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Release: Australia · Updated: 2026-03-12 · Official documentation · View source

Create a material topic

Create material topics for your organization so that you can identify the areas where you want to make an operational sustainability impact.

Before you begin

Role required: sn_esg.program_manager

About this task

Material topics are topics that reflect the organization’s most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people. After you create a material topic, you must send the topic for approval.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > Operational Sustainability Management > Operational Sustainability Workspace > Lists > Program Setup > Material topics.

  2. Select New.

  3. On the form, fill in the fields.

FieldDescription
NameName of the material topic. For example, `Climate and Energy`.
ClassificationCategory of the material topic. Choices are the following:- Environmental - Social - Governance
ApproverPerson responsible for the review and for approval of the material topic.
StateState of the material topic. This field is automatically set to Draft.
Importance to business successEffect of the material topic on the business success. Choices are the following:- None - Very important - Important - Moderately important - Slightly important
Importance to stakeholdersImportance of the material topic for the stakeholders. Choices are the following:- None - Very important - Important - Moderately important - Slightly important
UrlLinks to any online information that the teams may use.
PriorityPriority of the material topic. Choices are the following: - None - High - Moderate - Low
DescriptionBrief description of the material topic.
  1. Select Save.

  2. To send the topic for review, select Ready for Review.

  3. To mark a material topic as confidential, in the Security section, select the Confidential option.

    1. In the Allowed users field, select the users who can view the record.

    2. In the Allowed groups, select the groups that can view the record.

    This Security section only appears if the sn_grc.enable_record_confidentiality property is enabled under GRC properties. By default, the logged-in user is added to the list of confidential users.

Result

The material topic is sent to the approver. The state changes to Review.

What to do next

Create a metric

Parent Topic:Configure Operational Sustainability Management (formerly ESG Management)