S6 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AND ACCOUNTABILITY Flashcards
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Attempt to serve one essential purpose :
- portray the relationship between a corporation and society
- Seek to improve communications between corporate world and the broader society within which companies
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS
1 Sustainability report
2 CSR report
3 Social and environmental report
4 Social report
5 Environmental report
6 Health and safety report “
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR :
INVESTORS
- Business model : integrating CSR into business strategy and product development
- Corporate governance : board-level oversight of - CSR considerations and stakeholder relations
- Ethics : maintenance of a corporate culture of transparency and honesty
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR : ENVIRONMENT
Environmental data as well as life-cycle analysis
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR : EMPLOYEES
- health & safety
- Union relations
- Wages, profit-sharing and benefits
- Diversity
- Work/life balance
- Training and mentoring
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR : CUSTOMERS
- Product quality and safety
- Customer satisfaction
- Privacy
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR : SUPPLIERS
labor standards
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR : COMMUNITIES
- Philantropy volunteering
- Community investment and participation
IMPORTANCE OF SR FOR : GOVERNMENTS
- Human rights
- Taxes, lobbying and public policy
“A THOROUGH SUSTAINABILITY REPORT WILL :
Perrini 2006 “
1 Go beyond documenting community relations
2 Provide details on policies and actual practices
3 Report data that is company-wide and systematic, accompanied by illustrative anecdotes
4 Set goals for future social and environmental performance
5 Confront failures as well as promote successes
6 Address the most difficult issues a company faces, particularly those relating to its business model
7 Integrate sustainability reporting with financial reporting and analyze the materiality of CSR for daily operations
“TYPICAL CONTENT FOR Sustainability Report :
Perrini 2006 “
- HR
- Shareholders relationship
- Customer relationship
- Relationship with suppliers and government
- Community relations
- Environmental protection
5 DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF Sustainability Report : Perrini 2006
1 Complementarity with Traditional Company
2 Reports
3 Qualitative and Quantitative Information
4 Outside Orientation towards Stakeholders
5 Process Dimension
6 Rationale for Company Participation “
COMPLEMENTARY WITH TRADITIONAL COMPANY REPORTS
Based on the information contained in the traditional economic and financial reports
QUALITATIVE AND QUATITATIVE INFORMATION
Usually structured into 2 main sections with different types of information reports
OUTSIDE ORIENTATION TOWARDS STAKEHOLDERS
Aimed at sharing information systematically about the company
But some are specialized to certain stakeholders more than others
PROCESS DIMENSION
Report is often part of ongoing-stakeholder interactions
REPORTING SPECTRUM : 2 VIEW
Perrini 2006
MONITORING VIEW
MANAGEMENT VIEW
RATIONALE FOR COMPANY PARTICIPATION : 3 Reporting Attitude
Strategic Reporting Attitude
= SR largely seen as an opportunity to check corporate strategic positioning
Internal Reporting Attitude
= sustainability reports largely tied to within-firm organizational objectives
External Reporting Attitude
= SR largely considered as communication instruments with external stakeholders
MONITORING VIEW - Perrini 2006
Company consider SR reports as an opportunity to summarize CSR investments
Sustainability as an opportunity to assert the company’s commitment to good business practices
MANAGEMENT VIEW - Perrini 2006
Companies view sustainability reporting as a stakeholder-oriented tool, but one with a managerial function
Tend to promote CSR as a strategic priority
GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE
- Set of guidelines for sustainability reports
- Need to consistent voluntary reporting by corporations on social media and environmental dimensions of their business practices
- Initially for environmental but later on extended to reporting social, economic performance
GRI AS INSTITUTIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Brown et al.2009
by developing and promoting sustainability reporting standards globally.
GRI AS A GOVERNANCE PROCESS
Brown et al.2009
GRI saw guidelines as a process that would eventually build a stronger consensus about firm social and environmental behavior
- « what constitutes acceptable norms of behavior with regard to sustainability. Sought to gain their support and cooperation»
READ A SR : TRUST BUT VERIFY
- Pay attention to whats in the report and what’s left out
- Floor the money
- Think about context
- Read more than one report at a time
- Look for good and and news
