Speeky Engleesh 2

Last year, I wrote a post about the English errors in translated Sustainability Reports. I know that the content counts, and errors in translation are not always easy to avoid.  I try not to judge a company's report on the quality of its English translation and I am appreciative of companies who make the effort to produce their report in English, enabling me to read it. Most reports which contain translation errors have a certain charm.  I can't help but chuckle.

Here is my pick of 2011:

The Xinguang Knitting Company Ltd from Guangdong, China
Sustainability Report 2010

• Our sustainability report publishes once a year.
• During the period of selecting indicators, Xinguang mainly thought about the relevance, materiality and availability of different concrete indicators.
• When enterprise performs its role of corporate social responsibility, it focus on the responsibility to employees, environment and society,
• Certainly, our performance of social responsibility has a wide range of contents. We make donation, obey the law and help low income groups. And we also try our best to make more contribution in different respects. All in all, figuring out our minds, we put the work into practice and create a system characterized by corporate social responsibility.
• Nowadays, because of the shortage of cotton, the instability of petroleum byproducts and labor shortage, the cost of raw materials has been rising at the rate of 10% to 15% per year. Within 5 years, this trend will not change. And here comes a question---how to cope with these unbeneficial factors?
• For the company, staff is the most important stakeholder.
• In 2010, Xinguang added plenty of fitness facilities and entertainment equipment, such as Bing-bong ball and Billiard equipments, so that employees can increase the range of leisure activities
• In order to eliminate discrimination and race conflicts, Xinguang has developed some employment policies.
• From the charts above that picture the proportion of female and male, we can discover that there is not much difference between the number of female and male employees. Consequently there wasn't any case of discrimination reported in 2010.
• The consumption of domestic water forms the lion's share of Xinguang's total consumption.
• We promise to keep doing improvement and with this we crate a workplace which helps our staff to play to their respective strengths.

Bing-bong ball? Crate a workplace ? Chuckle away..... Seriously, though, I commend Xinguang, a privately-owned 400 people garment manufacturer in China for producing a report and taking CSR seriously. If ever I visit Guangdong, I will buy them all ice-cream!

And while we are on the subject, here is another one:

Ambuja Cements Ltd Corporate Sustainable Development Report 2010

• We were facing a lot of problem in maintaining the day to day quality and in turn our whole operational efficiency was getting affected be it blasting efficiency, loading efficiency or hauling efficiency.
• While these activities are carried out, the impact could be upbeat as well as downbeat.
• At Ambuja, we recognize community as one of our prime stakeholders and we endeavor to reach out to it to accomplish our social responsibilities. The surrounding communities are our partners in our march to progress.
• Those involved in successful micro enterprises are able to generate income that has given them a degree of power hitherto unheard of.
• The cultivation of wadis or orchards has been beneficial to several economically backward families, especially tribals.
• These efforts strive to improve the quality of education and make schools child-friendly.
• The Company has adopted structured benefit schemes to ensure wellbeing of employees in case of both post-retiral life and similar eventualities.

In fairness, Ambuja Cements have produced a great report and demonstrate some very interesting and impressive sustainable practices. The company is a publicly traded company in India, employing over 5,700 people. A few chuckles here and there do not detract from the positive reporting of this company. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. Almost as much as ice-cream.

 

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)

The Top Ten CSR Reports of 2011

How can I not write this post? Any respectable blogger has to write a post about the best of 2011. It's part of our license to operate. It's about professional integrity. It's in our job description. Even though I did cover 2011 in Retrospect in a post for CSRwire, CSR Reporting is in a class all of its own. The Top Ten CSR Reports of 2010 got quite a lot of hits - in fact it was the fourth most popular post of all time on this blog.

During 2011, I have written about hundreds of CSR Reports (and not written about thousands more). I have formally reviewed reports on CorporateRegister.com, Ethical Corporation and Sustainable Business Forum. Here's the list of all my reviews - it's almost up to date :).

What makes a report an outstanding report, for me?

 I look for three things. I call it the AIM Reporting Model (hah, just invented that, sounds considered, right?)  AIM for Authenticity, Impacts and Materiality.

Authenticity: I look for whether the company has reported in an honest way, using stakeholder voices to supplement performance data. Authenticity for me includes balance, accuracy and completeness. I look for targets and progress against stated targets.

Materiality: I look for whether the company has clearly defined the most important issues for the company and its stakeholders and defined the way in which those issues have been identified and prioritized. Reporting materiality should also include a certain amount of contextual information which can assist us in understanding the issues and why they are material.

Impacts: I look for whether the company identified impacts rather than just presenting a shopping list of activities. This means discussing the outcomes of what was achieved. The outcomes are the achevement, not the activities. This is by far the most difficult thing for companies to address and very few, if any, do it well.

So, with AIM in mind, here are the reports that stand out for me in 2011, in no particular order:

WPP Corporate Responsibility Report 2010/2011

WPP reports get better and better. This one is the best yet, I think. A wonderful online presentation, creative, clear, easy-to-read, covers all bases and provides good data. It has one of the most Authentic CEO Introductions that I have read for a while ("Sustainability is a slow motion crisis. More pressing issues intervene"). Materiality is represented under the heading "How we manage risk and opportunity", in a nice table which reports how WPP are addressing each issue. This is one of the few reports that actually mention Impacts head-on - there is a section called Impact of our Work. This section showcases WPP's client projects, some of which are quite fascinating. Authenticity is the aspect of this report which I might consider as an opportunity for additional work in coming years. There is very little in this report except good news (except, perhaps for the Employee Infringements section). No stakeholder voices provide additional credibility and the report is not assured. Overall, however, a great fun-serious report.

