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pay special attention in this issue to the subject of corporate
social and environmental reporting. Why? Because some 2,500
companies worldwide currently produce environmental/social reports,
estimates Gil Friend, CEO of Natural Logic and author of one
of the articles on reporting that appears in these pages; few,
however, use their reports to make better business decisions. |
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Our intent with this special section is two-fold. First is to help
companies understand that reporting can provide internal stakeholders
with timely, relevant information that can demonstrate the business
case for sustainable development. Second, reporting can add significant
value to a corporation’s dialogue with external stakeholders.
In the days of Enron and WorldCom, a corporate social/environmental
report is essential for increasing trust and transparency.
A noteworthy milestone in this area was the creation of the Global
Reporting Initiative, corporate reporting guidelines that go to
the heart of the sustainability debate. By developing a generally
accepted reporting framework—including principles and protocols—reporters
and report users are able to achieve maximum value from reporting
efforts.
We’re pleased that SustainAbility will conduct a day-long pre-conference
workshop on this topic in conjunction with our EnvironDesign®7
conference this spring. “Trust Us: The Global Reporter’s
Workshop” is based on the latest SustainAbility/UNEP international
review of best practices in CSR reporting and will cover the essential
elements of reporting, best practices, most common mistakes and
even a glimpse of the future. It will be held on Wednesday, April
30 in Washington, DC. (For more information on EnvironDesign7, see
pages 39 to 45 in this issue or log on to www.environdesign.com.)
We have also added a new element to our green@work Web site (www.greenat
workmag.com), where users can link directly from our site to many
corporate social/environmental reports. Some of the companies featured
to date include Dow, NEC Solutions America, TransAlta, IBM, Volvo
and Novartis.
Finally, we’re honored to be the communications partner for
the new U.S. Sustainability Reporting Awards program launched by
CERES and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The
awards were created to contribute to reporting on sustainability,
environmental and social issues by corporations and other organizations
across the U.S.; reward best practices and provide guidance to other
entities that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability
reports; and increase accountability to stakeholders. (For details,
visit www.ceres.org/newsroom/press/srawards.htm.)
Transparency will be a key issue as corporations seek to rebuild
stakeholder trust in the next few years. Corporate social reporting
provides a solid foundation on which to re-establish confidence.
If your company has not already embarked on this journey, there’s
certainly no time like the present to begin.
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