Material issues assessment

The situation

This global food company wanted to update its material issues assessment to better understand and prioritize its focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

Services

Material Issues Assessment

Industry

Consumer packaged goods

Stakeholders

Company leaders, investors, customers, sustainability analysts, raters and rankers, NGOs

Pivot approach

Pivot began by working closely with the client to understand the company’s current issues management priorities, then conducted a benchmarking review of peer company ESG issues and key reporting disclosure frameworks. Based on that analysis, we designed a process for assessing the impact of each issue, surveyed internal and external stakeholders, analyzed results and prioritized issues to guide sustainability strategies and ESG reporting.

Key tactics

Identified priority issues for assessment based on existing stakeholder feedback, consumer research and input from internal experts and leaders
Conducted benchmarking review of peer company ESG issues
Evaluated priority approaches outlined in key disclosure frameworks
Designed a process for evaluating the double-materiality of each issue – assessing external impact on people, the environment and economy, and internal impact on the company’s performance/value
Created and distributed surveys to more than 80 external and internal stakeholders, including NGOs, industry associations, investors, academic institutions, customers, suppliers, peer companies, internal subject matter experts and company leaders
Analyzed survey results and presented detailed findings
Created an issues matrix to help guide the company’s sustainability strategy and ESG reporting