Material topic workflow and states
Material topics are the point of origin for ESG initiatives. Only when a material topic is identified, it can be tracked and success can be measured.
The following image shows the states of a material topic.
The states of a material topic are defined as follows:
- Draft: All material topics begin in this state. The following fields can be updated in this state:
- Name
- Classification
- Importance to business success
- Importance to stakeholders
- Priority
- Approver
- Approval: In this state, the ESG program manager conducts a review of the material topic and ensures that all fields have been accurately updated to align with the materiality assessment outcomes. After
the review is complete, the status is changed to the Monitor state. For example, if the material topic identified is Carbon emissions, the reviewer might review it for aspects such as:
- If the material topic adheres to the materiality assessment.
- If the description of the material topic is accurate.
- Ready to assess: This state is accessible only if you have the ESG risk management plugin installed and activated. In this state, the material topic is sent for risk assessment.
- Assess risk: This state is accessible only if you have the ESG risk management plugin installed and activated. In this state, the material topic risks are assessed by the ESG program manager.
- Monitor: This state designed to oversee the material topic from a monitoring perspective. It remains in its current state until any modification is made to any of the material topic attributes. If an
update is necessary, the material topic should be reverted to the Draft state. This may occur after a subsequent materiality assessment, where there could be a shift in the following attributes:
- Priority
- Significance to business success
- Significance to stakeholders
If a material topic moves back to the Draft state, there’s no downstream impact to goals and targets. Only those material topics that are in the Monitor state are shown in the Materiality matrix on the ESG Workspace home page. Even when a material topic is in the Monitor state, the risk assessment can be re-initiated.
- Retired: This state is used to retire the material topic when it is no longer tracked by the organization as an issue that is relevant to the organization.