The Best CSR Report of 2012?

The voting is now open at CRRA '13, the only annual global online awards for Sustainability Reports. The voting is open until end January, so you still have some time, but why wait? The holiday season is upon us and you will have lots of time to relax and enjoy reading the shortlisted selection of the best of the best of Sustainability Reports that were published in the last year.

As I usually do, over the next few weeks, I will be publishing more posts about the reports that are in the competition this year, but in this first post, we cut straight to the chase. Which will be The Best Report of 2012? That question will be decided by your votes and announced in Spring 2013. In the meantime, why not take a look at the Best Report category and place your vote? Register to vote or log-in HERE

 

This category contains 10 reports and 934 pages. Just about right for a relaxing holiday afternoon.

 

The line up includes:

 

10 reports that are GRI based, of which 5 are at Level A, 4 at Level B, and 1 undeclared.

4 reports from the USA, 3 from the UK and 1 each from the Netherlands, Spain and Australia.

All these reports are from different sectors.

 

The candidates are:

NH Hoteles SA; Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc;  Intel Corporation; Nike Inc; International Flavors & Fragrances Inc; ING Groep NV; British American Tobacco plc; Co-operative Group Limited; La Trobe University; and Marks and Spencer plc

 

Only 3 companies have won the Best Report category since the inception of CRRA - Vodafone Group plc - who hat-tricked in three consecutive years, HP won in CRRA '11 and Coca Cola Enterprises Inc won in CRRA '12 after having been runner-up twice before.

 

Of the ten contenders, one company, IFF, is competing for the very first time ever in CRRA and is trying its luck in three categories in total (also Best Creativity and Best Materiality).

As you have a little time on your hands during the holiday break, here's a little CSR Reporting Blog challenge: See  if you can match these report shots to the 10 contenders listed above.

Shot 1

Shot 2

Shot 3

Shot 4

Shot 5

Shot 6

Shot 7

Shot 8

Shot 9

Shot 10

Easy, right?

Here are the answers: (hope you didn't peek!)
Shot 1: British American Tobacco plc (page 52, the science of developing reduced-risk products)
Shot 2: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (page 20, CCE volunteers cleaning up a river in Britain)
Shot 3: Co-operative Group Limited (page 68, carbon offsets to help reduce deforestation in Kenya)
Shot 4: International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (cover page)
Shot 5: ING Groep NV (cover page)
Shot 6: Intel Corporation (page 26, governance, ethics and public policy)
Shot 7: La Trobe University (page 32, professor and students in the library)
Shot 8: Marks and Spencer plc (page 27, the fabulous Joanna Lumley going shwopping for Oxfam)
Shot 9: NH Hoteles SA (page 49, Donnafugata Golf Resort in Italy)
Shot 10: Nike Inc (page 14, optimizing to deliver positive impact)

Happy Holidays ... and watch this space for more to come on the CRRA'13 entries ......


elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning (CRRA'12) Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices  Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz  (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

CSR is personal at Intel

We often think about CSR as companies just doing their thing. What we sometimes fail to recognize is that the CSR of companies is the sum of the actions of individuals, all working to make a contribution in what is often a very complex web of corporate, global, local, internal, external, social, environmental, business and a million other considerations. The personal experiences of people working in CSR are always interesting. No matter how many times you read a company's CSR report, there's no comparison to getting the real story from the ones who make things happen. The background, challenges and perspectives of real people telling their real stories about CSR in their company is always enlightening, informative and usually inspiring. In this particular case, I am referring to real people from Intel at a meeting with them this week which was certainly enlightening, informative and inspiring. But as most of you didn't attend the meeting, you can find Intel's 2010 CSR report here :)

The occasion of the meeting was a Round Table event in Israel for local CSR practitioners with four Intel leaders, working in the CSR terrain:

Gary Niekerk, Director, Corporate Citizenship, Intel’s Corporate Affairs
Julian Lageard, Senior Manager, Global Public Policy, EU environmental laws

Dan Doron, Director, Construction, Intel Israel

Revital Bitan, CSR Manager, Intel Israel

RtoL: Dan Doron, Gary Niekerk, Revital Bitan, Julian Lageard

Over 20 representatives from local companies attended.

