Archive for the ‘Reporting’ Category

New integrated reporting framework could compel companies to embrace transparency

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Public consultation on the draft International Integrated Reporting Framework is in full swing. Events have been held around the world to bring the <IR> Framework to the attention of a wide range of stakeholders, including the sustainability community.

Speakers at the London event certainly gave it their support with comments ranging from “the catalyst to pull all strands of reporting together” to “an opportunity to demonstrate accountability and allow people to make correct judgements on companies based on accurate information”.

Integrated reporting is about reporting with integrity. We live in an increasingly connected, compressed and complex world, where economic boundaries are collapsing. This presents uncertainty but also great opportunity. We need a new way of working in this globalised world with newly empowered stakeholders – and communication should be at the heart.

The <IR> Framework will offer significant opportunities to companies that follow it.

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Look for corporate sustainability leaders in less-obvious places

Monday, November 19th, 2012

Who are the leaders in corporate responsibility? Answering that question is tantamount to asking about the best car: some may prefer the flashy new sports car while others are looking for safety and cargo space.

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Fits and starts towards integrated reporting

Monday, November 19th, 2012

The movement toward integrated reporting of sustainability and financial issues continues to be challenging for the largest companies. While some have progressed towards the principles of integrated reporting, critical elements to produce an integrated report are still missing.
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Sustainability reports check more boxes but miss big picture

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

Sustainability reports are simultaneously getting better and worse. Companies today are increasingly aware of sustainability issues and opportunities and actively integrate sustainability into core business strategies and decision-making. In one sense, companies are opening up and describing the intimate details around how they define material issues, engage stakeholders, and join multi-stakeholder initiatives. On the flip side, however, as companies become more responsive to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and other reporting frameworks in an effort to drive comparability, they are beginning to lose sight of the why.
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GRI Focal Point USA can spark US companies to up their game on sustainability reporting

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

I had the honor to be at the New York Stock Exchange this week for the GRI Focal Point USA launch which puts “resources on the ground” for current and future sustainability reporters in the form of sustainability veteran and reporting expert Mike Wallace, GRI Director.

Webcast live, the event was attended by more than 200 representatives of US corporate GRI reporters, Wall Street investment firms, major accounting firms and organizational stakeholders such as Two Tomorrows. While some participants expressed disappointment at not getting to ring the opening bell, for many of us just being in the hallowed “cathedral of capital” was excitement enough.

For the GRI to establish a US presence brings the Amsterdam-based organization full circle. Originally launched as an initiative of Boston-based Ceres in 1999, the GRI was the brainchild of Alan White (present at Monday’s event) and co-founder Robert Massey.

In his opening remarks, GRI Chief Executive Ernst Ligteringen was direct in his rationale for setting up shop stateside: Despite the overall growth in sustainability reporting worldwide and year-over-year uptake of the GRI reporting framework, the US continues to lag Europe when it comes to GRI reporting.
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Integrate and celebrate?

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

Integrated reporting is coming of age. With the launch of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), the publication of books such as One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy by Robert Eccles & Michael Krzus and briefings coming out of the big accountancy firms, it seems something fundamental is happening in the world of corporate reporting. However, is it one report that’s needed, and is something worth celebrating really happening?

Well, no – and, maybe, yes.
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Integration: Proceed with caution

Sunday, November 29th, 2009

More of our clients are asking us about integrating their sustainability disclosure into their company’s main annual report. So in my fourth post on key issues in CR and sustainability reporting, some words of caution about going down the integration route . . .

As sustainability issues take their rightful place at the heart of business decision-making, they will no longer be seen as add-ons to be covered in a separate report. Instead, they will be material enough to merit inclusion as a core part of annual reports for mainstream investors.

The logical next step for reporters might then be for the annual report to swallow the sustainability report completely – as is already the case in some organisations.
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Can large hotels respond to sustainability challenges?

Friday, November 20th, 2009

The World Travel Market (WTM) in London last week showed that the hotel and leisure industry is seeing growing demand for responsible travel.

Faced with a changed economic climate, travellers are seeking less luxury and more authenticity by getting closer to the people, communities and surroundings of their destinations. Often this involves taking on an activity rather than sunbathing constantly.
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The great GRI debate

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

The third in my series of posts on CR and sustainability reporting. This time, I’m looking at an issue that comes up a lot in my discussions with would-be reporters: the GRI guidelines and their pros and cons . . . 

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines are viewed with mixed feelings by reporters. At Two Tomorrows, we helped shape the original guidelines and are an official ‘organisational stakeholder’ of GRI, so of course we’re broadly supportive. But we do understand the reservations some companies have, and frequently support those who don’t use GRI at all.
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The five most common reporting traps

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

The second in a series of reflections on CR and sustainability reporting. This time, I’m looking at how you can set your report apart from the herd by avoiding the five most common reporting traps . . .

If you report your company’s sustainability performance, do you baulk at the idea of writing the sustainability report? If you have an interest in a company or its product, do you relish the idea of reading the sustainability report?
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