In order to know whether or not the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative and its related commitments are actually improving the company's performance it is necessary to have in place procedures for reporting and verification, each of which are important tools for measuring change and communicating those changes to the company's stakeholders. Sustainability reporting should be broadly construed and has been described as communicating with stakeholders about a firm's economic, environmental and social management and performance. Verification, often referred to as "assurance", is a related concept that involves measurement made through on-site inspections and reviews of management systems to determine levels of conformity to particular criteria set out in sustainability codes and standards to which the company may have agreed to adhere.
The scope and sophistication of CSR reporting has come a long way since the idea first came up in the mid-1990s, when only a handful of companies reported on social responsibility issues and activities in addition to their regular financial reports. Today almost all of the largest global companies produce reports on their environmental policies and activities, often providing interested parties with a whole range of documents that can be accessed in a separate yet highly visible section of the company website. Other international standards, such as the UN Global Compact, explicitly incorporate reporting as a fundamental requirement for demonstrating a commitment to sustainability.
While certain CSR and corporate sustainability disclosures have now become minimum legal requirements in some jurisdictions, in general such disclosures are still a voluntary matter and companies have some leeway as to the scope of their disclosures and how they are presented to investors and other stakeholders. Some companies continue to limit their disclosures to those are specifically required by regulators; however, most companies have realized that they need to pay attention to the issues raised by institutional investors and other key stakeholders and make sure that they are covered in the disclosure program. At the other extreme, there are companies that have embraced sustainability as integral to their brands and have elected to demonstrate their commitment by preparing and disseminating additional disclosures that illustrate how they have woven sustainability into their long-term strategies and day-to-day operational activities.
Companies have taken different approaches to formatting and presenting the information in their sustainability reports and CSR communications strategies have evolved beyond reports to include certifications and rating systems and other means of describing and assessing organizational performance with respect to CSR.
This book is intended to be a practical introduction to sustainability reporting and communications that begins by discussing material legal and regulatory considerations and the some of the major sustainability reporting frameworks and then continues with detailed illustrations of how companies might create and distribute their sustainability reports and develop and implement their CSR communications strategies.