My take-outs from the personal contribution of these Intel leaders discussed in this meeting are:

Plan local employee engagement with CSR issues

Dan Doron made a presentation about how Intel Israel has led an internal campaign to engage and enthuse local employees on ESG matters. This has included developing a cross-company platform ESG Forum and integrating all individual initiatives into one umbrella program, identifying section leaders and establishing a platform for planning, learning, sharing and action internally and externally, to leverage Intel's efforts with local government, non-profits and community stakeholders. A new ESG strategy has been developed and this year, Intel Israel has published a focused Environmental Report covering all environmental impacts. This has been underpinned by a branded internal communication campaign to support the ESG Forum activity and grow employee awareness for Intel Israel’s green activities.

Green never happens unless you make it happen. Employees are the lynchpin for green activity. By making ESG local, personal, planned, measured and transparent, Israel is setting itself up for success.

The CSR voice represents the external stakeholder perspective

Not everyone can be an expert in sustainability issues and not every business decision will be considered with sustainability issues in mind. Decision-makers have different experience and understanding of CSR issues, which is why the CSR voice is so important at early stages of all business decision-making. Gary Niekerk sees his part of his personal role as bringing the external reality and perspectives of stakeholders to the table at the time decisions are being made. An example is a local Intel subsidiary whose pollution control permit had lapsed and savings were to be gained by delaying the renewal, while continuing to operate entirely legally and in line with all regulations. By tabling the stakeholder perspective and the potential erosion of local stakeholder confidence should they hear that such a permit was not up to date, the CSR voice was able to ensure the decision went in favor of immediate renewal, thereby maintaining respect for stakeholder interests and heading off a potential reputation risk.

Take proactive action to clean up the supply chain

Long gone are the days when most ITC companies were vertically integrated. The development of complex supply chains with high outsourced requirements means that companies must broaden the scope of accountability and ensure they understand impacts of the supply chain on their business. One outstanding example of Intel leadership is around the issue of conflict metals. Intel purchase components which contain a range of metals which, once smelted, are not traceable back to their mined source. As Gary said, "Everyone says it comes from Rwanda! Rwanda would have to quadruple in size in order to supply all these metals attributed to it!" Intel thus embarked on a pioneering journey to a metals certification system. After visiting 25 metal smelters around the world, Intel initiated a dialogue with other players in the electronics industry to establish a standard for smelters by which the source of metals such as tantalum, tin, tungsten and even gold can be guaranteed as sourced from non-conflict countries. Intel plans to publish names of certified smelters and purchase only components made with metals from these approved sources.

Regulators need educating

Julian Lageard gave an enlightening talk about his role as a public policy specialist. He is based in Brussels and has a voice in pre-decision processes relating to the formulation of new environmental regulation. Technology is changing fast and regulators are not experts. In order to develop fair, balanced but progressive and demanding legislation, European regulators need to know the issues. Regulations such as RoHS and REACH and substance restrictions in electronics such as lead and more are likely to increase in scope and intensity. We are facing a "tsunami of regulation on nano materials" for example, says Julian, as well as other themes regulating water consumption, power saving technology, fluorinated gases, emissions trading, packaging and more. Much regulation which is passed in Brussels for Europe, which now has 27 member states, may also end up becoming global legislation. It is important for a company such as Intel to ensure the legislation is developed in full knowledge of the issues. Julian's personal role is to ensure that Intel is part of sector associations which contribute knowledge of facts, issues and implications on the environment to help regulators understand CSR and sustainability concepts in order to develop the most appropriate legislation. This is a form of stakeholder engagement activity, as well as risk management, which is based on Intel being a trusted voice in the industry. And CSR is all about trust.

There were many other great insights coming out of this meeting, which local Israeli companies would do well to heed and emulate. Intel in Israel is a big player, employing over 7,000 people in 5 sites (manufacturing and development centers). Israel can definitely be described as "Intel Inside" and hopefully, Intel's CSR Leadership, engagement and transparency will catalyze a ripple effect in Israel, leading CSR strategy development by local companies.

Disclosure: Intel Israel is a client of my company, Beyond Business.


elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices   Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

Sustainability Reporting - going too far?

