Advancing Sustainability Performance Through Award-Winning Impact Report Design
Corporate Reporting, ESG & Sustainability Reports
OBATA partnered with Slalom to advance its 2024 Impact Report through focused strategy, writing, and design.
CLIENT
Slalom
PROJECT
2024 Impact Report
SERVICES
- Impact report benchmarking and positioning strategy
- Sustainability communications strategy integration
- Executive and SME content development
- Impact report writing and editorial leadership
- Custom impact report design and infographics
- Full-service project management and reporting execution
Expanding and Maturing Slalom’s 2024 Impact Report
Slalom is a global business and technology consulting company focused on strategy, transformation, and solutions delivery. The company is known for its human-centered approach to serving clients and supporting its teams.
As its sustainability efforts evolved, leadership determined that the 2024 Impact Report needed to reflect expanded scope, measurable outcomes, and greater organizational maturity.
The team defined four priorities:
- Expand storytelling
- Convey Slalom’s sustainability evolution
- Emphasize measurable outcomes and impact
- Maintain a human-centered voice aligned with company values
The result gave Slalom a clearer, more credible way to communicate sustainability performance and accountability and produced a report that earned national recognition for design excellence.
DID YOU KNOW
What is the Difference Between Impact and Sustainability Reporting?
Impact reporting and sustainability reporting are related but distinct. Impact reporting focuses on the direct, measurable results of an organization’s initiatives: what changed, for whom, and by how much. Sustainability reporting takes a broader view, evaluating how an organization manages its environmental, social, and governance performance across operations over time. Many leading organizations use both frameworks together to tell a complete story of progress.
Strategic Impact Report Benchmarking
Effective impact report design begins with context. Before beginning work on Slalom’s 2024 Impact Report, OBATA conducted comprehensive impact report benchmarking, reviewing disclosures from peer and aspirational organizations to evaluate structure, transparency expectations, and indicators of reporting maturity.
The benchmarking process ensured:
- Inclusion of relevant and timely impact topics
- Clearer articulation of commitments and measurable performance
- Structural alignment with stakeholder expectations
- Differentiation from peer reporting approaches
Rather than mirror what others were doing, benchmarking revealed where Slalom could demonstrate expanded scope, sharper outcomes, and a more mature reporting posture.
SME Interviews and Impact Report Writing
The most credible impact reports are built from the inside out.
OBATA’s writing team conducted structured interviews with Slalom subject matter experts, supported by detailed questionnaires. These discussions surfaced measurable progress, cross-functional coordination, and examples of sustainability embedded across operations and client engagements.
The impact report writing strategy emphasized:
- Outcomes over activities
- Impact over intention
- Evidence over aspiration
- Evolution over incremental updates
Each section demonstrated how Slalom’s commitments translated into tangible results. Performance data was contextualized within narrative, and case examples illustrated how strategy is implemented in practice.
Throughout the report, the tone remained accessible and human, consistent with Slalom’s values.
“It was a pleasure working with your team. Throughout the engagement, you demonstrated a high level of responsiveness, patience, and professionalism. I greatly valued the confidence I was able to place in your expertise across writing, storytelling, and design. The report has been very well received, with specific recognition for how it has expanded and evolved to tell Slalom’s story. Your ability to thoughtfully mature the report — emphasizing outcomes and impact within each narrative while maintaining a human-centered approach aligned with Slalom’s values — was particularly impactful.”
Meagan Breidert, Director of Sustainability & Impact, Slalom
Award-Winning Sustainability Solutions
2025 GDUSA Design Award Winner – Annual + Corporate Reports
Award Recognition: The Result of Strategy, Storytelling, and Design:
This project received a 2025 GDUSA Design Award in the Annual and Corporate Reports category for excellence in graphic design and strategic communication. Integrated infographics, precise data visualization, and a cohesive, brand-aligned design strengthened readability, improved scannability, and supported stronger user engagement.
Impact Report Design and Design Build
While the storytelling in the Slalom report advanced reporting maturity, the impact report design ensured clarity, usability, and engagement.
OBATA’s “design build” approach integrated narrative, photography, and data visualization across every page. The execution included:
- Concept development aligned to Slalom’s brand standards
- Custom infographics clarifying complex performance data
- Structured layouts guiding readers from strategy to measurable outcomes
- Visual hierarchy supporting expanded disclosures
Design reinforced the narrative rather than competing with it. The result was a cohesive impact report that balanced credibility with accessibility and worked as hard visually as it did editorially.
Experienced Project Management
OBATA led the engagement through its 7-Step Sustainability Reporting Process, a structured methodology refined across more than 100 sustainability, CSR, impact, and ESG reports.
The framework establishes clear milestones, defined review cycles, and coordinated collaboration across sustainability and communications teams. It ensures accountability and protects timelines.
For chief sustainability officers, directors, and communications leaders, the process reduces complexity, supports alignment, and keeps reporting on track.
OBATA’s 7-Step Process resulted in Slalom’s 2024 Impact Report being not only well received internally, but being recognized externally by GDUSA, the graphic design awards organization.
What Slalom’s 2024 Impact Report Reflects
Slalom’s 2024 Impact Report is the story of an organization that has grown into its reporting, not just expanded it.
The engagement resulted in:
- Disclosures aligned with organizational growth
- Emphasis on measurable outcomes
- Clear articulation of enterprise-wide impact
- Preservation of a consistent, human-centered voice
That progression was the result of strategic impact report benchmarking, disciplined impact report writing, and intentional impact report design, executed together from a single point of accountability.
With experience producing more than 100 sustainability, CSR, impact, and ESG reports, OBATA integrates reporting execution with broader sustainability consulting services and deep ESG expertise, so the final product reflects not just what happened, but what it means.
Elevate Your Impact Report Strategy
A strong impact report does three things: it clarifies where your organization stands, demonstrates measurable progress, and builds confidence with the people who matter most to your mission.
If your organization is ready to advance its impact report design, writing, and benchmarking approach, OBATA brings proven methodology, disciplined execution, and deep cross-industry experience.
Explore our sustainability consulting expertise or connect with our team to discuss how a structured sustainability communications strategy can elevate your next report.