Create a material topic

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 1 minute to read

    • Create material topics for your organization so that you can identify the areas where you want to make an operational sustainability impact.

    Before you begin

    Role required: sn_esg.program_manager

    About this task

    Material topics are topics that reflect the organization’s most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people. After you create a material topic, you must send the topic for approval.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Operational Sustainability Management > Operational Sustainability Workspace > Lists > Program Setup > Material topics.
    2. Select New.
    3. On the form, fill in the fields.
      Table 1. Material topic form
      Field Description
      Name Name of the material topic. For example, Climate and Energy.
      Classification Category of the material topic. Choices are the following:
      • Environmental
      • Social
      • Governance
      Approver Person responsible for the review and for approval of the material topic.
      State State of the material topic. This field is automatically set to Draft.
      Importance to business success Effect of the material topic on the business success. Choices are the following:
      • None
      • Very important
      • Important
      • Moderately important
      • Slightly important
      Importance to stakeholders Importance of the material topic for the stakeholders. Choices are the following:
      • None
      • Very important
      • Important
      • Moderately important
      • Slightly important
      Url Links to any online information that the teams may use.
      Priority Priority of the material topic. Choices are the following:
      • None
      • High
      • Moderate
      • Low
      Description Brief description of the material topic.
    4. Select Save.
    5. To send the topic for review, select Ready for Review.
    6. To mark a material topic as confidential, in the Security section, select the Confidential option.
      1. In the Allowed users field, select the users who can view the record.
      2. In the Allowed groups, select the groups that can view the record.
      This Security section only appears if the sn_grc.enable_record_confidentiality property is enabled under GRC properties. By default, the logged-in user is added to the list of confidential users.

    Result

    The material topic is sent to the approver. The state changes to Review.

    What to do next

    Create a metric