Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
•
the need to make a clear statement to investors that environmental factors are seen
as a business opportunity rather than a potential liability that could constrain
future investment and growth;
•
displaying environmental progress to environmentalists, non-governmental orga-
nizations (NGOs), policy-makers and regulators.
Given these incentives, corporate environmental reporting has become increasingly
prevalent in the business world, with the last ten years witnessing a dramatic improve-
ment in both the quality and quantity of the reports produced.
The Global Reporters
survey (UNEP/Sustainability Ltd, 2000) highlighted the following trends in the evo-
lution of reporting best practice:
•
clear evidence of top management support for environmental improvement
and, more specifically, the 'triple bottom-line' agenda;
•
an emphasis on the business case for sustainable development, in which the scale
of investment in environmental reporting is recognized and justified, along with
the potential commercial returns from environmental improvement;
•
increasing standardization of reporting practice as reporting standards and guide-
lines are more widely adopted (see Table 7.3);
•
the dominance of companies from Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries among the lead reporters, resulting in only rare
references to the developing world sustainability agenda;
•
increasing use of key performance indicators that provide the qualitative support
for continuous improvement efforts, the development of broader policy com-
mitments, and attempts to strengthen public accountability;
•
a recognition of the importance of validation to the reporting process; external
verification, wider evidence of quality assurance (eg accreditation to ISO 14001)
and 'perspective' from leaders in the sustainability field have all been used;
•
a willingness to be more open and accountable in engaging in the public policy
debate surrounding the delivery of sustainable development;
•
an increasing role for electronic communications (eg the Internet, intra-nets and
extra-nets) in providing information tailored to the needs of specific stakeholder
groups.
Ta b l e 7 . 3
Corporate reporting and measurement guidelines and standards
Year
Programme
Governing body
Website
2000
Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI)
Global Reporting Initiative
www.globalreporting.org
2000
Measuring Eco-efficiency:
A Guide for Companies to
Report Performance
World Business Council for
Sustainable Development
(WBCSD)
www.wbesd.org
1999
AccountAbility 1000
(AA 1000)
Institute of Social and Ethical
Accountability (ISEA)
www.accountability.org.uk
1999
ISO 14031
International Standards
Organization (ISO)
www.iso.ch
