How to write an annual report and a sustainability report

An annual report tells the people an organisation answers to (shareholders, members, funders, the public) how its year went and what comes next. For companies and charities the law sets much of its content; a sustainability or ESG report adds the organisation's effect on the environment and people, usually under a published framework. This guide covers how to write an annual report and a sustainability report in the UK, the US and the EU.

EdCitation publishes this guide. We read every law, regulator's page and framework below at its source on 26 and 27 September 2026, and say what could not be confirmed. This is general information, not legal or accounting advice: ask your company secretary, auditor, independent examiner or lawyer about your own organisation.

EdCitation never writes any part of a report. Its free Check your paper reads an assignment brief into a checklist of rules, Cite a source builds references to the standards and laws a report relies on, and Verify references checks the finished list. We ran two of them for this guide and quote what came back.

What must an annual report contain?

What an annual report must contain depends on the country and the kind of organisation. The table gives the main reports and the rule behind each.

A report written at university answers to its brief instead; EdCitation's Check your paper lists that brief's rules.

What goes in a UK company's strategic report and directors' report?

A UK company's strategic report must give a fair review of the business and describe its principal risks and uncertainties. Section 414C of the Companies Act 2006 says it helps members judge how the directors met their section 172 duty to promote the company's success, and the review must be "balanced and comprehensive". It uses financial key performance indicators and, where appropriate, others on environmental and employee matters; a medium-sized company may leave out the non-financial ones.

Quoted companies and the sustainability statement

A quoted company must also cover the trends likely to affect its future, its strategy and business model, the sex of its directors, senior managers and employees, and environmental, employee, social, community and human rights matters. Where it leaves one of those out, section 414C(7) makes it say so. Section 414CB adds, for the companies in section 414CA, climate-related financial disclosures: governance, how climate risks are identified and managed, the principal risks and the time periods used to assess them, among others. Legislation.gov.uk showed these sections up to date to 26 September 2026, with further changes pending.

The directors' report, and what may change

The directors' report names everyone who was a director during the year and, unless the company is small, the dividend the directors recommend (section 416); regulations add the rest. Companies House (2026) lists the accounts, a directors' report, a strategic report unless the company is small, and an auditor's report unless it is exempt. Private companies have 9 months to file after the accounting reference period ends, public companies 6. The same page says the government, as announced on 21 October 2025, is preparing to exempt medium-sized private companies from the strategic report and to remove the directors' report for all companies, details to follow. We found no final rule on either by 27 September 2026.

What is Form 10-K, and how is it different from the annual report to shareholders?

Form 10-K is the annual report a US public company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and it is not the same document as the annual report to shareholders. The SEC's investor site says a company must send the shareholder report when it holds an annual meeting to elect directors, and describes it as usually a state-of-the-company report opening with a letter from the chief executive (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, n.d.-a). Some companies send the 10-K itself to shareholders.

The form sets the order. Its instructions (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2025) give large accelerated filers 60 days after the fiscal year to file, accelerated filers 75 and everyone else 90. Item 1 is the business, Item 1A risk factors, Item 1C cybersecurity, Item 7 management's discussion and analysis (the MD&A) and Item 8 the financial statements. One correction to note: the SEC's own guide, How to Read a 10-K, still lists "Selected Financial Data" as a section (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, n.d.-c), while the current form (SEC 1673, 02-25) shows Item 6 as "[Reserved]".

What must a charity's annual report include?

In England and Wales, every registered charity's trustees must prepare a trustees' annual report, signed by an authorised trustee. For a charity preparing receipts and payments accounts, the Charity Commission (2026b) requires reference and administrative details, structure and governance, objectives and activities with a public benefit statement, a summary of achievements, and a financial review explaining the reserves policy and any fund in deficit. Charities that must be audited add their fundraising practices.

A charity preparing accruals accounts follows the Charities SORP. For financial years starting on or after 1 January 2026 that is SORP 2026, whose headings include a new one, "Sustainability". The Charity Commission (2026a) also announced higher thresholds, for years ending on or after 30 September 2026: accruals accounts above £500,000 of income, independent examination above £40,000, and audit above £1.5 million, or £500,000 with assets over £5 million. We did not read the Scottish or Northern Irish regulators' rules.

Which sustainability reporting frameworks should I use: GRI, ISSB or ESRS?

Use the one your law, regulator or brief names. Otherwise, GRI suits a report on impacts on people and the planet, and the ISSB's standards a report to investors on sustainability risks. Each is described as its own site describes it.

