Impact Reporting 

What is Context-based Reporting, example, and where to start

🧠 In this blog article...

You will discover an emerging methodology in impact reporting that will elevate your impact and amplify your leadership. Together with Junxion, we will explore context-based reporting which is a critical piece in our transition because it shifts focus from ambition to accountability. Without context, sustainability metrics provide an incomplete picture because they don’t show how a company is performing relative to the planet’s and society’s limits. 

✨ You will discover

• ✅ Definition of context-based reporting
• ✅ Why does it matter to you and your impact work
• ✅ Water-use as a context-based reporting example
• ✅ How to kickstart your context-based reporting journey
• ✅ ...and where to receive more guidance

Impact Reporting 

Context-based reporting is an emerging methodology

Context-based reporting is different from the data-heavy reporting we usually see (table above). It shifts the question from "Are we meeting our organisations' goals?" to "Are we meeting the needs of the planet and its peoples?" 

In other words, you are able to relate outcomes to external norms and conditions, such as ecological limits and social thresholds.

Why does it matter to you as a changemaker?

It is a showcase of your transformational leadership and impact

• 🦸 Showcase your leadership by aligning your reporting with science and what the world actually needs.
  
  
• ✊🏽 You can your report to make a stronger case for more ambitious targets and smart investments.
  
  
• 🔎 Organisations that integrate context into reporting become better at identifying risks and opportunities.
  
  
• 🌿 Grounding in context strengthens our bond with the living world and inspires collective action and collaboration.

Context-based reporting example

Applying context on water-use reporting

In the hypothetical example above, here are some context reflections to consider

• 💧 Is water use relative to the annual renewable water availability of a specific local watershed?
  
  
• 🥧 How does the entity’s size and operations justify its share? For example: Does the organisation contribute disproportionately to local employment or economic growth?
  
  
• 🧮 Do operational efficiencies (e.g., reducing per-unit water use) sufficiently compensate for the scale of overuse?
  
  
• ☀️ Have you considered environmental factors such as drought, competing demand, or regulatory changes that affect water availability?
  
  
• 🧑‍🌾 Did you factor in local priorities like vulnerability of other users (e.g. smallholder farmers) or ecological flow requirements? In the example above, entity A’s final allocation is reduced to 1 million m³/year to ensure fairness.
  
  

In this comparison, context-based reporting is guided by an indicator to relate an outcome to a science-based threshold or target. 

A typical indicator from the SDPI framework might suggest: "Annual water withdrawals as a percentage of the allocated share of renewable water capacity, based on the facility's size andcontribution to the local watershed."

With that in mind, how can you calculate an entity's fair share?

Where to start

Things to think about as you begin your context-based reporting journey

👆🏽 Watch the primer above planetary boundaries and read why Apple’s reporting falls significantly short. Share these resources with your colleagues and test the waters. 

🔎 Find the target for one of your most material topics (biggest impacts).

🌟 Compare the target with the context-based indicators in the SDPI manual. 

🙌🏽 In reporting Year 1 ensure at least 1 is context-based - GHG is a great start! If your GHG target science-based, it is context-based.

👉🏽 View the slides here to explore the full approach and journey that suppliers are guided through. 

Resources

Here's where you can receive more guidance

👉🏽 As you watch the recording of the workshop above, we invite you to browse through the resource pack. 


   FuturePlanet Transformation Toolkit on Circle - our community platform

    a.   Link >  Part 1 of Impact Mastery Workshop with Junxion and Leap
    b.   Link >  Impact report database where can you find inspiration

   Junxion Impact Reporting Resources

    a.  Link > Six ways to drive value with impact reporting
    b.  Link > Overview of key global regulations shaping sustainability and ESG reporting

 
   More on Context-based Reporting

    a.  Link > The tipping points of climate change and where we stand
    b.  Link > UNRISD manual for context-based targets and reporting
    c.  Link > The 'multicapital' scorecard measures the triple bottom line
    d.  Link > Free methodology: Future-Fit Business Benchmark
    e.  Link > Table of context-based reporting examples vs conventional ESG

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