The Transition to integrated thinking: a guide to getting started is now available

Today we publish the Transition to integrated thinking: a guide to getting started to assist senior leadership and those charged with governance in an organisation on their journeys towards embedding integrated thinking.

In December 2021, the Value Reporting Foundation published the prototype Integrated Thinking Principles, which set out six values that organisations can adopt as they embark on their integrated thinking journey. Version 1.0 of the Integrated Thinking Principles is now available to download which include minor clarifications based on stakeholder feedback. The minor clarifications include language edits for conciseness and more linking to integrated thinking case studies to illuminate the levels of the Principles.

The Guide introduces integrated thinking and the Principles, as well as explores the benefits and challenges of practicing integrated thinking. It delves further into the three levels of the Principles, helping organisations assess the extent to which integrated thinking has been adopted through questions and statements. The roadmap, as shown in the diagram from the Guide, provides a five step approach to fully applying integrated thinking into an organisation, from the assessment stage through to the review and improve stage.

Launching exclusively with the Guide is the Integrated Thinking Resource Hub, an online collection of best practices, processes and tools that will be periodically updated as more organisations share their integrated thinking journeys.

The Principles help organisations to produce corporate reports with the Integrated Reporting Framework. For example, they enable a better understanding of the organisation’s external environment in which it operates, and the resources and relationships – the six capitals of the Integrated Reporting Framework – that are used and affected by the organisation. These resources, along with the ISSB’s draft sustainability standards and the SASB Standards, are designed to help establish sustainable business practices into organisations and provide a foundation for long-term value creation.

Jonathan Labrey, Chief Connectivity and Integrated Reporting Officer, said:

“We are delighted to launch v1.0 of the Integrated Thinking Principles, along with the Transition to integrated thinking: a guide to getting started, following an extensive stakeholder engagement process on the prototype Principles. We encourage all organisations to embrace integrated thinking and embed the Integrated Thinking Principles into their strategies, processes and practices. The Integrated Thinking Principles are the bedrock of stronger corporate governance and better connected reporting.”