Reporting for progress

Andrew van Haght's Story

“Being able to tie non-financial reporting back to financial reporting, often helps to get more people within the organization, specifically those in the finance function, to understand why this is such an important topic.”
“My background as an auditor has been hugely beneficial as it allows me to think through the flow of data and where processes and controls are needed to ensure integrity.”

Enhancing data collection and assurance processes assurance processes to embed a sustainable approach at ofi

Andrew is an ESG Reporting Specialist at ofi (olam food ingredients). By linking finance and sustainability, he helps in progressing wider business transformation activities, leveraging his knowledge of ESG standards and frameworks. His journey into sustainability was not traditional. Coming from an auditor background, he recognized the growing role of sustainability in shaping business strategies and wanted to contribute to this shift.

ofi (olam food ingredients) offers sustainable, natural, value-added food products and ingredients so that consumers can enjoy the healthy and indulgent products they love. It consists of industry-leading businesses of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices. ofi has built a unique global value chain presence including its own farming operations, farm-gate origination, and manufacturing facilities.

 

Sector: Food & Ingredients

 

Employees: 18’000

 

Geography: Headquarters in London and Singapore, operating globally

 

Website: www.ofi.com

Challenges
faced

In his two years at ofi, Andrew has leveraged his international advisory, audit and assurance background and knowledge of ESG standards and frameworks to help create a more efficient and standardized approach to sustainability reporting. However, leading this organizational shift hasn’t always been easy.

 

With increasing external pressures to meet ESG standards and regulation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Andrew realized early on the significant efforts and investments required to enhance the rigor and robustness of ofi’s processes and controls around ESG data collection.

 

The biggest challenge by far – one that many businesses face – has been getting access to high-quality, assurance-ready data to meet new ESG standards. 

"Knowing what you need to report on is one thing, having access to the data to be able to do it is another."
"Significant training to our teams, building new capabilities as well as investments in new technology are critical to making this an efficient process."

The fact that ofi operates in a number of remote locations only adds to the complexity.

 

Andrew also faced the challenge of working with teams that had limited access to technology and didn’t fully understand the increasing criticality of data collection and verification – much of ofi’s ESG data is gathered from the 2.4 million smallholder farmers who supply ofi. He knew that providing structure and clear guidance would be key to making the process more consistent and easier for everyone involved.

 

His journey has also required a lot of patience. The numerous acronyms and unique terminology in the ESG space can be confusing and getting to grips with all of them and using them in a proficient manner has taken Andrew a lot of time and effort.

Actions
taken

To tackle these challenges, Andrew put a lot of time, effort and investment into implementing a new data collection platform, aimed at streamlining the entire process.

 

The platform has played a key role in better organizing ofi’s data collection – helping define the specific metrics the company needs to report on, assigning those metrics to the right data owners, and ensuring that all requirements from the CSRD and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, amongst others, are met.

From the outset, Andrew made sure the platform would support the collection of assurance-ready data.

"This allows us to select a metric that we're reporting on and allocate it to the assurance tool, enabling our assurance provider access to view the metric along with all supporting documentation. This will help to streamline the assurance process and support our core team to more effectively manage our assurers."
"ESG Reporting should not be seen as just a compliance exercise. It is much more of a transformational process that needs to take place across the entire organization if you are going to be successful."

To establish the data collection processes across ofi’s global operations, Andrew also led a broad stakeholder engagement program, gaining top-down support and training key personnel across global functions to focus on data quality and verification.

 

Andrew’s determination to tell ofi’s sustainability story in a compelling way, while aligning with global standards, led him to leverage the existing support from the CEO and CFO to promote a mindset that goes beyond simple compliance.

Resonance
of impact

Andrew has turned his unconventional path to sustainability into a powerful asset for improving ofi’s reporting processes and establishing solid foundations for years to come.

 

While the data collection platform implemented by Andrew has already significantly advanced the standardization of ofi’s sustainability reporting, Andrew is committed to pushing further. Together with his team, he is working to expand the use of the platform to cover all major reporting standards, along with a unique set of custom metrics tailored specifically to ofi and the company’s Choices for Change 2030 sustainability strategy. He’s also exploring new technologies to simplify the reporting process further, enhancing data collection procedures, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, impactful sustainability reports.

“My background as an auditor has been hugely beneficial as it allows me to think through the flow of data and where processes and controls are needed to ensure integrity. ”
“We want to make decisions today that will help ensure the short-, medium-, and long-term success of ofi and that all starts with having reliable data.”

By helping other team members across ofi better understand the importance of reporting and providing them with the necessary technology, Andrew has made sustainability reporting a core part of the company’s operations – turning it into something that actively supports decision-making.

 

Convinced that sustainability reporting plays a vital role in how the company communicates to the world, Andrew has dedicated his work to providing reliable and transparent data that contributes to the achievement of ofi’s sustainability ambitions.

What Andrew found useful during his ESG journey

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