How Workiva is Transforming ESG Reporting Strategies

In this day and age, environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting has become an essential practice for businesses around the world.

This change has been driven by mounting regulatory pressures and increasing demands for transparency from stakeholders. 

The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is one of the standards to which companies must adhere. 

The CSRD requires participating organisations to disclose their environmental and social impacts alongside traditional financial metrics.

Now, CSRD is widely considered to be the gold standard in corporate ESG reporting and, as of 2025, more than 10,000 companies and institutions have set science-based decarbonisation targets or committed to doing so.

This momentum continues despite political uncertainty, with 24 US States and more than 190 countries maintaining alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement.

A platform for change

While companies are vying to align themselves with global reporting standards, many have experienced difficulties in doing so.

"Generally, SMBs won't have a dedicated sustainability person. 

“So how do they navigate around Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions? How do they calculate it? How do they develop their GHG inventory? How do they set science-based targets?" says Yogesh Chauhan, Senior Director of Sustainability at HubSpot.

"It's daunting; all of these things are. If you're a small business that employs 10 people, that's going to be really hard work.”

Fortunately, there are ways that companies can simplify the process of reporting without continuous trial and error.

Workiva is a global B2B company, which provides its clients with software and services that make reporting - including ESG reporting - easier than ever before.

Workiva has positioned itself as a key enabler of the sustainable transition, providing a unified platform for financial and sustainability reporting. 

The company serves more than 6,000 global customers, including 80% of Fortune's top 1000 companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Iberdrola and AWS. 

Staggeringly, Workiva's clients represent approximately US$55tn of global market cap. 

“The market has spoken and forward-thinking companies aren't waiting – they're taking action and committing to science-based targets and stronger disclosures,” says Tensie Whelan, Distinguished Professor at NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. 

“They understand that sustainability and integrated reporting isn't just about risk management, it's a competitive advantage that attracts capital and drives long-term success.”

Tietoevry: A case study

One organisation that has been leveraging Workiva's capabilities for a long time is Tietoevry, a Finland-based technology company that has been producing sustainability reports since 2009. 

When the company first started reporting, the team quickly realised the scale of the challenge.

“We realised early on that this is going to be challenging,” says Ida Bohman Steenberg, the company's CSO.

“We decided we need a clear vision, enough competent staff and the relevant tools.

That's when Workiva came into the picture. Tietoevry already used Workiva's services for financial reporting, but they quickly drafted the company's services for ESG reports too.

“When we saw how much more data and how much more difficult reporting was going to be, we expanded our agreement with Workiva and brought along the sustainability aspect as well,” Ida says.

The scale of Tietoevry's reporting is also substantial. Ida notes that Tietoevry has to track more than 1,500 data points in the company's sustainability reports. 

These span various areas including climate change, circularity, human rights, labour rights and sector-specific concerns such as responsible AI and cybersecurity. Needless to say, Workiva's services have been indispensable in this process.

Down the years, the partnership between Workiva and Tietoevry has evolved beyond a typical vendor-client relationship. 

“We are more than just regular customers,” Ida explains. 

"We've been super involved in providing feedback to Workiva. We've been early users, early adopters of many things."

Leading the change

At the helm of Workiva's strategic direction is CEO Julie Iskow, who emphasises the broader implications of integrated reporting.

“CEOs are making choices today that will shape their business for years to come,” she says.

“Assured financial and sustainability reporting is not simply a compliance play, it's a strategic approach to mitigate risk, fuel performance and strengthen investor confidence.”

This vision is complemented by Workiva's Chief Sustainability Officer, Mandi McReynolds, who brings practical insight and passion to the company's approach. 

Mandi is keenly aware of just how quickly sustainability reporting is changing - thanks, in no small part, to Workiva itself.

"What I think is an interesting twist is the rise of qualitative reporting. How are you managing to do this. What is your organisation doing in transition planning? What about the accountability of your organisation?" 

“That is becoming far more important than the number of data points,” Mandi says.

Mandi is also hugely enthused by the role technology is playing in streamlining reporting processes.

“We're seeing customers write 10 policies in one day in alignment with the CSRD using AI,” she says. 

“An AI assistant looking at a prompt library can help get companies going in a much faster way.”

The benefits of reporting

As well as its software and services, Workiva produces a great deal of illuminating market research. In a recent study, entitled the 'Executive Benchmark Survey', the company spoke to more than 1,600 industry insiders.

The report found that 97% of execs believe integrated financial and sustainability data helps identify performance gaps that enhance financial growth opportunities. 

Moreover, 93% of institutional investors report being more likely to invest in companies with integrated financial and non-financial reporting, underlining the business case for comprehensive ESG disclosure.

All in all, there are lots of reasons to be positive about the future of reporting and reporting standards.

“I am absolutely crazy about directives,” Ida says.

“I think they're brilliant because they give us such a great support structure, a way of working. They give us a common language.”

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