BT 2011 Sustainability Report

BT's printed report is compact but packed (the website offers more case studies). It covers a broad spectrum of BT's Impacts on society and environment and the thing I especially like about BT's reporting is the way they match "non-financial" performance indicators to financial performance indicators. Lost time injuries, for example is recorded as Injury Rate and also as a financial cost to the business in terms of the cost of time lost through injury. The number of days lost to sickness are also converted to BT sick pay costs. Waste management and recycling performance is translated into the financial net waste savings. Overall sustainability performance is also converted into the number of customer bids that BT won that contain a sustainability component (GBP 2.1bn in 2010). (BT has still not been able to develop an "appropriate financial measure" for the value of good diversity performance - this is something I find a little strange, as I have mentioned before). Nevertheless, the report includes examples of practice and in most cases, some form of result or outcome, for example. BT has conducted carbon impact assessments at customers showing how BT helps them reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. While BT could go further in assessing and reporting Impacts in other areas, this is in the right direction.  A Materiality Assessment is provided and is nicely specific to BT's current business issues, including as a most material issue, for example, support for the London Olympic and Paraolympic Games. Internal and external stakeholder voices are present in this report. All in all, it passes my AIM test reasonably well.

Kuoni Travel Holding Corporate Responsibility Report 2010

I picked up this report when researching my post on 25 examples of creativity in Sustainability Reports, and it stayed in my mind, primarily because of its spectacular design. It's a great read, as well, includes a Materiality assessment, and some assessment of impacts is included in external stakeholder commentaries. A thoughtful, interesting and attractive report.

Ford's 2010-2011 Blueprint for Sustainability Report

Ford's approach to Materiality is world-class and disclosures are comprehensive. Although a little light in the Impact area, this is an Authentic Report which covers complex issues such as business restructuring,  health care provisions, vehicle safety, and lifecycle sustainability design.  

Hauska and Partners Sustainability Report 09/10

Hauska and Partners is a privately owned Corporate Relations consulting business employing 37 people. The company is developing impressively on its sustainability journey, and this year reports at GRI B+ level, moving up from the C level report of last year. This is Hauska's third report and its's well presented online. While there is no materiality matrix, there is a list of key issues which broadly serves the same purpose. It's an Authentically written report (for example, 81% of employees received performance evaluations and this, says Hauska, was one of the areas the company was "least satisfied with".) It's a short, compact, report but makes a positive impression, though here again, Impacts are under-presenced. It would be nice to see this company reporting in the future on the kind of impacts it makes through its consulting work. In the meantime, kudos to a private, small business that advancing responsible business practices.

Avon Corporate Responsibility Report 2010

This report just made in time, having been published just last month. However, Avon makes its mark well as a company that does big things that make a big difference. With a very clear focus on three core pillars - empowering women, (environmental) sustainability and philanthropy - Avon shows how consistent actions deliver results. Personal stories of Avon Representatives do give a glimpse into the transformation that the Avon framework can achieve for women, while Avon's deforestation campaign shows the measure of Impact Avon is generating. Avon's Materiality issues are listed. While Avon is on the right track with this GRI B level report, I would like to see more focus on Impacts in the future - both from the standpoint of economic empowerment of Avon Reps and actual results of Avon's social and environmental campaigns, but also from the perspective of the products that Avon sells and the women who buy them. I believe a fascinating discussion could be developed about the way that Avon is making an Impact in the beauty market and how the unique selling proposition that Avon has perfected make a difference in the lives of Avon's customers.  

Delhaize Corporate Responsibility Review 2010
I reviewed this report in the context of Materiality during 2011, and it stuck in my mind as a well prepared, well-presented and interesting report to read, even for the lay reader. It covers Materiality well, includes internal and external stakeholder voices, good reporting on progress against targets and a nice mix of case studies. Impacts of a retail supermarket on healthy eating habits or other behaviors of consumers are covered in this report, which means that I can find some level of Authenticity, Materiality and Impacts, though, of course, there is still room for more.

Vestas Sustainability Report 2010
I used this report as an example of good reporting against waste management performance indicators. However, beyond this, it's an authentically written report which presents the case and impacts of wind power in a coherent and insightful manner. The report lacks a Materiality Analysis - something the company should consider in future years to demonstrate its responsiveness to stakeholders as well as focusing on the four priorities which Vestas has defined for itself - Cost of Energy, Safety and Citizenship, Partnership and Business Case Certainty. Case studies illustrate Vestas approach in an appropriate way and targets are clearly stated. Not AIM, but getting there.

