Strengthening Stakeholder ESG Communication Through Design
Corporate Reporting, ESG & Sustainability Reports
Through its collaboration with OBATA, Fortune Brands continues to raise the bar in ESG reporting, providing meaningful data and design clarity on the topics that matter most to stakeholders.
CLIENT
Fortune Brands
PROJECT
2021 ESG Report
SERVICES
- Project Management & Production Planning
- Iterative Design Process
- Copyediting
- ESG Report Design
- Data Visualization
- Photography Planning & Art Direction
- Interactive PDF
Why ESG Reporting Builds Trust
Creating a high‑quality ESG report builds trust with all stakeholders. A company’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues demonstrates its understanding of how these issues affect its ability to create long‑term value. By investing in employees and building a positive culture, a company shows its dedication to these issues and its commitment to creating value for all stakeholders.
Why It Matters
In consumers’ minds, ESG practices are closely tied to brand trust. According to PwC’s Consumer Intelligence Series: ESG report, 83% of millennials seek out environmentally and socially responsible retailers, compared with 76% of all consumers. The report also found that diversity, equity and inclusion are particularly important to 80% of consumers ages 39 and younger, compared with 72% of all consumers.
Fortune Brands Home & Security is not necessarily a household name, but many of its brands — Moen, Master Lock, Therma‑Tru, Fiberon, and MasterBrand Cabinets — are widely known. The company continues to improve its ESG reporting, and OBATA embraced the challenge of building on past successes while offering a fresh approach to design.
A Collaborative ESG Reporting Strategy
OBATA’s partnership with Fortune Brands is built on collaboration. For the 2021 ESG Report, we used an iterative design process that allowed content and design to be refined together, section by section. This approach ensured accuracy, clarity, and a final product that reflected both the company’s data and its values.
The result was a report completed in less than nine weeks — efficient, high‑quality production supported by OBATA’s project management and production planning expertise.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
“With Obata’s excellent design instincts, reporting expertise and collaborative style, we were able to create this report in record time. The design is terrific. Everyone who sees it thinks it’s beautiful, easy to navigate, and our best ESG Report to date.”
Jen R. – Director of Communications
Report Accomplishments
Efficient production: From copy to design, proofreading, and publishing, the report was completed in record time.
Expanded frameworks: In addition to the Global Reporting Initiative, the 2021 report aligned with SASB and TCFD.
Clear performance data: Data visualization through the use of tables, charts, and infographics made ESG performance easier to understand and evaluate.
Making Sustainability Data Transparent
The 2021 report expanded its alignment with leading sustainability frameworks, giving stakeholders a clearer view of performance. OBATA employed data visualization to help readers interpret complex information through the use of tables, charts and infographics. A consolidated data sheet provided analysts and investors with a single, easy‑to‑use reference.
This focus on sustainability data transparency ensured that Fortune Brands’ progress could be measured and compared with confidence.
(Bottom‑2) The global navigation highlights the reader’s current section, while each section divider provides quick access to supporting details, ensuring a seamless and intuitive experience.
Designing for Stakeholder Needs
The report was published as an interactive PDF, using a landscape format that functioned like a website. Global navigation and cross‑links allowed readers to move easily between sections. Color‑coded bands identified each section, while stats, callouts, and infographics made the 82‑page report scannable and approachable.
This structure reflected a stakeholder communication plan in action: making sure each audience — investors, employees, customers, and raters — could find the information most relevant to them.
Visual Storytelling That Reinforces Brand Trust
Whitespace created balance and made key topics easier to absorb. Graphics highlighted carbon goals, safety metrics, and board composition. “Did You Know” callouts and highlighted statistics added clarity.
A key enhancement in 2021 was new photography. Fortune Brands selected facilities to feature and hired independent photographers to capture employees in action, in their true environments. OBATA provided photography planning and art direction guidelines to ensure consistency, then curated and edited images. This focus on real employees brought authenticity and relatability to the report.
When photography wasn’t available, OBATA relied on custom visuals — icons, infographics, and data visualization — to make complex information more accessible and engaging. Case studies further humanized ESG programs, showing how initiatives come to life across the company.
Celebrating Milestones Through Brand Alignment
2021 also marked Fortune Brands’ 10th anniversary as a publicly traded company. OBATA developed a commemorative anniversary logo and applied a consistent color palette across the ESG and annual reports.
This milestone reinforced brand credibility and created a cohesive identity across multiple corporate communications.
See the Fortune Brands 10‑Year Anniversary Logo and Brand Alignment case study →
Explore the award‑winning Fortune Brands Annual Report design →
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
“Your team did an amazing job! We work on ESG all year round, and once we got started on creating the new report, we were excited to share it with our stakeholders as soon as possible. Thanks for being our ESG partner.”
Jen R. – Director of Communications
Extending ESG Communication Beyond the Report
To maximize reach, OBATA created social media templates that allowed Fortune Brands to share ESG highlights throughout the year. These updates linked back to the full report, extending its life and keeping stakeholders engaged.
This approach to brand trust communication ensured ESG reporting became an ongoing dialogue, not just a once‑a‑year disclosure.
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Partner With OBATA
The Fortune Brands 2021 ESG Report demonstrates how thoughtful design, collaboration, and authentic storytelling can transform complex information into clear, engaging communication.
If you’re ready to strengthen your stakeholder ESG communication with a clear ESG reporting strategy, OBATA can help.