With the new CSRD reporting rules, transparent reporting of corporate activities including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topics has become a necessity. This course aims to equip communication professionals and experienced auditors with the skills to critically analyse unstructured data, such as documents, reports or website content, focusing on the subtleties of language and multimodal communication.
While many sites offer quick solutions based on text mining and sentiment analysis, these tools often provide only a broad overview of textual patterns. They fail to account for the subtleties and specific contexts of use, and they cannot fully expose how text influences the reader, shifts emphasis, or hides responsibility. A trained eye is needed to notice these instances in the text. Discourse knowledge allows auditors to understand the implications of language use and allow them to gain deeper insights beyond what automated tools can provide.
In today's reporting environment, the ability to critically analyse and interpret textual disclosures in ESG reports is a necessary skill. This course provides the tools and techniques necessary to uncover the true impact of language on corporate transparency and stakeholder perceptions. Understanding discourse is more powerful than relying solely on text mining and sentiment analysis, as it captures the nuances and contexts that truly influence reader perceptions.
Our full comprehensive course comprises of 5 workshops - each a day-long. These workshops include combination of lectures, interactive exercises, group discussions, and practical applications.
Topics include: readability, framing, language of deception, legitimation, language of diversity and inclusion.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to: