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ESG reporting is a journey, not a destination. Reporting frameworks gives you a structured, credible way to start鈥攅ven if your data is not perfect yet.
By Kali Smith

Imagine turning a handful of good intentions into a living, breathing, sustainability engine鈥攐ne that drives measurable change, not just words on a page. That is exactly what happens when you move from disconnected green projects to a structured environmental, social, and governance (ESG) system grounded in governance, reporting, and strategy.

At Sunnking Sustainable Solutions, we have been recycling electronics and giving devices a second life for 25 years. However, even with dozens of initiatives in place, something was missing. We needed a system that could bridge our values with actions, align our teams internally, and communicate our progress transparently. What we needed was a living ESG framework.

Why a Framework Matters
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world鈥檚 most widely adopted sustainability reporting standard, offered exactly the kind of structure we needed. To better understand the framework, I enrolled in the GRI Certified Reporting course expecting to learn how to 鈥渨rite a report.鈥� Instead, I walked away with something far more valuable: a blueprint to connect sustainability to business strategy, risk management, and measurable impact.
We began viewing sustainability not as a series of disconnected projects, but as a system that required cross-functional collaboration, internal accountability, and long-term vision. GRI, and frameworks like it, are not just reporting tools, they are also roadmaps for impacts. Our ESG strategy now centers around three pillars:
1. Transparency鈥擟ommunicating openly and accountably with measurable data.
2. Stakeholder Inclusivity鈥擥iving a voice to those impacted by our operations, from employees and customers to local communities and downstream vendors.
3. Impact Orientation鈥擣ocusing not just on intentions, but also real-world outcomes.

Before GRI, we had plenty of initiatives, including innovative recycling programs, safety protocols, and community engagement, but they were not coordinated or tracked in a unified way. The GRI framework challenged us to think systematically and treat ESG as a core business function, not a marketing feature.

Getting Governance Right
Our ESG transformation began with GRI 2: General Disclosures, which required us to answer foundational questions:
鈥� Who are we?
鈥� How are we structured?
鈥� What values guide our work?
鈥� How do we engage stakeholders?

Answering these led to the creation of formal governance structures. We identified executive ownership of ESG, revisited our core values, and documented stakeholder engagement across customers, employees, community partners, and vendors. This foundational work allowed us to:
鈥� Establish senior leadership oversight for ESG performance.
鈥� Integrate ESG into quarterly management reviews (instead of once-a-year updates).
鈥� Created a cross-functional ESG committee with representatives from operations, HR, compliance, sales, and communications.
Governance became the bridge between vision and action. With leadership buy-in and team integration, ESG was no longer an add-on, it became embedded in how we operate.

Making Materiality Work for You
Once governance was in place, we advanced to GRI 3: Material Topics鈥攊dentifying the environmental, social, and economic issues most relevant to our business and stakeholders. Materiality is often mistaken for a one-time exercise, but it is not. It is an ongoing process that requires deep engagement and honest reflection. We approached it through:
鈥� Internal Workshops鈥擬apping out our impacts with cross-departmental teams.
鈥� Stakeholder Input鈥擥athering insights from clients, vendors, and employees.
鈥� Value Chain Mapping鈥擜ssessing risks and opportunities across our vendor relationships.

Through this process, we identified core material topics like:
鈥� Emissions鈥擜ddressing our carbon footprint.
鈥� Waste Management鈥擱educing waste across operations.
鈥� Occupational Health and Safety鈥擯rotecting employees in a high-risk industry.
鈥� Vendor Social and Environmental Practices鈥擜ligning partners with our sustainability values.
These topics did not just shape our report, they also became our compass for operational decision-making and long-term planning.

Materiality in Action
Once waste management emerged as a top material topic, we took immediate steps. We conducted comprehensive internal waste audits, restructured sorting and disposal procedures, and identified an often-overlooked waste stream: Styrofoam packaging.
Instead of letting this become a blind spot, we invested in a foam densifier. This required new employee training, safety protocols, and updated vendor criteria. The result? A 60 percent reduction in landfill contributions in just one year. This was more than an environmental win, it was a governance success, led by our ESG committee and executed with executive oversight.
We took a similar approach to emissions. As with many logistics-heavy businesses, transportation was our largest emissions driver. We implemented route optimization tools, anti-idling policies, and assigned oversight to our logistics manager. Emissions reduction became a repeatable, systematic effort, not just a goal on a dashboard.
Across both cases, we applied the same model:
1. Identify the real-world impact
2. Establish governance with clear oversight
3. Measure and report progress
This system does not just track ESG, it propels it forward.

Turning Local Wins into Global Impact
Frameworks like GRI also encourage alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But for many companies, this can feel overwhelming. Questions like 鈥淒o our operations really contribute to global challenges?鈥� or 鈥淗ow do we know which goals we鈥檙e actually impacting?鈥� often stop organizations before they even start.

We faced those same questions. We did not want to simply choose SDGs that sounded good鈥攚e wanted to identify where our actions, values, and impact genuinely aligned with the targets the UN set forth. Our ESG committee took the time to break it down:
鈥� We reviewed the 17 goals and their 169 specific targets.
鈥� We mapped those against our operations, services, stakeholder feedback, and existing initiatives.
鈥� We asked: Where do we create real-world outcomes? and How can we improve those impacts over time?

From this process, we identified the SDGs that best reflect both our direct and indirect influence. The result was a focused, meaningful alignment with seven core goals:
1. SDG 3 鈥� Good Health and Well-Being
2. SDG 4 鈥� Quality Education
3. SDG 8 鈥� Decent Work and Economic Growth
4. SDG 11 鈥� Sustainable Cities and Communities
5. SDG 12 鈥� Responsible Consumption and Production
6. SDG 13 鈥� Climate Action
7. SDG 17 鈥� Partnerships for the Goals

For full transparency, we include an SDG Index in our ESG report, listing the specific targets and indicators we support. This not only gives our efforts global context, it also helps our clients, partners, and community members see how their involvement contributes to something bigger.

Your First Steps Toward a Living System
If you are just getting started, here are a few tips:
鈥� Tip 1: Invest in Stakeholder Mapping鈥擸our stakeholders are your ESG compass. Map them, talk to them, and listen.
鈥� Tip 2: Bring in Your Unique Context鈥擫et your business model guide your sustainability story. Ask: What does sustainability look like in your business, in your industry, with your impacts?
鈥� Tip 3: Collaborate Early and Often鈥擡SG is not a solo effort. Engage teams across departments from day one. This helps with governance, data accuracy and internal buy-in.
鈥� Tip 4: Don鈥檛 Start with the Data. Start with What Matters鈥擡SG reporting is a journey, not a destination. Reporting frameworks gives you a structured, credible way to start鈥攅ven if your data is not perfect yet. The most important thing is to be transparent and keep improving.

鈥淒on鈥檛 let the report drive the strategy 鈥� let your impact and strategy drive the report.鈥� Let your values lead, and the system you build will follow. | WA

Kali Smith is Director of Sustainability and Compliance for Sunnking Sustainable Solutions. She leads ESG initiatives at Sunnking, aligning circularity and compliance through GRI, R2v3, and RIOS certifications. Her work focuses on embedding sustainability into business operations, driving measurable impact, and ensuring transparency across the organization鈥檚 value chain. Kali can be reached at [email protected].