Every year, B Corps produce impact reports to document their progress, contributions, and commitments. For B Corps, this is a legal requirement, much like financial reporting.
However, despite their importance, many organisations treat them as a formal obligation rather than an opportunity to engage their audience. In reality, a well-crafted impact report can strengthen relationships, reinforce credibility, and make transparency a strategic advantage. Animation can help organisations achieve that.
Instead of a static document that sits on a website, animating an impact report transforms important insights into engaging content that is easy to understand and share. Rather than being read by a select few, the report can reach a much wider audience and leave a lasting impression.
Let’s take a look at what impact reports are, why they matter, and how animating impact reports can expand engagement and reach.
An impact report is a detailed summary of an organisation’s efforts to create positive change. While every report is unique, the purpose remains the same: to provide transparency. These reports help businesses and charities demonstrate the results of their work rather than simply stating their intentions.
For B Corps, impact reports typically include:
The content matters, but its presentation determines whether people engage with it or pay no mind at all.
Tony's latest FAIR report is a masterclass in radical transparency and mission-led reporting. The tone is bold yet playful, and crystal clear about the brand's ambition to end exploitation in cocoa. The report walks you through exactly how Tony's is scaling their impact, from paying living income reference prices to expanding their Open Chain model. They even let competitors use it to prove that ethical sourcing is possible at scale. That's rare.
It's also one of the few reports that manages to be genuinely fun to read. There's character and clarity on every page, even as it covers complex frameworks like CSRD and ESRS. It balances data with storytelling in a fun on-brand design, zooming in on farmer livelihoods and the real-world effects of their sourcing model.
At over 200 pages, it's a beast. But it never loses you, as every section reads like it was made with the same care they put into their chocolate.
This report from Little Soap Company is proof that purpose-led doesn't have to mean polished corporate language or dry data dumps. It feels honest, energetic, and refreshingly human. From the founder's personal intro to the breakdown of their carbon-negative operations, you get the sense that this is a business that cares about their purpose and wants you to care too.
What stands out is how clearly they link big picture impact to everyday decisions: switching to Prevented Ocean Plastic, pushing for palm oil transparency and constantly iterating their product range to cut waste. It's packed with real numbers but never loses personality. Add in customer quotes, supplier ratings and team reflections, and the result is a full circle snapshot of how values can shape a business.
Shorter than some but packed with substance, it's a great example of how to stay informative without losing your voice.
TOMS has always been vocal about purpose, but their 2024 Impact Report proves that “walking the walk” is just as important as “talking the talk”.
They balance data with stories, from partnerships with grassroots mental health organisations to carbon tracking and sustainable packaging goals. You can feel the intention behind every section. It connects the dots between everyday purchases and long-term impact while sprinkling in some humour (“Did you know there’s no Tom at TOMS?”)
The design is easy to follow and the tone is consistent: honest, hopeful, and community-first. A great example of how legacy brands can evolve with purpose and use reporting to bring their audience along for the journey.
For B Corps, publishing an impact report is a requirement of certification. These businesses must meet high standards for social and environmental performance, and the report keeps them accountable.
Beyond compliance, impact reports provide value by helping B Corps…
That said, some businesses miss out on these benefits because their reports lack engagement or leave out important details, making them less useful. This reluctance to share impact is part of a growing trend called greenhushing.
Greenhushing happens when organisations hold back on sharing their sustainability efforts, often out of fear of public scrutiny. Instead of celebrating progress, they stay quiet to avoid criticism for not doing enough.
It might seem like the safer option, but staying silent is a missed opportunity. Being open builds credibility, even when there’s room for improvement. It should be a commitment to progress, not just perfection.
However, clarity and engagement matter just as much as transparency. Animation turns impact reports into something people want to watch, which naturally makes them more accessible and memorable.
Again, if transparency matters, the way information is conveyed makes all the difference. A lengthy PDF filled with statistics and corporate language is unlikely to capture or hold any attention.
Animating impact reports changes that by turning key insights into a format that is easier to process and more compelling to watch. Here’s why animation works so well:
Most people won’t sit down to read an entire impact report, but they will watch a well-produced video that delivers the same insights in a more engaging way. Animation takes complex data and turns it into clear, visual storytelling that holds attention and makes information easier to absorb.
An animated report isn’t limited to a single release. It can be shared on social media as short clips, embedded in presentations to make information more dynamic, and included in newsletters to reinforce key messages. Instead of being buried, the content stays in circulation and reaches more people over time.
The visuals and branding from a traditional impact report can be carried over into an animation, cutting down on production time and costs. Rather than starting from scratch, organisations can transform existing content into a video format that reaches more people. This approach makes it easier to share impact without needing to invest in a completely new creative process.
Animation makes data more relatable by turning numbers and reports into something people can connect with emotionally. Instead of presenting raw figures, it can illustrate real outcomes, showing the human side of an organisation’s work. A statistic about reduced carbon emissions, for example, becomes far more impactful when visualised as clearer skies, healthier ecosystems, or a thriving community.
An animated impact report doesn’t need to exist in isolation. As we’ve mentioned before, it can be broken down and repurposed for different platforms in a number of ways, increasing its value as a communication tool. Here are a few ways any organisation can repurpose their reports:
Shorter sections of the animation can be turned into bite-sized videos for LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and Instagram. This keeps the message visible throughout the year rather than confining it to a single report release.
Teams can use animated impact reports for onboarding, training, or reinforcing company values. Employees are more likely to engage with a professionally animated video than a dense corporate document.
A visually engaging video makes it easier to communicate an organisation’s impact to stakeholders who may not have time to read the full report.
By animating impact reports, they can be used as presentation tools, making key points more engaging for live audiences.
By thinking beyond the initial publication, organisations can make their impact reports work harder and deliver value across multiple channels.
As more people expect B-corps to be upfront about their impact, reports are becoming a bigger part of how organisations build trust. But a report that exists purely for compliance often gets filed away.
That’s why impact reports shouldn’t feel like a chore. They’re an opportunity to show real progress in a way that sticks. For a B Corp, that might mean highlighting sustainability work in a way that reaches customers, partners, and future employees.
Turning your report into a format people actually want to watch makes it more useful, builds awareness and strengthens relationships..
Give your organisation the lasting impact it deserves. Just book a call with us today and we'll help you put your impact into motion.
