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From Sustainability Program, you can generate a Spreadsheet template with the sheets and columns necessary to import new elements into a Program. From the template, enter the details of the items to import in their respective sheets.

Note: The template includes only the sheets you choose to generate from Sustainability Program. 

After you complete the template, you can import it back into Sustainability Program to validate its details and add the items to the Program.

Tip: To import collected metric values or task assignments, contact your Workiva Customer Success Manager (CSM) or implementation partner to help add them through a structured metric file (SMF).

Generate template

From Sustainability Program, create a Spreadsheet template with the sheets and columns required for your import:

1. From Program overview, select the Program to import details into:
   • For a new Program, select Create program from the menu, then name the new Program as necessary. 
     
   • For an existing Program, select it by name.  
     
2. From the menu of either Program overview or the outline, select Import. 
   
3. Select Choose template, and click Next.
   
4. Select the sheets to include in the template — based on the details to import — and click Create.
   

Import order for new Programs

When using Import to set up a new Program, we recommend you generate and import multiple templates with only the sheets needed to build out its details, in this order:

1. To set up the initial outline and any customizations of the Program, create and import a template withTopics, Program tags, and Dimensions.
2. To add metrics to the Program's topics, create and import a template with Metrics.
3. To apply additional context to the Program's metrics, create and import a template with Metric content and tags and Metric dimension.

Topics

Topics indicate the specific factors that the Program addresses, and can categorize metrics and other topics by their general themes. For example, an Environmental topic may include additional topics such as Energy and Waste, while a Social topic may include topics like Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and Human rights. 

From the Topics sheet, enter the names of the topics to add at each level of the hierarchy — up to six topics deep — with a separate row for each topic at the deepest levels. For example, for an Environmental topic that contains a Greenhouse gas emissions topic, which in turn contains additional topics for Energy and Scope 1 and 2 emissions:

Tip: Use the template to add new topics to the Program. To adjust the topics' hierarchy, edit the outline directly in the Program.

Note: Each topic name must be unique and no more than 300 characters. Ensure correct and consistent spellings to avoid inadvertently creating unnecessary topics. 

After the import, the topic hierarchy appears in the Program's outline.

Topics template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Topics template:

Program tags

Note: Only Workspace Owners can import Program tags.

With Program tags, you can apply custom metadata to metrics, such as to:

• Indicate the sustainability performance goals metrics support
• Track metrics' importance to stakeholders, based on a materiality assessment
• Align metrics with content from a framework or questionnaire not included in Sustainability Explorer

From the Program tags sheet, enter the tags to add, with each set's name and value pair as a separate row. For example, to create tags of Company goal and Materiality and their available values: 

Program tags template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Program tags template:

Dimensions

Note: Only Owners of the Program or its Workspace can import dimensions.

With custom dimensions, you can specify the context of multiple values collected through a metric. For example, you can apply a dimension to a metric to collect values based on:

• Location or market region
• Business entity or business unit
• Race, gender, or other demographic

From the Dimensions sheet, enter the custom dimensions to add, with each set's name and value pair as a separate row.

• In Dimension name, enter the unique name for the dimension set, such as Location or Gender.

  Note: Ensure correct and consistent spellings to avoid inadvertently creating unnecessary dimensions. 

• In Dimension value ID and Dimension value, enter the unique identifier and optional display name for each value of the dimension set as a separate row.

  Note: Each dimension value ID must be unique. For data integrity, you can't delete dimension values or edit their IDs after import.

  Tip: The Dimension value is optional. If blank, the Program uses the ID as the value's name as well.

For example, to create a Gender dimension set:

Tip: To add new dimensional values to an existing dimension, enter the dimension in Dimension name, and the IDs and names of only the new values in Dimension value ID and Dimension value, respectively.

Note: You can add or import up to 250 dimension sets in a Program, with up to 1,500 values per dimension name. 

Dimensions template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Dimensions template:

Metrics

Metrics define the values to collect for topics. For example, a Scope 1 emissions topic could include separate metrics for Refrigerants, Mobile combustion, and Stationary combustion. 

From the Metrics sheet, add the details about the metrics to create, with each metric as a separate row.

