Manage approvals of ESG Program metrics

From ESG Program, you can assign workspace members to verify and approve the values collected for metrics, such as to verify calculations and ensure responses meet framework guidance or disclosure requirements. Approvers can verify their values directly from the metric in ESG Program or through Workiva Tasks or a connected source file.

Assign approvers to metric values

From ESG Program, you can assign workspace members to approve the values collected during each collection period of a metric.

Tip: To help keep data collection flowing, you can send reminders for incomplete tasks. If an approver is delayed or unavailable, you can reassign the value to yourself, then approve the value to retain an approval workflow.

1. On the metric, select the Program year and collection period of the values to assign for approval.
2. Select whether to set assignments for the metric's values for the collection period:
   • To assign members to approve the metric's only value, assign approvers from Metric assignment of the metric.
   • To assign members to approve a specific dimensional value, select Edit details from its menu, and assign its approvers in Metric assignment. 
     
   • To assign the same members to multiple dimensional values, select the values in Metric value, click Edit values, and assign their approvers in Metric assignment.
     
3. In Approver, select the workspace member to approve the data, or assign multiple approvers to approve by a shared due date or through a series of steps.
   • One approver
   • Multiple approvers

   To assign only one member as the approver:

   1. In Approver, select the member to verify the value.
   2. In Approval due, select the approver's due date.
   3. In Instructions, enter any guidance to help collaborators complete their tasks, such as:
      • Details about the value or data to collect
      • Any related framework-specific guidance
      • The context of the value's narrative in the reporting output

      Tip: You can enter up to 2,000 characters for instructions. For longer instructions, upload them as reference attachments.

   You can assign multiple members to approve a value, such as to:

   • Require approval from one of multiple members by a specific due date
   • Set up a series of approval steps, each with its own approvers and due date

   To assign the approval to multiple members:

   1. In Approver, select Multiple approvers.
      
   2. In Step 1, select the members to perform the value's initial approval — or its only approval, if no other steps are required — and their due date.
      

      Tip: When you assign multiple members to an approval step, approval by any of them will complete their step. To require approval by multiple members, add a separate step for each approval.

   3. To have additional members verify the approval, click Add approval step, and set up the new step's approvers and due date.

      Note: Each approval step must be due after its preceding due date.

   4. After you set up all approval steps, click Save.

      Tip: To delete an approval step, select Remove step from its menu.

   5. In Instructions, enter any guidance to help collaborators complete their tasks, such as:
      • Details about the value or data to collect
      • Any related framework-specific guidance
      • The context of the value's narrative in the reporting output

      Tip: You can enter up to 2,000 characters for instructions. For longer instructions, upload them as reference attachments.

Tip: You can track a value's data collection from its metric, and you can track the metric's data collection from its topic and ESG Program.

Approve or return values

Workspace members assigned to approve a metric value receive a notification in Home and their email inbox when the value is ready for verification.

As an approver, you can complete this task:

• From ESG Program, directly in the metric
  
  
• From the streamlined Workiva Tasks, for values without a connected source file
  
• From the ESG Metrics panel of the connected source file, when applicable
  

To complete your task, either approve the value or return it to the assignee if it needs rework:

• If the value is correct, click Approve, enter any note about its approval, and click Approve.
  
• To send the value back to the assignee to correct, click Return, enter a note to explain what to fix, and click Return.