Materiality Matters: Why Defining "What to Measure" is Half the Battle

Yet, many organizations start their ESG reporting with dashboards and disclosures-without ever defining what truly matters to them or their stakeholders.

The result? Generic reports, disengaged stakeholders, and missed opportunities.

Why Materiality Is Foundational

Materiality is the process of identifying and prioritizing the ESG topics that reflect an organization’s most significant impacts—and those that influence stakeholder decision-making.

It’s not just about what you can measure, it is about what you must measure.

When done right, a materiality assessment becomes the strategic lens that aligns sustainability efforts with:

• Business objectives

• Regulatory obligations

• Stakeholder expectations

• Sector-specific realities

The Cost of Skipping It

Companies that skip materiality or treat it as a checkbox often fall into one of these traps:

• Reporting on what’s trendy instead of what’s relevant

• Using vague or duplicated KPIs that don’t drive action

• Missing out on stakeholder trust because the report feels out of touch

• Misaligning ESG efforts with actual risk and opportunity

The irony? They may invest more effort than necessary- but create less impact.

Materiality Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

Consider this: a solar company and a healthcare provider both want to improve their ESG performance. Should they focus on the same topics?

Not quite.

Solar companies must focus on lifecycle emissions, panel end-of-life disposal, and land-use ethics.

Healthcare providers should prioritize medical waste, energy use in critical infrastructure, and social equity in patient care.

Materiality reveals these nuances. It gives each organization its own unique ESG fingerprint.

From Internal to Double Materiality

Historically, materiality was seen through a financial lens- “what could impact the company’s bottom line?”

 But now, frameworks like GRI, CSRD, and the ISSB push us toward double materiality—a broader view that includes:

1. Impact materiality: how the organization affects the environment and society

2. Financial materiality: how sustainability issues affect the business itself

Together, these provide a 360-degree view of risk, responsibility, and relevance.

How to Get Materiality Right

Here’s a simplified process that works across sectors:

1. Engage stakeholders – from customers and employees to investors and regulators

2. Map ESG issues relevant to your industry and geography

3. Score & prioritize based on impact and influence

4. Validate with leadership and align with strategy

5. Review regularly – because what’s material today might not be tomorrow

My Reflection

Through my GRI training and client conversations, I’ve realized that materiality is the bridge between ESG intent and ESG impact.Without it, even the best frameworks fall flat.

What’s Your Material Focus?

Is your organization still using one-size-fits-all ESG topics?

Or have you taken the time to define what truly matters—internally and externally?

I would love to hear how you’re approaching materiality. Let’s exchange ideas