Intel 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report
Intel's reporting is professional, direct, intelligent and pretty intense. The complexities of reporting for such a large global corporation are tremendous and I think Intel pulls it together pretty well. Intel reports on economic impacts, which is a bit of a number crunching exercise, but an interesting way of looking at how a company contributes to economic development beyond the direct sales of its products. Intel also includes a detailed water footprint analysis, and also describes a range of ways in which technology is used to solve environmental challenges. Intel's handling of the $1.45bn fine imposed for anti-competitive activities in Europe is directly hit on the head in the report, but it's there and one can sense Intel's indignation. Intel discloses its Materiality Matrix and includes some stakeholder voices, supplemented by videos which can be accessed from the interactive PDF. One difficult balance to achieve is to what extent annual sustainability reporting continues to trot out the same texts which relate to policies and management approaches which largely remain the same year after year. Intel could do a better job at identifying what I call the Delta, the things that have specifically changed from one year to the next, while cutting back on some of the policy statements which could be hosted for reference on the Intel website. While some Authenticity is lost because of the factual and punchy style of this report, comprehensive reporting, consistency and clarity make up for this. A reasonably AIM report.

Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia Sustainability Report 1927-2010
Yes, you did read the dates correctly. This report covers 83 years, and all in only 175 pages. I reviewed this report earlier this year and even included a little coffee quiz, so now's your chance to go back and see if you do any better at a second attempt. It's hard to review this sort of report in the same light as single company reports, as the focus of an industry association is somewhat different, as I have also blogged about. However, the impact of industry associations can be very important, especially as sustainability is trending towards sectoriality, so this is as important a report as it is an interesting one. There's a good chunk of PR content in there, so Authenticity is a little diluted, but Materiality is addressed and key issues listed. Impacts are described both at the level of how member coffee growers have been supported by the Federacion's work and also at the level of advancing the sustainability of Colombian coffee. I like this report - I just hope we don't have to wait another 83 years for the next one!

De Beers Sustainability Report 2010
I reviewed this report as part of my "Reporting: How they do it" series on Sustainable Business Forum, and the report lodged with me as a clear, clean and progressive disclosure. This is a part of what I wrote: "The De Beers report is a delight to read, it is intelligently structured, well-cut, polished and completely aligned with the report's title "Living up to Diamonds". Reading the statements by the Chairman and Joint Acting CEO's is rewarding – both are focused, factual, forward-looking and frame the report content in a relevant way - a far cry from most of the platitude-ridden clichéd report-speak that features in most opening messages from company leaders." Impacts on diamond-delivering communities are also addressed to a certain extent. This report broadly meets my AIM threshold and is an impressive piece of work.

******

Of course, it is most difficult to select 10 reports out of the hundreds I read each year and the thousands that are available. There are several strong reports which I haven't mentioned here, which would appear in my Top 20, 50 or even Top 100 list. But all good things are better in small doses (except ice cream), so I have contented myself with ten reports this time around. Apologies to all those other fabulous reports that I have loved reading, learning from, reviewing, talking and writing about this year.

Note: Just to be fair, I didn't include four Sustainability Reports I worked on this year, even through all of those are my favorites too....Ellbit Systems Report, Baran Group's Report, Novus International Report and of course, my own Beyond Business Report.

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)

Santa's 1,747th Annual CSR Report

True to form, Santa has sent me her 1747th CSR Report. (See prior reports here: 1,746 and 1,745). But yes, you did read that correctly. This year, Santa is a WOMAN. She was appointed after a nomination by the Santa Claus Inc. (SCI) Board of Directors Nominating Committee and approved at the SCI AGM. This is a first for SCI. Not only is Santa a woman, but she is a single mom, she's of Chinese origin, has a personal disability (a wooden leg) and was abandoned by her parents at birth, only to be found in a garbage dump by concerned citizens who prayed for her welfare. After finding home in a series of orphanages, Miss Santa applied to the Vocation Elf Training Academy in Lapland, believing that distributing gifts to children would make the world a better place. From Day One she was mentored by senior SCI Managers, offered several leadership development programs, provided with flexible working options so that she could be home for her children in the afternoons. Miss Santa is paid exactly the same as her male counterparts. Graduating from the elf program with distinction, Miss Santa quickly rose through the elf ranks and became a significant influence at SCI. When it was time to appoint a new Santa, she was not considered as a leading candidate because she is a woman. Santa has never been a woman. However, Miss Santa did a good thing. She personally talked at all the members of the SCI Board of Directors and promised to behave like a man. They accepted, and the rest is history. Follow Santa on Twitter at @Santa or visit Santa's Facebook page.

As I usually do, with permission, I will share with you the CEO statement.

Santa Claus

The Shared Values Report 2011

Dear Stakeholders,

As you all approach Christmas 2011, I urge you to be conscious consumers. I know how tempting toy stores are at this time of the year. Blinking lights, massive colorful displays, new improved versions of all your favorite toys, all screaming at you "Buy ME, Buy ME, Buy ME!" I say to you, conscious citizens of the world. UNITE! Join together in a spirit of sustainability. Don't buy! Instead, donate the money you would have spent to the Retired Santa Foundation, which ensures that all prior Santa's can continue to live in a way to which they have not yet become accustomed. 

