Sustainability Reporting and CSR Projects: The Need for Professional Translation

Corporate sustainability and non-financial reporting, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, are essential for multinational corporations, perhaps even more so than for SMEs and local organizations as these global corporations have the potential tremendous impact on the entire world with their activities on a global scale. For instance, compliance with the Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Directive (CSRD) implemented by the European Union is particularly important for companies operating in the EU. Such compliance ensures transparent reporting, trust and accountability before the stakeholders of the company. On the other hand, corporate social responsibility is a self-regulatory program aimed at giving back to the community, engaging in local projects to help indigenous people, and creating positive value to form a stronger and more sustainable brand image for the company.

A professional LSP considers the following aspects when offering translation and localization services for corporate sustainability and CSR efforts:

• Source text analysis and verification: The source text is analyzed to make sure that the information provided is factual, credible, and meets legal requirements. This step is crucial so that the company’s commitment to sustainability is demonstrated in a transparent manner without greenwashing efforts about the facts or corporate values. The target audience of sustainability reports are mainly considered to be the key stakeholders such as shareholders and investors of the company.

• Compliance with applicable laws and regulatory framework: ESG reporting is an integral part of the EU legislation and companies operating in the EU are expected to demonstrate compliance with applicable regulations and requirements transparently. In this context, various frameworks and regulations such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, are taken into account. For example, these standards offer universal, sector, and topic standards, which constitute an essential element and layout for ESG and sustainability reporting. The implementation of the CSRD in January 2023 in the EU means increased reporting requirements for companies. Companies with more than 250 employees and minimum €40 million in annual revenue, including non-EU companies with minimum one subsidiary or branch in the EU, are required to publish a sustainability report.

• Glossary and terminology: New terms are constantly added to the glossary and existing ones are updated accordingly based on the recent developments and/or changes to the regulatory framework. A professional LSP maintains an in-house quality management and control system, including terminology checks, ensuring that up-to-date and correct terminology is used.

• Consistency: The latest version of the report is compared to the previous versions, if any, to ensure that the same strategies have been adopted throughout the report for consistency. Translation memories and glossaries used help ensure consistency even in the event that different translators or editors are assigned to the project.

• Quality controls: A professional LSP follows a strict and multi-step quality control process, including source and target text analysis, checking tone and style, factual information, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, ensuring that all visual elements, e.g., tables, diagrams, etc., have been translated properly. This process step offers a critical and competitive advantage for the reputation and brand image of the company.

Similar strategies are adopted for translating CSR projects. In many ESG and sustainability reports, there is almost always a section dedicated to the CSR activities of the company. Intended for the local communities, such activities often contain sociocultural or historic elements peculiar to the region. Cultural and linguistic experts analyze the source text to identify these elements and use them accordingly.

Discover more about how we can support your sustainability and CSR translation needs by visiting our blog.