Digital reporting formats

This section provides an overview of the different types of digital formats being used by the organizations in our sample and more detailed information on the different characteristics of each type of format.

Formats being used

The organizations in our survey used one or more of the following four digital formats for their primary source of reporting:

PDF – used by 20 organizations (50%)
A PDF is a file type designed to condense documents that need to be transmitted or shared electronically. Using a PDF comes with many benefits – they are accessed through widely-available software, are easily printed, and are created cheaply and easily from almost any source document. However, the format is limited: PDFs were designed to transmit information electronically, rather than to communicate with online audiences.

Interactive PDF – used by 3 organizations (7.5%)
An interactive PDF has much in common with the regular PDF format described above, but includes hyperlinks to other sections within the document. This is the key differential between an interactive PDF and a regular PDF; both document types can link to an external website, but only the interactive PDF links to other parts of the same document. In theory, this interactivity can make navigation more straightforward, though in practice, it can negatively affect user experience: although interactive PDFs frequently allow users to navigate forward, there is no ‘back’ button, as users would find in web-based reporting. Embedding links in an interactive PDF makes it more complex to build than a regular PDF.

Image-based (HTML or Flash) – used by 2 organizations (5%)
Image-based reporting occupies a middle ground between a PDF and full online reporting. Image-based reports are generated using electronic images of a printed or PDF document that are placed into a digital (HTML or Flash) frame – usually used to give the reader the impression of viewing an electronic book, with some of the functionality that a website can provide, including bookmarking and navigational aids. However, image based reporting can be can be difficult to read (usability is lost in the translation from a printed document to an electronic one), and these reports do not always feature a ‘back button’ or other navigation functionality.

Full online format (HTML or Flash) – used by 13 organizations (32.5%)
Full online reporting is built with either HTML or Flash and viewed through a web browser. This reporting format offers a wide variety of online tools. By creating the report in the same way as any other website, content can be linked together, and a variety of functionality and multimedia (e.g. interactive charts, video, pop-up boxes) can be built into the fabric of the reporting. Where HTML is used for online reporting, linkages between primary sources of reporting and other content can be more effective.

In our sample, 3 organizations (7.5 percent) seamlessly integrated their reporting content into their sustainability website. In 2 of these cases, the primary source of reporting was situated in a microsite with other sustainability content, such as news and videos; in the other, the primary source of reporting was an integrated element of the full corporate website. The other organizations that provided full online reports differentiated their sustainability reporting content through the use of a pop-up window, or providing users with a new set of ‘reporting’ navigation.

Full online reports can also be designed to mimic a printed report. 3 (7.5%) organizations that used a fully online format included a traditional navigation system on the left-hand side of the webpage, but also included a ‘forward’ and ‘back’ hyperlink on each page of their reporting, allowing users to read the content in a linear fashion.

Note: Two of the organizations in our sample gave equal weight and prominence to two different formats, and so we did not categorise them under any one digital format. Both of these organizations use PDF format, with one providing additional reporting content in HTML format, and the other using an image-based format.

Understanding the formats: In depth
The section below includes more information on the differences between the various formats of digital repoort

In depth: PDF and Interactive PDF
In terms of navigation and functionalities, the PDF format is broadly equivalent to posting a printed report online. Organizations might use a PDF format if they presume their audience will want to print the report to read or archive. While a PDF and an interactive PDF are accessed in the same way, an interactive PDF features embedded hyperlinks that take users to directly to new content, as they might experience in a similar way to an internet page.

Although some web-based navigation can be included in an interactive PDF – for example, hyperlinks can be created within the document – the format is limited compared with HTML as it is not possible to move forward and back through the most recently viewed content. It is possible to embed video in a PDF report, but we did not find any examples of this among our sample.

In depth: Image-based reporting
Functionality in the image-based reports varied widely, including the ability to bookmark pages, jump between sections, recommend content via an email, or search the report. Functionality varies depending on what is built into the digital frame of the report, although it rarely matches the breadth of functionality associated with full online reporting.

Although image-based reporting can be more user-friendly than a PDF or interactive PDF, it still lags behind full online reporting in terms of user experience. The ability to navigate ‘back’ is frequently missing, and hyperlinking is often inconsistent. In addition, text is often too small to read easily without using the zoom in function, resulting in a rather clumsy user experience. It leaves the impression that the report had been designed primarily for print rather than an online communication.

In depth: Full online reports
The full online format can offer all of the same functionality as an image-based report, as well as a wide range of additional functionality, including:

• Bookmarking functionality
• Dynamic content (including video and Flash)
• Interactive features, such as data tools

Full online reports (in either format) can be created within the existing sustainability section of the organisation’s website, or in a self-contained microsite with its own URL.

While the overall effect provided by HTML and Flash formats is similar, there are some notable differences. First, with an HTML report, users can take advantage of the tools provided by web browsers (such as the ‘Favourites’ or ‘Bookmark’ tools). Second, while search engines can read both HTML and Flash, metadata must be added to Flash sites for search engines to pick up the content. Third, HTML is often built in a content management system, making it easy to update year on year.

It should also be noted that, while Flash reports can often look better, functionality has to be built into the reporting site from scratch, and they can be problematic for disabled users that rely on screen reader technologies.