2011 has been a year of ups and downs. Yes, we reached new heights and experienced new lows. In this 1,747th CSR Report, I will share with you the heights. You can work out the lows for yourself. The theme of this report is how Santa creates Shared Value. We do this by continuing to do what we have always done, but calling it Shared Value. In sustainability terms, we have made notable progress and have been accepted by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index as a Super Sector Leader for the very first time. (Actually, there is no other company in our sector, so leadership is a POC). We have also joined the United Nations Global Compact, mainly because of the problems of corruption we see in our industry. We have already started a campaign to prevent local in-store Santas promoting toys from sponsored links.

Reinforcing our Values: One of my first acts as CEO was to review our Santa Claus value statement and bring it into line with our modern world. When Santa started out over 1,700 years ago, the world was a very different place. No internet. No cell-phones. No Chunky Monkey. No electric sleighs. No robot elves. Today, the world is full of technology and people have become addicted to Facebook and iPhones, leaving little time to experience the true meaning of relationships, the love of nature or the optimism of the human spirit. Our new values at SCI aim to reinforce our contribution to this modern world. Following a process of consultation with our Board of Directors, the Elf Representation Committee and selected external stakeholders (reindeer farmers, toy manufacturers, Greenpeace, children and moms, chimney sweeps), we believe this now best represents our core:

Mission

To perpetuate the love of Santa

Values  

Faith in Santa

Disabled-Access Chimneys

Elf Emancipation

Reindeer Rights

Children's Universal Right to Gifts

Santa World Domination 

Sleigh Energy Efficiency: As reported last year, we were considering moving to electric-powered sleighs, but we delayed this program due to lack of sleigh charging stations. We are disappointed to report no progress in global electric sleigh infrastructure, but we have commenced a pilot with solar power. We charge up our sleighs all summer in sunny Lapland and this provides enough energy to run the sleighs during the Christmas period, provided we use power-saving driving techniques. This saves over 463,000 tons of carbon emissions every Christmas season. The downside is that some sleighs run out of power before returning to base. If anyone has identified the whereabouts of 473 sleighs which have been lost somewhere over Iran, Ivory Coast, Philippines and New Zealand, please contact the SCI Sleigh Recovery Department.

Transportation Safety: All sleighs have now been fitted with tachometers, global GPS tracking and safety devices that monitor the driving techniques of elves and report problems online. In 2011, there were 225 sleigh accidents, mostly due to elves tweeting and texting while sleigh-driving. These resulted in only one fatality: a life-size inflatable Marilyn Monroe doll, destined for a home for motherless children. Instead, we supplied a life-size Powderpuff Girl. We have issued a new policy that forbids distractions when sleigh-driving and any elves which cause more than 3 accidents are demoted to toy-sorters in the Lapland warehouse.   

Toys Sourcing, Packaging and Recycling: This year, Santa is distributing toys which have certified conflict-free mineral content, contain reduced levels of packaging materials and only paper and carton from sustainable sources. Every toy is recyclable because it contains a special label: "Recycle this Toy - give it to a friend".  Our experiment two years ago of distributing only recycled toys was not sustainable. Children rejected used toys due to missing parts, torn-off doll limbs and protruding nails and screws, despite our rigorous QA process. When children complained of having received a horse on a stick without the horse, a BeyBlade without the blade and a Justin Bieber doll which sings out of tune, we felt it was time to review this policy. (We are still checking whether the Justin Bieber issue is actually a fault).  

We have also banned certain toys from our distribution list this year:

• Swearing policeman toys - we value plain speaking but not bad language.
• Jo-Ann Stores Rubber Ducky Garden Collection - toxic levels of lead paint are not in line with our safety policy
• Paintball Guns - unintentionally flying paint cartridges are not pretty
• Barbie - due to rainforest destruction - even Ken couldn't stomach it

Elf Freedom of Association: This year, we have made significant progress by acceding to elves' demand for representation, collective bargaining and freedom of association. Of the 342,400 elves in our employ, 17 have joined the Help Elves Live Longer (HELL) Union. HELL ensures a living wage for elves and protects their pension rights. The reason that only 17 elves have joined HELL is that unauthorized union-busting activity has apparently been more successful that we are able to admit.   

Impact Evaluation Program: This year, for the first time, we concluded our first Impact Evaluation Study, aiming to show what value Santa adds to social cohesion all over the world during the holiday season. It took us quite some time to figure out how to measure this, but ultimately, with the support of the Toys for Global Spiritual Growth Association, we undertook the widest survey ever of children between the ages of 6 and 9, and parents between the ages of 23 and 24. This is what we found:

99.3% of children confirmed that receiving a toy from Santa contributes to their motivation to achieve higher grades in school. The 0.7% who disagreed are employed year-round, cotton picking in Uzbekistan and making tablecloths in factories in Guangzhou. 

78.9% of children confirmed that playing with toys helps them form positive relationships with siblings. Those who did not, have no siblings. Those who confirmed positive relationships say this is due to the fact that, when they are playing with their toys, they are not interacting with their siblings and therefore have no time to quarrel.

100% of children confirmed that receiving toys helps them understand important social issues such as global warming, global poverty and gender equality. We think this is probably because the questionnaire did not have a negative response option.

93% of parents confirmed that their children love them more after they have received a toy at Christmas time. Quite how parents measure this is not clear. However, in parallel, records show a reduction of parental violence and child-beating in many countries. We can only conclude that our toys are contributing to strengthening positive bonds between parents and children.

