"The GRI sustainability reporting cycle: A handbook for small and not-so-small organizations"

The five phases in the Reporting Process 

Prepare- gives an overview of what your final report might contain, the process to get there, and ways to prepare your organization to go through this process.

Connect -how to identify your main internal and external stakeholders and discuss their concerns to help decide what to report on.

Define – helps define the report content based on stakeholder input, assessment against basic reporting principles, and an analysis of your organization’s current commitments and measurement capabilities. This step also addresses which internal modifications might be required to enable improvements, and which indicators will be added to your future reports.

Monitor - describes how to collect information needed to report on the indicators, and how to ensure data quality. This step also provides ideas on how to make data collection and analysis more efficient.

Report – helps understand the actual dynamics of choosing a format for the report, writing it and getting it finalized.