By some estimates, it will take just a decade for Gen Z to overtake millennials as the United States’ largest cohort, with an expected peak of 78 million people. Raised with the internet and now perpetually online, “digital native” Gen Zers and millennials are the savviest users of technology, accustomed to smartphones, unfettered access to information and rapid gratification.

Consumer behaviors have evolved in kind, especially around expectations for—and skepticism toward—the entities and institutions with which they engage. A particularly uncompromising expectation they harbor: Corporations must be responsible, transparent and sustainable.

These shifting preferences will prove material to businesses. Gen Z and millennial consumers are far more likely than Gen Xers and baby boomers to factor sustainability—disclosed almost entirely in companies’ ESG data reporting and disclosure—into purchasing decisions. Deloitte, meanwhile, found that more than half of Gen Z and millennial workers have researched a company’s environmental impact and policies before accepting roles there.

According to the FINRA Foundation, more than half of U.S. Gen Zers invest. The Gen Z and millennial share of the investor ecosystem—and thus the percentage of investors to whom ESG risks are decidedly material—will only increase with time. That means more investors will be scrutinizing extreme weather impacts, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and human rights-conscious value chains.

The markets are already facing a deluge of younger consumers who more stubbornly demand data-driven, accurate and consistent sustainability reporting. Likewise, the many thousands of Gen Z and millennial journalists look for measurable progress toward commitments, rather than just aspirations, when reporting.

The takeaway? How younger generations assess an organization’s sustainability profile hinges on substantive corporate disclosure rather than commitments and platitudes.

Against this backdrop of dramatic demographic shifts, companies should assess how well they nurture trust in Gen Z and millennial stakeholders. Here are a few key areas for consideration.

Overpromising seeds unmet expectations

Many corporate sustainability reports, filled with jargon, omission, misdirection and overpromises, fail to resonate with these highly informed generational cohorts. Absent a standardized sustainability reporting framework and amid a dynamic global ESG regulatory environment, many companies intending to highlight their good work make the mistake of addressing every topic under the “ESG” umbrella—even those unrelated to their business, industry, mission or stakeholders.

No doubt, organizations intend to showcase how seriously management takes environmental and social justice. But just as many are ensnared by overcommitments, veering into areas unrelated to the business. This kitchen-sink approach obfuscates good work, particularly when shortcomings in those unrelated areas distract from positive externalities and can ultimately alienate those populations.

As such, sustainability reports should feature data that connect the company’s mission and raison d'être with its efforts to positively impact our world. Deadlines for global ESG disclosure regulations, including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and California’s Senate Bills 253 and 261, are not so distant, and the many data disclosures they mandate will reveal how well organizations keep their promises. Publicly disclosed commitments should thus reflect tangible action and financial and operational realities.

Candor and specificity nurture engagement

Sustainability journeys will be bumpy. The paradigm shift rippling across the private sector bodes well for clean energy, job quality, corporate transparency and pay equity movements, but companies will encounter unforeseen challenges and setbacks. Sensitive to corporate prevarication, scrutinous Gen Z and Millennial stakeholders want honesty. Candor in sustainability reporting of challenges and shortcomings—alongside the promotion of measurable successes—will prove engaging.

Importantly, such forthright discussions of sustainability-related challenges and roadblocks should note how management is trying to improve. Flawless environmental and community stewardship is not yet realistic for every enterprise. However, highlighting stakeholder conversations, employee outreach, internal audits, engagement of third-party advisors or other tactics will keep the tone positive and focus forward-looking.

Accessibility and communication channels matter

Every successive generation after millennials will be increasingly online and interconnected. Regardless of companies’ degree of exposure to end consumers and investors, companies can no longer afford to neglect social media platforms as legitimate channel for sustainability-related stakeholder engagement. Using the platforms, channels and formats these groups prefer—interactive social media content, mobile-optimized landing pages, succinct data visualizations—will improve the chances that sustainability reporting reaches important stakeholders.

That may translate to, for example, LinkedIn infographics highlighting, emissions reduction targets and progress or video content explaining how the company adheres to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. For others, humanizing workforce data and providing real-life examples of the sustainability journey in progress may prove beneficial. Communications teams would be wise to lean on sustainability professionals in their organization or network to assess what topics under the ever-more-nebulous “ESG” warrant immediate attention.

Where possible, companies should also opt for more inclusive, accessible language. Gen Z and millennial stakeholders are quick to spot exclusionary language—and quick to question why a company might be speaking evasively. Of course, public disclosures related to such topics as climate risk modeling, carbon offsets and clean energy tax incentives will be complex. But younger stakeholders know that choices made now will impact them in the future, and companies looking to stay competitive would do well to remember that Gen Zers and millennials are looking for ways to tune in and to keep an eye on the accessibility of their sustainability reporting.

Do good and report better

As millennials and Gen Zers assume a greater share of consumer, investor and employee populations, companies will find it increasingly material that sustainability reporting engages them and cultivates their trust.

By communicating realistic goals, speaking candidly and communicating through the right channels, companies can use their sustainability reporting to better engage and nurture trust in the two groups on which they will soon greatly depend. The private sector will inevitably shape our collective future, and rethinking sustainability reporting strategies is an immediate step companies can take to maximize our shared success.