99% of parents confirmed that children received toys from Santa that they would otherwise not have bought. This is because most parents prefer to spend on food, education and medical care. By reducing the burden on parents to budget for Christmas toys, our impact is undeniable: happier, healthier, better educated children who will save our planet from enironmental destruction.

As a result of this highly positive Impact Evaluation, we re-launched our Support Santa Fund. Please support us. Donations are welcome via the CSR Reporting Blog (who takes only a small percentage handling fee. Not more than 42.5%).

A+ Level Report: Finally, we  are proud to announce that this is a self-declared A+ Level report, prepared in accordance with Santa's very own Reporting Framework. Actually, there is only an A+ Level. We prefer not to confuse people. We decided not to have our report assured this year in order to ensure that no-one picks up on our errors. However, we will consider making fewer errors in future years.

Wishing Everyone A Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and A Happy New Year !

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, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

A COP can be a good thing

Some people think of the UN Global Compact Communication on Progress (COP) as a lightweight entry into the world of transparency. In some cases, they would be right. To submit an Active level COP, all you need to do is describe how you uphold the 10 Principles of the UNGC, describe the positive things your company is doing and sit back and wait for next year's deadline. However, in November 2011, 106 companies were delisted for not communicating, bringing the total delistings to 2,953 companies, so maybe it's a little more challenging.

Last year, the UNGC made a change to the COP structure, introducing what the UNGC calls the "Differentiation Programme". This gives companies two choices: Active Level and Advanced Level. Basically, "Active" means the old-style COP, in which companies do the Good News thing, saying how good they have been in advancing the 10 Principles. This could be compared to an Application Level C Report using the GRI Framework, though it doesn't quite require the same degree of rigor in terms of Management Disclosures. "Advanced" is another affair, requiring companies to report on how they meet 24 criteria of responsible and sustainable business practice, grouped in 5 broad categories:

• strategy, governance and engagement
• UN goals and issues
• implementation of Global Compact principles
• value chain implementation
• verification and disclosure

Essentially, anyone aiming for an Advanced level COP is working at the level of a GRI Application Level A Report. But, as anyone who has ever written an A Level report knows, this is no small task. If you have the capability of producing an Advanced Level COP, in practice, you are capable of writing a Sustainability Report and posting it on the UNGC Website, thereby also fulfilling the UNGC COP requirements. The Sustainability Report will include a reconfirmation of the CEO commitment to the UNGC and a cross-reference index of UNGC principles to GRI Indicators.  In practice, this is what most companies who report at GRI B or A Level do.

For companies which are not quite ready to report at this advanced level, an Active COP could be a positive alternative. It provides an opportunity for transparency in a globally recognized context and allows some flexibility regarding what to disclose.  In some cases, companies invest quite a significant amount of effort to deliver an Active Level COP.

Take a look at this (Active Level) COP by (my client) , ECI Telecom.

ECI Telecom is a global provider of telecommunications networking solutions and this is the Company's second COP. Beyond confirming the Company's commitment to the 10 principles of the UNGC, ECI discloses how the company makes a Green Impact with ICT Technology. If you don't know your DSL from your VDSL, ADSL and HDSL, or the environmental significance of Vectoring, you can learn a lot from reading ECI's COP. ECI is a champion in low-power applications and E-band technologies. If this is all gibberish to you, don't worry. It was to me until I started to learn what it all means. It's actually surprisingly simple, once you get the letters in the right place, and confirms that ICT is one of the most significant opportunities for companies to provide services which improve their environmental footprint and those of consumers.


Additionally, ECI makes many environmental disclosures relating to  its own environmental impacts. With an E-TASC (Electronic Tool for Accountable Supply Chains) score of 96%, the company's best to date, ECI demonstrates a commitment to managing, measuring and reporting. The company achieved a 20% reduction in paper consumption in 2010, a 20% reduction in electricity consumption per employee, a 12% reduction in water consumption and a 9.75% reduction in waste. Great progress.

However, my favorite part of this COP is the description of the Green Camera project that ECI Telecom's CSR Manager, Eynat Rotfeld, organized in 2010. Employees were invited to submit their "green" photographs and the three winning photos were selected from around the ECI globe. The photos were breathtaking. Here are the winning photos:

My Green Life in Huangzhou by Tony Xu (China)

Tony Xu said about this photo: "Bicycle is a green, healthy and convenient choice for me. In Hangzhou, the government purchased a mass of bicycles and offer free use for residents in order to improve the condition of traffic and reduce the usage of cars. You can borrow near the home and return at your destination. It is very convenient, saves money and good for health for everyone. That is my reason for choosing this picture."

Harvesting the power of nature by Glenn Leis (ECI Philippines)

Glenn said about this photo: "I was amazed when I saw those windmills up-close and personal and wonder how the force of nature, which is the wind, drives those giants to produce electricity without any bi-products / pollutants. I’ve been to some power plants during my college day field trips and I have compared it to those diesel-fed engines that are very dependent in oil in which we do not have here (yet) in our country. The power of nature is everywhere, we just need to harvest it in a way we do not destroy it in the end because it's FREE...."

