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Use Factbook as source for sustainability reporting

Use Factbook as source for sustainability reporting

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Your Workiva Sustainability Reporting solution includes a Factbook Spreadsheet, customized for your organization's reporting needs. This Spreadsheet curates metric values collected through Sustainability Program to enable source links for your environmental, social, and governance (ESG) or sustainability reporting.

Note: This article presents an example Factbook to represent supported framework disclosures and the flow of Program values from incoming connections to reporting outputs. Your Factbook may differ, as it was customized it to meet your needs during implementation.

This spreadsheet includes these core sections:

  • Admin, where you track your reporting years and defaults for formulas and tables
  • Source, which stores the raw data from your Program metrics
  • Framework indices, where you specify the disclosures that your reporting aligns with, for index generation and gap analysis
  • Performance tables, from where you can link values to your reporting outputs
  • Templates, with default sheets set up with the formulas and columns required for performance tables based on data frequency or visualization 

Get latest values from Sustainability Program

To update the Factbook with the latest values from Sustainability Program, refresh the Data output incoming connection from the Connections panel:

Note: To refresh the connection, you need Editor or Owner permission to its sheet, and at least Viewer permission to its source query.
  1. From Incoming , click the Data output connection.
    esg-factbook_01.png
  2. In Parameters, select the start and end years of the values to refresh, then click Apply & refresh.
    Tip: To refresh the values again for the same period, click Refresh incoming for the connection.

Add metrics to Factbook

When you add a new metric to the Program, refresh the incoming connections to get its details and values:

  1. From the Connections panel of the Factbook, select Incoming .
    factbook-metric-data-connection.png
  2. To get the details of the new metric, click the Metric data connection, select the metric's reporting year, and click Apply & refresh.
  3. If the metric has values collected, click the Data output connection, select the start and end years of its values, and click Apply & refresh.

Prepare value in performance table

After you add a metric to the Factbook, you can use its values in a performance table:

  1. From Sustainability Program, note or copy the metric's ID.
    dc-sheet-metric-id.png
  2. From the Performance tables section of the Factbook, select the sheet to add the metric's values to.
    Tip: If necessary, use the Template section to add a new performance table.
  3. Select the row near where to add the metric, then right-click and select Insert, 1 row above or 1 row below.
    factbook-insert-row.png
  4. To update the new row with any required formulas, select the row above or below it, hover over the lower right corner of the final column until the cursor becomes a plus sign , then drag the selected row into the new row.
  5. In the new row, select the metric and value to add:
    • the Metric ID column, select the ID of the metric to add.
    • If the metric has a dimension applied, select the value's dimension in the Dimension column.
  6. To use the value in a report, create a source link from its cell to the destination file.
    Tip: To update a destination file with any changes to its value, click Publish from the Factbook spreadsheet's toolbar.

Add performance table to Factbook

From the Performance tables section, you can use sheets to prepare values for reporting outputs. To add a new sheet to this section, use a default template from the Templates section.

  1. In the Templates section of the outline, right-click the template's sheet and select Duplicate.
    factbook-dupe-template.png
  2. Right-click the duplicate, select Rename, and enter its new name.
  3. Move the duplicate to its position within the Performance tables section.

Align framework indices with disclosures

The Factbook spreadsheet can align with multiple frameworks and standards from Sustainability Explorer, based on your organization's implementation:

  • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
  • Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
  • Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
  • United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG)
  • S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA)

From the Framework indices section, you can specify the disclosures your reporting aligns with, such as to:

  • View how many metrics align with each disclosure.
  • Identify gaps in your data collection.
  • Create source links to indices, to help stakeholders navigate your sustainability reporting.

To align with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards:

  1. From Sustainability Explorer, select to include GRI Standards — including any Sector Standards that apply to your organization — from the Properties panel.
  2. From Sustainability Program, align metrics with their related GRI Standards.
  3. From the Connections panel of the Factbook, click Refresh for the GRI analysis incoming connection to update the GRI index sheet with the metrics that align with GRI.
  4. In the GRI index sheet, review your alignment with each disclosure: 
    • In Count, view how many metrics align with the disclosure.
      Tip: A disclosure with a Count of zero (0) indicates a gap, with no metrics aligned. If you select to report the disclosure, add a Program metric to enable and track its data collection.
    • In Report, select whether to disclosure the disclosure in your sustainability reporting. If No, enter an explanation why in Reason for omission.  
  5. To refer to a disclosure in your report's index, create a source link from its Disclosure or Description cell in the GRI index sheet to your output file.

To align with Sustainability Accounting Standards Boards (SASB):

  1. From the Properties panel of Sustainability Explorer, select to include SASB Standards, and select the SASB industries that apply to your organization.
  2. From Sustainability Program, align metrics with their related SASB Standards.
  3. From the Factbook, in the Select SASB industry sheet, select Y in the Disclose column for the same industries selected from the Properties panel of Sustainability Explorer.
  4. From the Connections panel, click Refresh for the SASB analysis incoming connection to update the SASB index sheet with the metrics that align with SASB.
    Tip: To identify gaps, review the SASB analysis section for Standards without any metrics aligned.
  5. In the SASB analysis sheet, view which metrics align with each Standard.
    Tip: A Standard with no metric aligned indicates a gap. To report on the Standard, add a Program metric to enable and track its data collection.
  6. In the SASB index sheet, add any notes about the disclosures.
  7. To refer to a disclosure in your report's index, create a source link from its Disclosure or Description cell in the SASB index sheet to your output file.

To align with Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD):

  1. From Sustainability Explorer, select to include TCFD content from the Properties panel.
  2. From Sustainability Program, align metrics with their related TCFD content.
  3. From the Factbook, in the TCFD questionnaire sheet, collect responses of how your organization supports each pillar of TCFD — Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and targets.
  4. From the Connections panel, click Refresh for the TCFD analysis incoming connection to update the TCFD index sheet with the metrics that align with TCFD.
  5. To refer to a response or disclosure in your report or its index, create a source link from its cell in the TCFD index sheet to your output file.

To align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG):

  1. From Sustainability Explorer, select to include UNSDG content from the Properties panel.
  2. From Sustainability Program, align metrics with their related UNSDG content.
  3. From the Factbook, in the UNSDG Choose goals sheet, choose whether to disclose each goal.
  4. From the Connections panel, click Refresh for the UNSDG analysis incoming connection to update the UNSDG index sheet with the metrics that align with UNSDG.
  5. In the UNSDG analysis sheet, view which metrics align with each goal, target, or indicator.
    Tip: A disclosure with no metric aligned indicates a gap. To report on the disclosure, add a Program metric to enable and track its data collection.
  6. In the Index sheet, add any notes about the disclosures.
  7. To refer to a disclosure in your report's index, create a source link from its Disclosure or Description cell in the Index sheet to your output file.

To align with S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA):

  1. From Sustainability Explorer, select to include CSA content from the Properties panel.
  2. From Sustainability Program, align metrics with their related CSA content.
  3. From the Connections panel of the Factbook, click Refresh for the CSA analysis incoming connection to update its sheet with the metrics that align with CSA.
  4. In the CSA analysis sheet, view which metrics align with each disclosure.
    Tip: A disclosure with no metric aligned indicates a gap. To report on the disclosure, add a Program metric to enable and track its data collection.
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Your Workiva Sustainability Reporting solution includes a Factbook Spreadsheet, customized for your organization's re...