"Communicating Corporate Social and Environmental Performance"
It is not uncommon to read alarming reports in the newspapers and magazines today about "disasters waiting to happen".
These reports typically paint a very bleak picture of the "The Day After Tomorrow". Opinions on these reports are divided. Some question the scientific validity and hence write them off as fantasies of overzealous activists or as an effort of the media to "sell through sensationalism". Some remain indifferent while a large mass, typically the average citizen does get worried. Worried about the price to pay for development. Worried about her child's future.
But the questions that do remain in everyone's minds are that - Is the quest for profit driving organizations away from holistic value creation for all stakeholders? Do organizations even consider anyone except customers and investors are stakeholders? Is the development sustainable? Are corporate being responsible social citizens?
The answer lies in two things
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This implies taking a holistic stakeholder view and not just a shareholder view. The definition of stakeholders has indeed changed from owners and consumers of any business to include also government/regulators, employees, suppliers and community at large. Today corporations are motivated to involve stakeholders in their decision making and to address societal challenges. It is not difficult to understand why. Today's stakeholders are increasingly aware of the importance and impact of corporate decisions on society and the environment. Organizations have begun to recognize this and in this effort to optimize value delivery lies the origin of the concept of "sustainability" for businesses across the globe.
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The last two decades have witnessed more stringent regulation; increase in compliance requirements, increased awareness amongst employees & local community and realization amongst organizations the importance of corporate responsibility. As a result there has been a paradigm shift. Businesses have reinvented themselves as entities delivering value to stakeholders rather than just producers and sellers of commodities/ services. This has brought the global community together on several occasions in international forums.
The outputs have been protocols, agreements and standards such as ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, and SA 8000 for providing a guiding framework to industry. Businesses have had to realign their processes to these requirements, sometimes at very high costs. The approach of business to these changes has been largely reactive. However, over a period of time organizations across the world have realized that there are several benefits of proactively aligning to the "new way". These are cost savings from environmental protection, economic growth and social improvements. Today, several organizations have successfully deployed and implemented management systems compliant to requirements of ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, and SA 8000. They are also using tools like codes of practices and principles to promote better corporate governance |
What is Corporate Sustainability Reporting?Despite many attempts to bring forth these positive factors, corporations have failed to capture them in a holistic and systematic manner. There is a lack of consensus on the methodology adopted as well as the nature and type of information reported.
In broad terms, the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines recommend specific information related to environmental, social and economic performance. It is structured around a CEO statement, key environmental, social and economic indicators, and a profile of the reporting entity, descriptions of relevant policies and management systems, stakeholder relationships, management performance, operational performance, product performance and a sustainability overview.
Report and Reap Benefits! The organization needs to go beyond internal reviews and put its CR performance record out for public scrutiny and discussion. There is lot of soul-searching that accompanies sustainability reporting. The benefits of communicating and introspection are manifested both internally and externally.
Benefits
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