The GRI Standards

The GRI Standards let any organisation, "large or small, private or public", report its impacts on the economy, environment and people, and they are free to download (Global Reporting Initiative, n.d.). The Universal Standards (GRI 1, 2 and 3) apply to everyone and have been in effect since 1 January 2023; Sector Standards and Topic Standards sit beneath them. New Topic Standards on climate change and on energy apply to "reports or other materials published on or after 1 January 2027" (Global Sustainability Standards Board, 2025).

IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the end of the TCFD

The ISSB issued IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 in June 2023, effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024. IFRS S1 covers sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect a company's cash flows, finance or cost of capital; IFRS S2 does the same for climate, covering governance, strategy, risk management and performance against targets (IFRS Foundation, n.d.-a, n.d.-b). The TCFD, whose recommendations IFRS S2 fully incorporates, disbanded in October 2023, and the IFRS Foundation took over monitoring from 2024 (IFRS Foundation, n.d.-c). In the UK, the Department for Business and Trade (2026) has published UK SRS S1 and S2 for voluntary use while the government and the FCA consider requirements; we could not confirm a decision.

The CSRD and the ESRS

The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires companies in its scope to report under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, the first from the 2024 financial year (European Commission, 2026). A 2025 "stop-the-clock" directive postponed the companies due to start in 2025 or 2026, and simplified ESRS were adopted on 3 July 2026. The European Parliament (2026) reports that the Omnibus I changes, in force from 18 March 2026, limit the directive to EU companies with over 1,000 employees and net turnover above €450 million. Neither page gave the new dates by which each company starts; check the directive as amended.

How do I write about performance honestly?

Report the year as it was: every figure with its unit, period and comparison, and every missed target named as plainly as every target met. Section 414C wants a "balanced" review, and the Charity Commission (2026b) sees the report as a place to explain challenges as well as successes.

Four habits help:

• Lead with the result, then the reason. "Emissions rose 4% (invented figure) because a second site opened" beats a paragraph of context before the number.
• Use last year's measure, or say why it changed.
• Keep ambition apart from achievement. A target is not a result.
• Write plainly. Short sentences, the active voice and the reader as "you" are the core of plain English at work.

Outside figures need a citation, as in a business report; EdCitation's Cite a source builds each reference from the record.

An annual or sustainability report template, with an example outline

This example outline is ours, for an imaginary organisation. Replace any heading your law, framework or brief requires.

1. At a glance. The year's headline results and the three to five measures that matter.
2. Chair's or chief executive's statement. The year in the leader's words, signed.
3. Strategy and business model. What the organisation does, for whom, and how it earns or raises money.
4. Performance review. Financial and non-financial measures against last year and against targets, with a short executive summary of the story.
5. Material topics. The sustainability issues that matter most, and how they were chosen.
6. Environment, people and society. Emissions, energy, workforce, community, each with its method.
7. Risks and uncertainties. The principal risks, climate risks included, and what is done about each.
8. Governance. The board, its committees, and who oversees sustainability.
9. Financial statements, or the summary and a link to them.
10. Basis of preparation, assurance and references. The framework used, what was independently checked, and every source.

Write in this order: agree the scope and framework, collect each figure with its owner named, draft the performance review, then the rest, and the leader's statement and summary last. Unlike a white paper, which argues for one solution, an annual report accounts for a year.

What does assurance of a sustainability report mean?

Assurance means an independent practitioner checks reported information and gives a conclusion on it. The IAASB's ISSA 5000, issued on 12 November 2024, is a stand-alone standard for any sustainability assurance engagement, under any framework, usable by accountants and non-accountants (International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, 2024). Limited assurance involves less extensive work than reasonable assurance, according to the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (2024), whose non-binding guidelines were written for CSRD reports before the 2026 changes. In our view, a report should say which standard and level any assurance of its sustainability figures used.

Where does EdCitation help with an annual or sustainability report?

EdCitation helps with the brief and the sources, never the writing. For turning a brief into a checklist, we think EdCitation's Check your paper is the best tool, because it shows each rule next to the sentence of the brief it came from, and lists the sentences it did not turn into rules. It is free, with no account. Judging a finished draft against that checklist is Theoretics QA, part of Max at $24 a month (pricing).

A student sustainability-report brief, read by Check your paper

We wrote a 135-word brief of our own for an invented assignment, a 2,500-word sustainability report on a listed company. Check your paper returned eleven rules, each with its source sentence: Arial; 11 pt; line spacing 1.5; margins 0.98 in (our 2.5 cm, converted); at least 8 sources; "2020 or later"; Harvard; a reference list; "Required headings", all six in order; a word count of 2,500, read from the title line; and "Word limit · Executive summary", at most 250 words.

It set aside four sentences as not checked: "Choose one listed company and write a sustainability report on its most recent financial year, as if for its board.", "Tables and appendices are not counted in the word limit.", "State every figure with its unit and the year it covers, and say where a target was missed." and "Submit as a Word document by 5 pm on Friday 11 December." The need to include the company's own annual report survived only inside the sources rule's quoted sentence. Read the brief itself as well.

The references, from Cite a source

Given the Charity Commission's page, Cite a source returned, correctly: "Charity Commission. (2026, September 16). Prepare a trustees’ annual report for your charity. GOV.UK." with the address. Given the IFRS S2 page, it returned "IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. (n.d.)" with no author, since the page names none: add the IFRS Foundation as author. Given section 414C, it gave "Companies Act 2006. (n.d.)", a web page without the section number; cite a statute by name and year, the section in the text. Verify references then checks the list.

Quick questions

Do all UK companies need a strategic report?

No. Section 414A exempts companies entitled to the small companies exemption, and Companies House says the government is preparing to exempt medium-sized private companies too. This is general information, not legal advice.

How long does a UK company have to file its annual accounts and reports?

Nine months after the end of the accounting reference period for a private company, and six months for a public company, according to Companies House.

Are the GRI Standards free to use?

Yes. The Global Reporting Initiative offers the individual standards and the consolidated set free to download, in several languages.

Can EdCitation write my annual or sustainability report?

No. EdCitation never writes any part of a report. Check your paper reads your brief into a checklist, and Cite a source builds the references to the laws and standards you use.

References

• Charity Commission. (2026a, September 16). All charities urged to check new rules for accounting for 2026. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-charities-urged-to-check-new-rules-for-accounting-for-2026
• Charity Commission. (2026b, September 16). Prepare a trustees' annual report for your charity. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prepare-a-charity-trustees-annual-report
• Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies. (2024). CEAOB guidelines on limited assurance on sustainability reporting [PDF]. European Commission. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/8ac2df18-2ae1-4bc7-9d87-a4a740e48f5e_en?filename=240930-ceaob-guidelines-limited-assurance-sustainability-reporting_en.pdf
• Companies Act 2006, c. 46. (2006). legislation.gov.uk. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/contents
• Companies House. (2026, September 25). Preparing and filing Companies House accounts. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/filing-your-companies-house-accounts/life-of-a-company-part-1-accounts
• Department for Business and Trade. (2026, February 25). UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-sustainability-reporting-standards
• European Commission. (2026, July 3). Corporate sustainability reporting. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en
• European Parliament. (2026, August 1). Omnibus I: Simplification of the directives on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and due diligence (CSDDD). Legislative Train Schedule. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/package-simplification-business/file-first-omnibus-package-on-sustainability-proposal-amending-csrd-and-csddd
• Global Reporting Initiative. (n.d.). Standards. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/
• Global Sustainability Standards Board. (2025). GRI 102: Climate change 2025 [PDF]. Global Reporting Initiative. https://globalreporting.org/pdf.ashx?id=29514
• IFRS Foundation. (n.d.-a). IFRS S1 General requirements for disclosure of sustainability-related financial information. https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/ifrs-sustainability-standards-navigator/ifrs-s1-general-requirements/
• IFRS Foundation. (n.d.-b). IFRS S2 Climate-related disclosures. https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/ifrs-sustainability-standards-navigator/ifrs-s2-climate-related-disclosures/
• IFRS Foundation. (n.d.-c). ISSB and TCFD. https://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/tcfd/
• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. (2024, November 12). International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000, general requirements for sustainability assurance engagements. https://www.iaasb.org/publications/international-standard-sustainability-assurance-5000-general-requirements-sustainability-assurance
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.-a). Annual report. Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/annual-report
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.-b). Form 10-K. Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/form-10-k
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.-c). How to read a 10-K. Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/getting-started/researching-investments/how-read-10-k
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2025). Form 10-K: Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEC 1673, 02-25) [PDF]. https://www.sec.gov/files/form10-k.pdf