This checklist is written for the procuring side.The hard part of a sustainability report has never been a shortage of material; it is too much material, too little time and too many people handling it. Settling the seven groups of questions below before you go to tender avoids the three most common endings: the layout drifting by page 60, figures still changing a week before publication, and three versions telling the story differently. This works with any design team, not only with Hand-Heart.
1. Report scope and framework
- The reporting year, the disclosure framework (GRI, SASB, TCFD or the regulator’s requirements) and whether third-party assurance is needed. The framework sets the chapter skeleton, and the design follows it.
- One digital file and one printed copy of last year’s edition. How much to carry over and how much to change belongs in the first meeting.
- Language: Chinese, English, or separate bilingual volumes. An English edition usually runs 15–25% more pages than the Chinese one, so allow for it in the schedule.
2. Which versions you need
| Version | Main audience | Where it is used | Reading time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full report | Regulators, rating bodies, institutional investors | Formal disclosure, ESG ratings, due diligence | Tens of minutes or more |
| Highlights summary | Customers, supply-chain partners, job applicants | Proposal annex, recruitment briefings, trade-show handouts | About 5 minutes |
| Animated version | General public, social media, employees | Website, social media, shareholder meetings, internal training | 2–4 minutes |
The three versions share one visual language and one set of data. Planning once and producing three outputs is the cheapest route; tendering them separately to different suppliers almost always ends in “the three documents say different things”.
3. Responsibility for the data
- Which department supplies the figures for each chapter and who the contact is. A sustainability report commonly draws on more than ten supplying units, and without a name list nobody can chase them.
- The content freeze date: the day the text stops changing and the day the figures stop changing. In practice “structure first, content later” is normal, but there has to be a final deadline.
- The source format of the chart data (Excel, system export) and whether it may be published.
4. Existing identity and guidelines
- The brand identity manual: colours, typefaces, icon style. The report’s visuals should continue the existing identity rather than start a second one.
- The colour order and icons used in last year’s charts: if readers are already used to them, a change needs a reason.
- Group or parent-company guidelines, if any.
5. Proofreading and version control
- Who is responsible for the final proofread: figures, units, years and consistency with the previous year. This is not a responsibility the design side can take over.
- How revisions are submitted: we suggest one contact person collects them and sends them on, so that ten departments do not each edit the same page.
- A version numbering rule, so that you avoid “final” and “final final”.
6. Schedule milestones (counted back from the publication date)
| Milestone | Before publication | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Printing and video output | 2–3 weeks | Imposition, confirmation of paper stock and environmental specifications, PDF and video formats |
| Whole report finalised | 4–5 weeks | The last round of proofreading is complete; after this only typographical errors are corrected, not content |
| Layout and charts for the whole report | 8–12 weeks | The full report is laid out to the approved template, including revision rounds |
| Visual proposal approved | 12–14 weeks | Cover, inside-page template and chart styles are confirmed before the full report is developed |
| Structure and data inventory | 14–16 weeks | Chapter structure and reading flow |
These are reference figures for a mid-sized report (100–150 pages, Chinese edition); bilingual editions, assurance and an animated version are counted separately. If the publication date is already fixed, tell the design side at the outset — only by counting back can you know which day the content has to be frozen.
7. Who the readers are
Investors look only at the figures, job applicants want to know whether the company is worth joining, and customers care about supply-chain risk. List the two or three groups you most want to reach this year; that decides directly what stays in the highlights summary and what the animated version talks about.
Appendix: Filing deadlines and the boundary of responsibility for listed companies
A listed company’s sustainability report has statutory deadlines and mandatory content. The design schedule has to be counted back from those dates, and responsibilities have to be divided before the tender. The table below follows the rules of the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange on the preparation and filing of sustainability reports; the authoritative wording is the regulator’s latest announcement.
| Item | Requirement | Impact on the design |
|---|---|---|
| Filing deadline | By 31 August each year, file the report file and the website link with the designated system | Printing and the final PDF must be complete by mid-August at the latest; count the publication date in section 6 back from here |
| GRI content index | The report must disclose a content index mapped to the GRI Standards | The index table is part of the layout; reserve pages for it and keep it linked to the chapter numbering |
| Industry-specific sustainability metrics | Enhanced disclosure according to the industry-specific annex | Many metric tables and dense figures; settle the chart rules once and for all |
| Climate-related information | Disclosed in a dedicated chapter | Keep a place for the dedicated chapter in the structure; do not merge it into another chapter |
| Third-party assurance | The report states for each disclosure whether third-party assurance or verification was obtained | The scope of assurance and the way it is marked must be fixed before layout begins; comments from the assurance provider affect the freeze date |
Who is responsible for what
| Item | The company (sustainability team and data-owning departments) | Consultant / assurance provider | Design side (Hand-Heart) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy and completeness of the data | Responsible | The consultant helps take stock; the assurance provider verifies | Does not vouch for the company’s figures; flags inconsistencies when they are spotted |
| Mapping of framework and index | Provides the chapter-to-index mapping | The consultant interprets the standards | Builds the index into the layout and proofreads the page numbers |
| Information architecture and reading flow | Approves | — | Responsible for the proposal and the planning |
| Charts, layout, highlights summary and animation | Approves | — | Responsible for production and coordinating the versions |
| Assurance opinion | Engages the assurance provider | Issued by the assurance provider | Does not issue one; supplies design files and makes the requested changes |
| Filing | Responsible for the upload and the website link | — | Supplies a PDF file that meets the specification |
In one line: Hand-Heart makes the material understandable, readable to the end and easy to pass on; the accuracy of the figures and the assurance opinion belong to the company and the assurance provider. Draw that line before the tender and there will be no argument about “who should fix this” a week before publication.
Frequently asked questions
Can you do only the highlights summary or only the animation?
Yes. If the full version has been completed by someone else, we can re-plan what to keep and how to present it from the existing content; sharing a visual language does require access to the design files of the full version.
Does the cover have to differ from last year’s?
Not necessarily. The cover decides whether a reader opens the report at all; what matters is that the visual strategy matches the character of the company’s industry — circuit imagery for semiconductor packaging and testing, illustrated storytelling for optoelectronics. Both followed from reading who the company is first.
Does design have anything to do with winning awards?
The award belongs to the company itself. Still, a report that wins one shows that the judges recognised both the completeness of the disclosure and the communication effect, and the communication effect is the part design is responsible for. Hand-Heart’s work has received 37 Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards in total between 2015 and 2025; the year-by-year breakdown is on the ESG design page.
Ready to talk it through? Send us your requirements and the person who handles sustainability reports will reply within 2 working days.