Why ESG and CSR reports matter—and how your firm can start making them

The pace of publishing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports has slowed among large U.S. companies. But architecture firms have good reasons to publish these reports, which is why many continue to do so or have newly started. (ESG reports share quantitative measures of an organization’s environmental impact and risks, while CSR reports cover an organization’s values and impact on society and community.)

One benefit of creating ESG and CSR reports is their usefulness in selecting collaborators: “Many companies that have strong value systems in place are looking for that partner alignment,” says Kathy Wardle, regional director of regenerative design for Canada at Perkins&Will. And across industries, corporations are realizing that issues such as climate change, human rights, responsible sourcing, and corporate philanthropy are integral to their operations, said Andrew Jones, a principal researcher with The Conference Board, in a podcast episode.

Three firms—Perkins&Will, HDR, and Feldman Architecture—recently shared how they approached creating ESG and CSR reports with AIA. If your organization is looking to do the same, their lessons can help.

Reporting rationale

HDR released its first corporate sustainability report in 2008. The 2024 edition has sections dedicated to ESG information and the company’s sustainability efforts. Lisa Fewins, the firm’s corporate sustainability director, has no doubt that people are interested: “Our sustainability report on our external website is one of the most visited pages,” she says. The firm also uses information in the report for proposals, interviews, and engaging current and prospective employees.

HDR’s architectural sustainability director, Colin Rohlfing, Assoc. AIA, adds that the firm promotes sustainable design and development as an obligation under the AIA Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct. “You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so as part of our ESG report, we include our AIA 2030 information,” he says. 

For years, Perkins&Will had a sustainability strategic plan, a social purpose program, and strong commitments to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, Wardle says. But they didn’t have “a single place” that told the full story. In 2022, the firm began gathering data across its studios to publish its first ESG report, which it released in 2024.

The murder of George Floyd in 2020 led Feldman Architecture to reflect on its values and its role as community members and advocates, says the firm’s marketing manager, Isabel Verhille. In 2024, the firm earned Just Label certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), which has a two-year renewal cycle. It decided to publish a CSR report in the interim years and released its first report in February 2025.

Materialize a starting point

If your firm wants to follow suit, a materiality assessment will identify which ESG, CSR, and sustainability key performance indicators are your firm’s priorities, Fewins says. This exercise typically includes a spreadsheet or matrix listing topics, potential impacts on your organization, and stakeholder value. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews are tools for gathering that information.

As a starting point, many ESG frameworks are available online from standards and governance organizations. For firms operating only in the U.S., the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards might be a good fit, Wardle says. Perkins&Will and HDR both follow the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.

Feldman’s CSR committee looked at what larger AEC firms with established ESG strategies tracked. They also looked at guidelines by programs such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, B Corp certification, and ILFI’s Just Label, says senior project manager and senior associate Jess Stuenkel. 

Reporting takes effort

Information and data collection will be laborious, particularly for an organization’s first report. Verhille found that the hardest part was creating an organizational tool to manage Feldman’s 12 selected indicators and their associated metrics, where the information lived, and who had access to it. For example, access to salary information and workplace demographics is typically limited to finance and HR personnel, but both are critical for assessing pay equity. And if your firm wants to report on the sustainability of its client work, its infrastructure and protocols for collecting AIA 2030 data are critical.

Rohlfing and his team have developed business intelligence dashboards and automated tracking methodologies to aggregate information quickly. The firm uploads about 28 million square feet of projects each year into the AIA Design Data Exchange, Rohlfing says: The effort “went from multiple, multiple hundreds of hours of tracking down to a couple hundred hours of tracking across the entire firm in the last few years.”

Reporting takes a village

Buy-in across the organization is essential. At Feldman, Verhille says, CEO Jonathan Feldman, FAIA, provided guidance for the CSR committee’s efforts. For HDR, 78 Sustainability Stewards teams around the world collect data on their offices’ operational energy, greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, and sustainability training. The firm’s internal communications team leads report writing, design, and review. Fewins recommends gauging the availability of leaders necessary for the review process early in the report timeline.

Feldman employees earn approximately one hour per week to allocate toward overhead efforts like the CSR committee, and they determine when to use the accrued time, similar to paid time off. Verhille found the time investment heavy upfront, with setting up the framework and data sourcing. Then the effort ramped again during data analysis and report authoring. The committee would convene semi-monthly to review progress.

At Perkins&Will, Wardle says three teams work collectively: practice area or initiative leaders provide technical content, other contributors provide social-purpose projects and stories that contextualize the data, and firm leadership and executives provide feedback. Overall, she estimates compiling and shepherding the report takes 10 months, during which everyone is also working on other projects.

Valuable lessons and outcomes

Firms should not be discouraged if their early ESG or CSR reports fall short of their vision. “It’s not going to be perfect out of the gate,” Wardle says. Additionally, the rigorous data discovery process may yield less-than-flattering findings, which is also OK. Part of the reporting process, Wardle says, is being transparent about where your organization is today and where it wants to be over time.

Verhille recommends reaching out to design peers to discuss ideas and to certification organizations like ILFI. She believes ESG and CSR reports offer value for businesses of all sizes. “It shows that you’re running your business well and that you’re paying attention to [sustainability indicators].”

Similarly, Rohlfing encourages small and medium firms to share their projects, whether it be through the AIA 2030 database, their ESG or CSR reports, or both. “Those are the boutique firms that have projects that inspire all of us,” he says.

Like many things in life, the effort will probably take longer than initially expected. “Start early,” Fewins advises. “Help people understand the why.” Though some leaders may be skeptical about dedicating substantial resources for a voluntary initiative, Perkins&Will has increasingly found value in its ESG report. “More and more clients are asking for it,” Wardle says. “The value proposition of it has grown since we started the effort.”

Wanda Lau is a freelance writer covering architecture and design and a former editor of ARCHITECT magazine. She lives outside Chicago.