several before – see here).


Project timeline
  • February 14, 2024
    Experience start
  • April 3, 2024
    Experience end
Project Examples

Learners in groups of 3-5 will work with your company to identify your needs and provide actionable recommendations, based on their in-depth research and analysis.


Project activities that learners can complete may include, but are not limited to: 

  • acquire expertise in the collection and analysis of reliable sustainability-related data that allows for effective internal and external benchmarking. 
  • apply the technical and processual skills in an intensive experiential learning opportunity that involves conducting a materiality assessment with a Canadian organization. 
  • identify ways of influencing and shaping how sustainability goals and metrics can be aligned with core business strategies. 
  • understand how different methods, tools, and choices of metrics vary by industry, growth stage, and jurisdiction governing the organization.
  • effectively work in groups/teams;
  • produce a clear and effective written report and present findings to peers.