The ECI Biking Team in Georgia by Amit Singer (Israel)

Amit said about this photo: "This picture was taken during our "green" sporting activity, an ECI team bike ride, which doesn’t cause any form of pollution. The team also gets involved in a lot of volunteering activity, including making donations to hospitals, supporting underprivileged children and more. The photo itself represents the spirit of the group – riding in an atmosphere of calmness and blending with the green of nature."

ECI Telecom's 2011 COP is a comprehensive document of 65 pages covering a wide range of social and environmental disclosures, demonstrating year on year progress in advancing sustainable practices. Not a lightweight entry by any means.

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)

Seasons Greetings from the CSR Reporting Blog

About this time of the year, no prizes for guessing why, I always wish my readers a Happy Christmas or a Cool Yule or Seasons Greetings.

so:

to all my spice-loving readers:  Seasonings Greetings
to all my readers planning a family gathering: See Sons Greetings
to all my farming readers: Seize Hens Greetings
to all my curious readers: Reasons Greetings
to all my rebellious readers: Treasons Greetings
to all my sailing readers: Seamen's Greetings
to all my hungry readers: Cheese Buns Greetings
to all my cold readers: Seasons Heatings
to all my bedcothes manufacturing readers: Seasons Sheetings
to all my workaholic readers: Seasons Meetings
to all my violent readers: Seasons Beatings
and to everyone else: Seasons Greetings with a double triple helping of Ice Cream !!

Wishing everyone a great end-of-2011 and a fabulous .... ok, have to say it ... sustainable ... 2012, plus lots of strength to get through (approximately) 534,327 posts and articles which all extol the Top Ten Things of 2011 and predict the Top Ten Things of 2012.

(Haha - that's my next post. Watch this space!)



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)

18 Examples of (Not-So) Integrated Sustainability Reports

Last week, I dutifully submitted my feedback to the International Integrated Reporting Committee on their discussion paper. It was an interesting exercise. Here are a few of my responses:

Do you believe that action is needed to help improve how organizations represent their value‑creation process?

Me: I believe companies need to take responsibility and be held accountable for their impacts on society. Action is needed to improve the number of companies who do this and the way in which they do it. This includes value companies create for society, but it is also about negative impacts on society and accounting for them.

Do you support the development of an International Integrated Reporting Framework?

Me: In principle yes, but on page 8, the Discussion Paper says that the IR framework will provide "high-level" guidance - I think it should provide very detailed guidance. Similarly, the approach states that it is focused on the needs of investors in the initial stages. I believe this is absolutely wrong. Integrated Reporting should AT THE VERY OUTSET focus on the needs of all stakeholders, otherwise it misses the point. Clearly, financial stakeholders are looking for tools to quantify the social/environmental risks and impacts in terms of shareholder value, but if this is the prime direction of Integrated Reporting, we are back to Square One, where sustainability is relegated to almost no influence on financial decisions and shareholder considerations. Once the framework has been developed for investors, there will be zero motivation to change or enhance it for all stakeholders.

Do you agree that Integrated Reporting will drive the disclosure of information that is useful for integrated analysis (from the perspective of investors)?

Me: Yes. In fact, that's pretty much all it will do. I don't think that's enough.

So, as I am having an integrated thinking week, I thought I would take a look at what's really happening out there and scan the 18 Integrated Reports that are contestants in the largest online annual Corporate Responsibility Reporting Awards - CRRA12.

Ultimately, a truly integrated report would show connectivity between the sustainability parts and the financial parts. Ultimately, a truly integrated report would make linkages between business strategy and sustainability strategy and define financial and social/environmental impacts of both in a seamless way. As I review the 18 reports entered in the Best Integrated Category, this is primarily what I am looking for. Connectivity. Linkage. Causality. Integration.

The IIRC discussion paper contains a couple of examples, including this one from Akzo Nobel:

Here we can an example of demonstrating financial value generated through response to global (green) market drivers. 

As you will discover, in most reports, I don't find this degree of linkage. Most integrated reports today are  a juxtapositioning of two separate reports. In the better cases, some of the narrative is blended so that business strategy appears to take financial, social and environmental aspects into account. Finding a report that actually considers the financial implications of sustainability actions is more difficult, though in some cases, the opportunities of sustainability strategy are discussed - sometimes using the Porter Creation of Shared Value Concept as inspiration.

One thing that puzzles me, for example, is why the cost of energy or other environmental or social factors are not considered. Only one company in this Integrated Reporting Category reports the cost impact of energy - all others report only the KWH consumed and the GHG's emitted. Surely, energy conservation is both a sustainability and a financial risk/opportunity? Why would companies not wish to understand (and disclose) the financial impacts of their energy practices? This seems obvious to me but no-one does it. Yet.

Here are the 18 reports in the Best Integrated Report category (in alpha order):

Alma Media Oy, Annual Review 2010, Finland, 43 pages, GRI B

This is the first integrated report of Alma Media Oy, "the voice of sustainable media", a company whose reporting I have always loved, and this integrated version is great. It looks and feels like a Sustainability Report while ensuring the financials are included and well presented. There is a good deal of contextual information about markets and sustainability considerations. While it doesn't go quite as far as to truly integrate CSR issues into financial and business strategy, and lacks a materiality analysis (though it does include top subjects raised by stakeholders), this report is so well written that it almost make me want to read newspapers again!

