A CSR or Sustainability Report discloses information related to the social and environmental impacts of a company. On the principle of “What gets measured gets managed” the results are framed in the context of the organization’s strategy, commitments and management approach.
95% of Top 250 Global companies publish a CSR Report and every year new comers join the initiative.
Governments worldwide are increasingly demanding companies to report and 7 countries have already introduced laws requesting mandatory reporting (Norway, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and India). The Directive requesting non-financial reports from large companies in all Member States was adopted in October 2014.
It is a common practice that companies use a reporting framework to disclose environmental and social information. The most widely used standard is GRI (Global Reporting Initiative). It proved very efficient to organize CSR data and thus it is used by 75% of the reporting companies worldwide. Other programs or acknowledge standards in CSR include AccountAbility’s AA 1000 Standards, ISO 26000 and the policy initiative recommended by United Nations Global Compact.
Questions for companies
Being accountable to stakeholders only with the financial report is enough in our highly competitive market environment?
Is CSR reporting here to stay or it is a trend?
Transparency is a fundamental component to build trust. By publishing a CSR Report how will my company benefit?
Preparation of the report starts with deciding what are the main areas of concern. They are closely linked to the strategy and profile of the company as well as to management approach to sustainability. The opening part should include a letter from the CEO to set the stage for the information disclosed. Most part of the report deals with presenting data in a mix of texts, info graphs and illustrations.
Preparing the CSR Report
Determining report content
Goal setting and planning
Collecting Data
Designing the report
CSR Report: Who is it for?
The U.K. consultancy group SustainAbility, analyzing more than 2,300 responses to the Global Reporting Initiative’s Readers Choice Awards survey, found that approximately 55 percent used CSR reports for consuming and purchasing decisions, 45 percent for investing, 38 percent for engagement, 34 percent for partnerships, 32 percent for finding employment and 26 percent for conducting business-to-business relationships.
Benefits of CSR Reporting
-
Green Credentials and Enhanced Reputation
-
Consumers’ Recognition
-
Employees Motivation
Resources
