ABSTRACT
The Define phase is about the 'prioritisation' of material aspects, where these impacts occur inside and outside the organisation; the boundary for an organisation's activities, and validation of the material aspects to be reported upon. It should be remembered that not at all aspects are created equal in some cases the material issue may not be relevant to the internal operations of a company, in others it may be relevant in the extended supply chain. At the beginning of the Define phase an organisation has a long list of material aspects from having cast a wide net with a broad range of stakeholders and capturing their views and support. The outcome of using the Materiality Template are priorities and boundaries, which can be plotted on a materiality scatter matrix. A materiality matrix shows the position of prioritised sustainability topics, the most material items being found in the upper-right hand corner of the materiality matrix.