Have you come across a sustainability report for a brand ? I have been trying to think if I have seen anything that comes close, and I can't say I have.

One of the core aspirations of consumer brand companies is to attract and engage consumers. However, consumers don't appear to make a big effort to read sustainability reports. On the one hand, companies want to engage with their consumers, and leverage their sustainability efforts as an element of their competitive advantage. On the other hand, the wealth of sustainability information that is now available about about corporations goes over the heads of consumers. Unless there is a big deal like the BP oil spill, or the H&M discarded clothes disaster or claims of child labor in Bangladesh or wherever. Most consumers don't go out of their way to look for sustainability data and wouldn't know how to read a sustainability report if you planted it on the bridge of their nose. Sustainability reports serve a range of valuable purposes, even if they are not noticed by consumers. However, many companies produce such reports in the hope that consumers will read them and be impressed.

Why is consumer awareness of sustainabilty reports so low? Obvious. Because reports are hosted where consumers are not. When I go to a supermarket to purchase branded goods, I don't see Sustainability Reports strategically placed on the supermarket shelves. When I buy a new PC, or refrigerator, or even a new car .. purchases which require a conversation with a salesperson and therefore an opportunity to talk sustainability -  no-one shoves a sustainability report down my throat. But frankly, even if this happened, and if Kellogg's CSR Report were stacked next to the shelf of cornflakes, or each showrroom car had a Sustainability Report carefully placed on the driver's seat for all those who need to get into a car before considering whether to buy it, I am not sure consumers would take the time to read it.

Why doesn't the consumer want to read a sustainabililty report? Obvious. Because the report is about the company behind the brand, a relationship which is 2 degrees away from the consumer. What the consumer can relate to is the impacts of the specific brand that the consumer is purchaisng or about to purchase. That's why the Barcoo invention is so brilliant. It gives the consumer information in exactly the place and exactly at the time the consumer needs it. When she is making a purchasing choice. However, Barcoo sustainability information is about the company, not the brand. Only product related information such as ingredients etc is detailed by brand.

The solution? A sustainability report by BRAND. Oy. Doesn't that sound like a headache ?

The BRAND sustainability report would be part of the brand value proposition.  Maybe it doesn't have to be such a headache. There are some sustainability metrics which are brand specific and some which relate to total company. Take Jaffa Oranges. These are sold with a label showing their carbon footprint per orange. Take most consumer brands. They all have packaging. Some even have small stick-on pamphlets which contain advertising material or information about the product. What if these were to contain a mini-version of the brand's sustainability information, with a link to that brand's Sustainability Report? Many shoppers have internet access on their cellphones, iphones or ipads when they go shopping. Most  may content themselves with reading more when they get home, because the URL for the Brand Sustainability Report would be listed on the packaging. What if there were a possibility to text message feedback at the POS to the company about the brand and its sustainability proposition? Would this be used by consumers ?

How do you go about preparing a BRAND sustainability report? Pretty much in the same way you prepare a budget for the brand. Direct costs, variables, overheads. Each brand would be assigned its share of total company overheads whilst specifics such as energy use in production, packaging volumes etc would be brand specific. There are some elements of the report that would be common to all the brands owned by a specific company, such as overall community involvement programs.  I believe that it could be a feasible calculation for a company that is used to reporting on a total company basis. Take the way Intel reports, for instance. They produce their total company report and then similar local reports that follow the party line but inject  local flavor for local stakeholders. Could not this principle be used for reporting by brand?

Finally, after all this, the trillion $ question is, is it worth the effort and would  consumers really care? Would this give a sales advantage to a brand with a sustainability report (at least until the others catch up)? Would the time and effort to produce such a report far outweigh the potential benefits for all but the largest billion $ global brands ? Would the sustainability focus by brand actually create a new prism for improving sustainability performance within a company and lead to better decision making ? Or is this just taking sustainability reporting toooooooooooo far? I don't know. But I was thinking about it so I wrote it. What do you think ?

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness,   CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

GRI crossword

A light interlude for those suffering from post GRI conference blues. Here is the official post-GRI-conference crossword.

Clues Accross:
1. Something that all future reports should be, apparently.(10)
7. What CEO's say when they realise what integrated reporting involves. (2)
8. People who ignore sustainability reports.(5)
9. A GRI Indicator category that ends in **vironment (2)
10. Prefix for __ what!  - a popular reaction to the publication of a GRI A+ externally verified Sustainability report. (2)
12. 483 - the average number of these required when producing a Sustainability Report. (8)
15. Second half of the word beginning with hash. Popular with tweeters. (3)
16. The first two letters of the most sustainable word in the dictionary (2)
17. Sustainability reports have LOTS of this (10)

Clues Down:
1. The most popular word at the 2010 GRI conference (10)
2. The amount of reports a Company should NOT have (3)
4. A most valuable business tool when preceded by CSR or Sustainability (6)
5. What all the cool people were sending at the GRI conference (7)
6. Transparency is based on this (10)
11.Just ask Brazil (6)
13.Inside (5)
14. Shorthand for what you need to disclose in financial reports to be super cool (3)

No prizes for those who manage to complete the crossword in under 15 seconds. And for those who like to have things handed to them on a plate, here are the answers:

Accross: 1: Integrated. 7: Oy. 8. Press. 9. EN. 10. So. 12. Rewrites. 15. Tag. 16. Su. (sustainability, hahah) 17. Disclosure.
Down: 1. Integrated. 2. Two. 4. Report. 5. Tweets. 6. Disclosure. 11. Awards. 13. Intel. 14. ESG.

elaine cohen is co-founder and co-CEO of Beyond Business, a leading social and environmental consulting and reporting firm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en

What's your ripple ? Intel can help ...

Intel, the silicon giant in every pc, has just published their 2008 CR report. 108 pages of completely hyperlinked and totally-a-pleasure- to-navigate PDF. Haven't read it yet. AHA! so what are you doing blogging about it ? i hear you ask. Well, i have quite a backlog of reports to review (see corporateregister.com/reviews for this year's reviews) (plug!), so i thought i would share one teeny weeny insight from the briefest of peeps into Intel's world of CR. Impacts. That's what CR is all about. Understanding impacts and taking responsibility for them.

Now, my world is simple. I divide impacts into two types: direct impacts and indirect impacts. Most reporting Companies report on direct impacts, a few on indirect impacts. But lo-and-behold, Intel reports on FOUR impacts.

• Direct impacts -defined as : Intel sells products, provides above-average wages to employees, and pays taxes.
• Indirect impacts - defined as: Intel pays suppliers and creates business for resellers, who in turn generate employment.
• Induced impacts - defined as : Consumer spending by Intel employees and supplier and partner employees stimulates additional economic activity.
• Productivity Impacts - defined as : The use of Intel products and our technology leadership result in productivity gains in the economy.

This is the model Intel uses to calculate the economic ripple effect of the producion of a product or service. A study commissioned by Intel to review their ripple showed as follows:

"...... between 2001 and 2007, Intel contributed $758 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of this total, $458 billion was stimulated by Intel’s operations and $300 billion was attributable to our productivity-based impact. Intel’s presence resulted in more than 823,000 U.S. jobs in 2007, including 45,600 direct jobs, 151,000 workers employed by Intel business partners, and 627,000 indirect jobs resulting from consumer spending by Intel employees and Intel’s business partners." Pretty big numbers, eh ? And great reporting. Thumbs up to Intel.

I would recommend you to take a little ripple-review of the Intel report, it's out there in a league all of its own, i think. Though i still haven't read the rest of it yet, i did just ripple over to the community section to see if there is a social ripple calculation, but not yet, apparently. Despite some quite advanced SROI (social return on investment) calculation methodologies available, Intel's community reporting is not quite rippling, it's about inputs not outputs and doesn't got for gold with an attempt at reporting outcomes. Still ... there is room for optimism, right ? I am sure Intel will keep on rippling.

Anyway, those of you who follow my blog know that i am very fond of ripples - usually they come in the form of a chocolate flavor swirl in the midst of a big blob of ice cream. However, in this case, I will defer to the real ripple of the day and congratulate Intel on their new report. OK. Let's do both. Bring on the Chunky Monkey.

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm based in Israel. Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz