The ability of generative synthetic intelligence is abundantly clear, but surveys present solely a minority of staff use ChatGPT or rival providers frequently. That’s partly as a result of it may be difficult to determine the place to use AI, and the way to ask it to do what you need.
In case you’re amongst those that are but to see confirmed worth from AI in your work, listed below are some helpful prompts to get you began. Every is really useful by a sustainability skilled who vouches for its usefulness.
For enhancing textual content
This immediate tackles what Luke Elder, a senior lead for sustainability reporting at Google, calls a standard problem in company reporting: synthesizing contributions from lots of of various authors right into a cohesive voice.
“Our annual Environmental Report is drafted by many groups throughout the corporate,” mentioned Elder. “Whereas every gives essential information and insights, the ultimate doc should learn as if it have been written by one individual. It additionally must align with our particular tone, comply with our greatest practices for disclosure, and reinforce our core messages.”
To shortly refine draft textual content, guarantee readability and alignment with established model, Elder makes use of this immediate:
“You might be an editor for our annual Environmental Report. Your aim is to evaluation the offered draft textual content for readability, conciseness, and alignment with our reporting tone. Refine the textual content to eradicate jargon, enhance stream, and guarantee it reinforces our key sustainability messages.”
To assist the AI edit with the appropriate tone in thoughts, Elder recommends both including a number of phrases to outline that tone — “frank,” “plainspoken” or “bold,” for instance — or pointing the AI towards a report that makes use of the tone you’re searching for.
For checking on provider progress
Your suppliers are your companions on the journey to internet zero, however how are they faring of their emissions discount efforts? Renu Yadav, a senior program supervisor for world sustainability at LinkedIn, likes to judge her firm’s suppliers utilizing this immediate:
“Evaluation [company name]’s newest sustainability report, spotlight how their emissions are trending, and listing their Scope 3 discount methods.”
Defined Yadav: “To drive our Scope 3 emissions reductions, it’s essential to trace the progress our suppliers are making towards their very own sustainability commitments. This immediate helps me perceive how our key suppliers are advancing on their commitments, which in flip informs our provider engagement and danger administration efforts.”
For anticipating media scrutiny
To arrange for the media questions that comply with the launch of his firm’s annual environmental report, Google Director of Sustainability Reporting Alex Hausman asks Gemini — Google’s AI assistant — to role-play a reporter and generate essential questions.
“This helps us construct a sturdy inner Q&A doc, guaranteeing our communications, advertising and marketing and different groups are ready with clear, constant and data-driven responses” mentioned Hausman. “It permits us to be clear and responsive whereas liberating up our staff to concentrate on different high-impact work.”
Right here’s his immediate:
“Think about you’re a reporter for a serious information outlet masking company sustainability. Primarily based on the offered Environmental Report, what are essentially the most difficult and insightful questions you’ll ask? Then, draft clear and concise solutions to these questions utilizing solely info discovered throughout the report itself.”
For making sense of frameworks
Palms up if you recognize the important thing variations between sustainability reporting frameworks from the World Reporting Initiative, the Sustainability Accounting Requirements Board and the Process Power of Local weather-related FInancial Disclosures. For further credit score, lay out how new disclosure guidelines from the state of California and the European Union’s Company Sustainability Reporting Directive change issues.
If this type of factor just isn’t your concept of a very good time, Yadav has a immediate for you:
“Evaluate frequent sustainability frameworks (GRI, SASB, TCFD) and spotlight their similarities, variations, and relevance for company reporting.”
“I take advantage of this to remain updated with evolving ESG reporting requirements, perceive which frameworks are most related to my firm and establish overlaps to reduce reporting efforts,” she explains. “This not solely helps me perceive the fundamentals of every customary however helps me perceive which framework buyers or regulators are prioritizing.”
Acquired a favourite immediate?
We’re positive there are various sustainability professionals on the market with equally helpful prompts. In case you suppose you’re one in every of them, ship us your ideas and we’ll share the perfect as updates to this submit.
Create your individual person suggestions survey
For a deeper dive, attend the AI in sustainability session at Trellis Influence 25, the place Yadav and Elder shall be joined by Google’s Anna Escuer and entrepreneur Olya Irzak to debate how AI may rework how groups acquire, analyze and act on emissions information.