Altron - Allied Electronics Corporation, Integrated Annual Report 2011, South Africa, 259 pages, GRI B+

This is Altron Group's second integrated report prepared in line with the King Report on Governance for South Africa (King III). It's a very official looking sort of report, not something you would want to enjoy reading, though it does provide a good range of data. The Company has identified 11 Strategic Themes and a set of Material Issues which are analyzed in the report in detail. There is a clear financial flavor to this report - although consolidated financials start only on page 143, in the early part of the report, much space is devoted to financial impacts and market reviews, including a CFO review and results highlights. 

 A material issue for Altron, energy consumption, shows a massive increase, from a total of 113,000 Mkwh to 218,000 Mkwh in one year, more than double:

In fairness, there is some discussion of this in the report, and Altron is committing to improving measurement procedures and initiatives to reduce the Group's carbon footprint. However, I couldn't help wondering what the financial impact of this single environmental indicator had on Altron's overall budgets and exactly what Altron is planning to do to to make a change, and how this will impact operations and people.

Cebu Holdings Incorporated Integrated Annual and Sustainability Report 2010, Philippines, 174 pages, GRI B

This real estate company in the Philippines has been an integrated reporter now for 4 years, and although the Chairman's review opens with Dear Stockholders (and not Stakeholders), the company has a nice sustainability framework and the report is quite a pleasant read. Sustainability issues are dealt with well, and include external stakeholder commentaries. The Financial part of this report begins officially on page 123.

One of the things this company integrates alongside financial, social and environmental performance is its core values - Cebu is one of the only companies I have seen whose core values include the Love of God. I wonder if this is a condition of hiring?

Cermaq ASA Annual Report,  Norway, 131 pages, GRI B+

This is a fascinating report about a company who makes a living from salmon farming and making salmon feed. Did you know that 70% more salmon was consumed in Norway in 2010 versus 2009? Rising salmon eating trends is due to more sushi and sashimi consumption by younger people in the West, emulating Japanese fish eating habits. As salmon demand increases and supply falls behind, salmon is getting much more expensive. This is good news for Cermaq who made more profits than ever before in 2010. Another fascinating aspect of fish farming is the monitoring of salmon stress levels. Did you know that salmon could be in stress? Did you ever think about how much that salmon fillet you ate for dinner last week was stressed-out during its lifetime? Cermaq is able to identify stress levels in salmon and in 2010, was able to reduce stress levels by 60%. Wow. (Perhaps they could do the same for Sustainability Consultants?) Another fun fact is that Cermaq have 46 million fish in the sea as part of their farming effort and not one managed to escape. Hey, I bet prison services around the globe would be interested in Cermaq's methodologies.  

Cermaq's Integrated Report is really a joined Sustainability Report and an Annual (Financial) Report. The Sustainability part takes up the first 55 pages and pages 61-131 are in the form of a traditional Annual Report. There are separate Auditor's Reviews for the Sustainability content and the Financial content. The Sustainability part contains a nice Materiality Matrix:

Cermaq - nice Materiality Matrix presentation

Cermaq have even created customized indicators for reporting on their own kind of sustainable aquaculture:

Cermaq's propietary reporting indicators





Deloitte LLP USA Fiscal Corporate Responsibility Report, 50 pages, GRI B

Oops! What' this doing here? This is a CSR Report and not an Integrated Report. How come it snuck into the Integrated Reporting category:). If this report wins, the IIRC will go a little crazy, I suspect :)

Clearly Deloitte are a little confused :). Perhaps their involvement in the IIRC Pilot program may help.

NOTE: UPDATE 23 December:  Following my comments above, Deloitte has now confirmed that this report entry in the Integrated Category was an error and it has now been removed. However, Deloitte's report is still in the running in the Best Creativity Category. Clearly, Deloitte is not confused. Just a small error. These things happen. Thanks, Deloitte, for the clarification. 

Flughafen Muenchen Sustainability and Annual Report 2010, Germany, 194 pages, GRI A+

The Munich Airport Sustainability and Annual Report is a fascinating look at the full scope of sustainability issues which are relevant to airport operations which are complex and cover a wide range of social and environmental impacts. This report nicely discloses on workplace, climate change and environment activities, community engagement and stakeholder interests, and includes a full Materiality Matrix. The consolidated management report, beginning on page 130, contains financials as well as sustainability risks. As far as integration goes, it does a good job, though as with all other reports in the integrated category, financial impacts and sustainability impacts are handled as separate entities and the connectivity between them is not clearly articulated. 

Hyundai Engigeering & Construction Co, Korea, Sustainability Report, 88 pages, GRI A+

The Hyundai Report also seems to be misplaced in this category. There are two pages of headline economic or financial data in a total report of 88 pages. Hardly an Annual Report and hardly an integrated one. Hyundai should have read the fine print more carefully!

The report does include an explanation of the difference between a Triple Bottom Line Report and an Integrated Report and includes economic impact discussion and targets, though there is no direct linkage between these and other ESG performance areas.

The Hyundai Report includes a thoughtful Materiality Matrix which shows how issues have moved between one year to the next. This is a nice touch which most companies fail to consider.

