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Editor's Note
The Future of Sustainability Reporting
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services
We stand at a significant juncture in the development of sustainability reporting. Many companies are integrating sustainability issues into their annual financial reports, and the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) recently published proposals for a new framework that has the potential to re-shape corporate reporting for the 21st century. At the same time, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is embarking on a process to create the "G4" version of its Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, while an increasing number of regulators around the world are putting new disclosure requirements in place.
BSR experiences sustainability reporting from multiple angles. We are the report writers when we work with our global member companies to create sustainability reports. We are the report readers when we use sustainability report content in our research and advisory work. And we are the report-framework creators when we participate in initiatives such as the GRI and the IIRC.
Drawing on this work, we feature here BSR's collective insights on the state of play and future of sustainability reporting, including perspectives on the GRI, the IIRC, and the merits of mandatory reporting as well as reporting trends on important topics such as climate change, water, and privacy.
Reporting on Sustainability Performance
Integrated Reporting: A New Vision for Disclosure (October 4, 2011)
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services, and Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
BSR Insight article: Following the release of the IIRC's vision for a new integrated reporting framework, we consider key questions about potential changes: Which comes first, integrated thinking or integrated reporting? Who determines materiality? How much focus should be on the future? And how will accountability for reporting change? Read more →
★ Preparing for the International Integrated Reporting Committee's Proposals (October 3, 2011)
Sustainability Matters webinar: In this webinar, BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer and IIRC CEO Paul Druckman give an overview of how the IIRC’s proposals are poised to influence the future of sustainability reporting. They also discuss some of the key challenges companies face in linking information about strategy and risk, financial and non-financial performance, and governance. Listen now →
When CSR and Financial Reporting Meet: Integrated Reporting (November 5, 2010)
BSR Conference 2010 session summary: In this session, AstraZeneca's Malin Ekefalk, Domini Social Investments' Adam Kanzer, and BSR's Laura Commike Gitman explore the development of integrated reporting, current best practices, and challenges companies face. Read more →
Four Improvements for the Global Reporting Initiative's ‘G4’ Guidelines (September 20, 2011)
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services, and Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
BSR Insight article: As the Global Reporting Initiative begins work on the next iteration of its sustainability reporting guidelines (due to launch by 2013) BSR took a staff-wide survey to recommend areas for improvement. Read more →
Best Practices in Reporting on Ethics (August 30, 2011)
BSR Insight article: Ethics and integrity disclosure—reporting on the implementation of codes of ethics—is an important part of corporate transparency. Leading companies typically take one of the following approaches: data centric or case study centric. However, the gold standard is a hybrid approach that includes both the number of concerns raised as well as the narratives that highlight specific cases. Read more →
Five Merits of Sustainability Reporting for Management (July 7, 2011)
By David Korngold, Associate, Advisory Services
Blog: Sustainability reporting offers a tremendous opportunity to generate and communicate management insight, develop a more robust organization, and drive value for the company. Here are five merits of sustainability reporting that illustrate a powerful management opportunity. Read more →
Companies Report on Water-Related Risks and Opportunities (January 15, 2011)
BSR Insight article: This article summarizes the CDP's latest survey, which asked companies for information about their water strategies and management plans, water-related risks and opportunities, and water use within the context of local scarcity or abundance. Read more →
Going Local: Increasing the Value of Local Sustainability Reporting (October 19, 2010)
By Adam Lane, Manager, Advisory Services
BSR Insight article: Twenty-seven out of the 100 largest global companies are reporting on local sustainability performance at the regional, country, or site-specific level. Drawing on our experience in China, we propose an approach to local sustainability reporting—based on local engagement, internal coordination, and the use of proven reporting frameworks—that can generate value for both the company and its stakeholders. Read more →
Read the report →
Reporting Trends
The Danger of ‘Web 2.0’ Enthusiasm for Sustainability Reporting (July 25, 2011)
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services
Blog: I’ve been a proponent of increased sustainability reporting and transparency since the late 1990s. I produced one of the world’s first “written-for-the-web” sustainability reports while at BT in 2001. I’ve also been heavily involved in the recent internet and human rights agenda, advising Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft on freedom of expression and privacy issues. With a background like that, I should be enthusiastic about the prospects of “new media” and “web 2.0” for sustainability reporting, but I’m not. Let me describe why. Read more →
Rebuilding Sustainability Reporting Guidance From the Ground Up—Starting in Chile (April 18, 2011)
By Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
Blog: Should organizations be accountable for the performance of their supply chains? What information should they disclose? The GRI Working Group on Supply Chain Disclosures met in Santiago, Chile, to answer these questions in order to help improve supply chain reporting—which was identified by stakeholders and the GRI board as a weak point in overall sustainability reporting. Read more →
U.S. ‘Proxy Preview’ Report: Environmental, Social Issues on the Rise (April 12, 2011)
BSR Insight article: This article shares highlights from As You Sow's "Proxy Preview 2011"—a compendium of the 360 U.S. shareholder resolutions up for vote in 2011—which reported that investors now file about 50 percent more resolutions on social and environmental issues than they did 10 years ago. Read more →
Answering the Call for Mandatory Sustainability Reporting (April 5, 2011)
By Chhavi Ghuliani, Manager, Advisory Services
BSR Insight article: Even as momentum grows for mandatory sustainability reporting, companies are behind in adapting their reporting practices. BSR offers advice on how to prepare for the future of integrated and mandatory reporting. Read more →
★ Responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project (February 16, 2011)
Sustainability Matters: In this webinar, we explore why companies should report to the CDP, lessons learned, and trends in reporting practices. Listen now →
Scope 3 Preview: An Interview With WRI's Director of the GHG Protocol (December 21, 2010)
Interview with Pankaj Bhatia, Director, GHG Protocol Initiative, World Resources Institute, by Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy, BSR
BSR Insight article: As lifecycle and supply chain information becomes more ubiquitous and demands for transparency continue to increase, Scope 3 emissions management is becoming undeniably more attractive to companies. In a conversation with WRI's Pankaj Bhatia, we explore how the upcoming Scope 3 standard will help companies, which kinds of companies should use it, and what kind of data companies will need to collect. Read more →
Corporate Responsibility Reporting: A View for the Next Cycle (October 2010)
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services
Report: This guide highlights nine trends that are shaping the evolution of corporate responsibility reporting and can be built into a company's reporting strategy. Read more →
BSR Insight article: Read more →
Comparing Like With Like: Privacy, Security, and Content Issues in Corporate Responsibility Reporting (March 2, 2010)
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services
BSR Insight article: The information and communications technology sector has advanced its reporting and transparency around key human rights issues related to privacy, security, and freedom of expression, but there's room for improvements around quality and comparability of content. Read more →
BSR Debates: Should Sustainability Reporting Be Mandatory? (February 2, 2010)
By Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services
BSR Insight article: With more industry leaders beginning to ask whether sustainability reporting should be required, two BSR consultants debate what form it might take, whether mandatory reporting would impact innovation, and what would need to happen in order for such a system to work. Read more →
★ Access to Sustainability Matters webinars requires a member login.
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