After the import, each metric appears within its selected topic, with its name and description in Metric details and value details set in the Configure metric panel.

Metrics template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Metrics template:

Metric content and tags

To provide additional context for metrics, you can apply custom Program tags or references to content in Sustainability Explorer — such as framework or questionnaire disclosures — that their values support.

When the template generates, it automatically prepares its Metric content and tags sheet with:

• A row for each metric in the Program, including its name, ID, and topic
• Columns for each framework and questionnaire enabled in Sustainability Explorer, such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
• Columns for each Program tag active in the workspace

Note: Generate the Metric content and tags template only when the metrics to update already appear in the Program.

From this sheet, add new content references or tags to the metrics' respective rows:

• To add a content reference, enter the content's Explorer ID in the column of the respective framework or questionnaire.

  Tip: From Sustainability Explorer, you can copy the Explorer ID to paste into the Metric content and tags template.

  Note: To add multiple Explorer IDs for the same framework, enter them as a comma-separated list. If an ID contains a comma (,), enter a double quotation mark (") at the beginning and end, such as "S2 Basis for Conclusions on IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures Core content Metrics and targets Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions BC79_2024-05-01".

• To add a tag, enter the tag value in the tag's respective column. To add multiple values from the same tag set, enter them as a comma-separated list.

  Note: A metric can have up to 20 tags.

For example:

Note: In the template, the columns with the metrics' names, IDs, and topics are read-only.

After the import, the new content references and tags appear in Related Explorer content and Program tags, respectively, of the metrics' Metric details.

Metric content and tags template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Metric content and tags template:

Metric dimensions

To apply new custom dimensions to metrics, such as to collect multiple values through them based on location, demographic, or another context:

• If your Program supports only one dimension per metric, use the Metric dimension sheet.
• If your Program supports multiple dimensions per metric, use the Metric dimensions sheet.

Tip: Multidimensional metrics currently have only limited availability. When enabled, each metric can support up to seven dimensions.

Note: Generate a Metric dimension or Metric dimensions template only when the metrics to update and dimensions to apply already appear in the Program. To add new dimensions into the Program in bulk, first import the Dimensions template.

• Metric dimension
• Metric dimensions

If your Program supports only one dimension per metric, generate the Metric dimension template. When the template generates, it automatically prepares this sheet with:

• A row for each metric in the Program, including its name, ID, and topic

• A Dimension type column, which offers the dimensions active in the Program

To add a dimension to a metric, select it in the Dimension type column for the metric's row. For example:

Metric ID	Topic name	Metric	Dimension type
M1	Scope 1 emissions	Refrigerants	Location

Note: In the template, the columns with the metrics' names, IDs, and topics are read-only.

After the import, the dimension appears added to the metric from the Configure metric panel. From the metric, you can then add values for data collection based on the dimension.

Metric dimension template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Metric dimension template:

Feature	Limit
Rows	5,000
Dimensions per metric	1

If your Program supports multiple dimensions per metric, generate the Metric dimensions template. When the template generates, it automatically prepares this sheet with:

• A row for each metric in the Program, including its name, ID, and topic

• Seven Dimension type columns, numbered 1 through 7, each offering the dimensions active in the Program

To add dimensions to a metric, select them in the Dimension type columns for the metric's row, in the order you'd like them to appear for the metric's values. For example:

Metric ID	Topic name	Metric	Dimension type 1	Dimension type 2	Dimension type 3	Dimension type 4
M4	Business ethics	Headcount	Location	Department	Gender	Ethnicity

Note: In the template, the columns with the metrics' names, IDs, and topics are read-only.

After the import, the dimensions appear added to the metric — in order from top-to-bottom — from the Configure metric panel. From the metric, you can set up its values based on combinations of the dimensions' values.

Metric dimensions template limits

To help ensure consistent performance, Import enforces these default limits for the Metric dimensions template:

Feature	Limit
Rows	5,000
Dimensions per metric	7

Note: When you generate the Metric dimension or Metric dimensions template, the Spreadsheet also includes a Dimensions sheet in the Reference section, which includes all active dimensions in the Program.