The Hyundai report also features several external stakeholders and their responses to business and sustainability issues which are important to them as they consider their relationship with Hyundai. Overall, this is a great Sustainability Report showing consideration of social and environmental performance. The fact that some economic factors are mentioned and discussed does not make this a truly integrated report.

Indra Sistemas SA Annual Report 2010, Spain, 148 pages, GRI A+

Indra Sistemas offer a report which provides me with an opportunity to check out how much Spanish I don't know. I did try to use Google Translate, but when it converted a piece in Spanish to "The accountability that is presented below was carried out following the guidelines of the G3.1 Global Reporting Initiative application level A + and as AA1000 APS (2008), Accountability, including our behavior on the Global Compact principles with which we compromised ...", I decided to give up and let the Spanish speakers among us analyze the degree of integration of this report. (The GRI Index is in Spanish and English).  I did discover the Indra Sustainability website which is in English with an online report which is rather pleasant, including a "Sustainability Balanced Scorecard" which presents all sustainability data in great detail for a six year period. However, the website was not entered in the CRRA '12 competition so it is not really fair to comment on that.

Korea Railroad Corporation 2010 Sustainability Report, Korea, 105 pages, GRI A+

This report is called a Sustainability Report and follows a classic structure of sustainability reporting, with economic performance, social performance and environmental performance making up the core sections of the report. The economic section includes 7 pages of business descriptions and profiles, but not a full set of financials and there is no reference to any other report which does include the full financial data. Here again, this report doesn't fit the bill for what I believe constitutes an Integrated Report, even using the "light" definition which may indicate a "combined" report.  

MOL Group 2010 Hungary, Annual Report, 251 pages, GRI A+

This mammoth report  by MOL Group oil and gas producer in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, includes a separate section on Sustainability non-financial performance which starts at page 175 and runs through to page 210 - 14% of the total report. More if you include the separate governance section which is a further 23 pages - bringing total sustainabiilty and governance content to 22%. One of the disturbing things about this report is the title of the sustainability section - "non-financial performance". Surely, in an integrated world, social and environmental performance can no longer be solely non-financial? MOL is not the only Integrated Reporter which uses this terminology which I think is misleading and not representative of integrated thinking.  Aside from a mention of MOL's position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, sustainability issues are conspicuously absent from all discussion of MOL's business strategy and market performance. Sustainability data is assured separately from financial data.

The MOL sustainability component is very detailed and covers all transparency bases very well. However, the narrative is dry and factual and certainly not appealing to anybody other than those specifically searching for data and facts. In fact, MOL understands this, stating "While the Annual Report’s main audience is assumed to be our shareholders, investors and sustainability analysts, our webpage is tailored to answering the information needs of all stakeholders." The website is a little more friendly for us non-financial people - it has a few more photos and the language is a little friendlier, though the pages are long and very detailed.

One thing I have never seen before in a published report is a draft GRI Application Level Check statement!

MOL - getting ahead of themselves - confident of the GRI check!

Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2010, Denmark, 115 pages, GRI A+

Novo Nordisk is often held up as the go-to-company for Integrated Reporting excellence, and has been a winner of the Best Integrated Report category in CRRA several times. Certainly, Novo has been doing this a lot longer than most companies (since 2004), so one might expect them to have developed a methodology which works for the company and for all stakeholders, not just financial stakeholders.

Novo says about their own report: "We believe Novo Nordisk creates value in ways that are not captured on a balance sheet or income statement and this is one of the reasons we publish an integrated report. Managing a business sustainably involves looking at risks holistically and taking a long-term perspective. In our 2010 Annual Report we exemplify this in a number of ways: comparing our sales growth with CO2, emissions, water usage and waste to better reflect relative performance and setting and reporting on long-term targets for diversity and engaging corporate culture."

De-coupling business growth from environmental impacts, is excellent, though Novo Nordisk continues to refer to non-financial targets and does not make the direct linkage between business and sustainability issues.

At the risk of becoming repetitive (yawn, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz), how can employee turnover, energy consumption, water consumption etc, not include an element of financial impact? Since 2007, Novo has achieved big reductions in water and energy consumption (37% and 28%) - I am sure this has made a significant financial contribution which is not specifically identified in Novo Nordisk's integrated reporting.

However, perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel. I noted in an interview with Lise Kingo of Novo Nordisk, included in the report, that she says: "Together with experts and with inputs from stakeholders we have developed a methodology that enables us to value the contribution of our Triple Bottom Line approach in a profit and loss perspective. We have called this initiative our Blueprint for Change programme, and we have conducted Triple Bottom Line reviews looking at our climate action strategy and our business approach in China." I found more about this Blueprint for Change in China on the Novo Nordisk website - this is indeed an excellent document showing how Novo built business while creating very positive social and environmental impact. Again, I miss seeing an assessment of the impact of significant environmental benefits on the profitability and affordability of diabetes healthcare as part of this initiative, but this report does go further than most in identifying economic, social and environmental impacts for value creation as an integrated strategy.  

The consolidated financial and non-financial statements start in the Novo report at page 57, though both financial and "non-financial" figures remain separate, with 7 pages out of around 58 referring to social and environmental impacts.

Solar World AG Annual Group  Report 2010, