thinkstep-anz

The thinkstep-anz team | David Klein, Hannah Schickendanz, and Mattias Nebel

Document name

Growth (thinkstep-anz Integrated Report 2020/2021)

Judges’ comments

When we consider the amount of jargon you could have used given your field, your ability to stick with familiar words and communicate clearly is commendable.

Your tone is great. It feels conversational, engaging, and honest. Little features like ‘We believe (and hope!)’ bring a human element to the read. And you do so while still coming across as the professional subject-matter experts that you are.

Without doubt, your layout and presentation help readers absorb your messages quickly and easily. We would particularly flag up the large-font intro summaries, the quotes in coloured boxes, the use of icons, the images and photos, and the good use of white space.

Overall you do a good job of avoiding relying on typical business speak and jargon. Instead, you write effectively with a human voice. Our congratulations to you!

Media statement

We’re thrilled to have won Best Plain Language Annual Report!

This was our first integrated report. To meet the standards of the global Integrated Reporting Framework, we needed to keep it concise. We also wanted to make the report engaging and easy for people to understand, including people without a sustainability background.

Plain language has helped us meet these aims. It has also shown our clients that we can translate complex technical sustainability information into the simple business language their decision-makers need and tell our sustainability story without ‘greenwash’.

Our thanks to the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust for championing plain language!

Kate Thompson
Head of Communications
thinkstep-anz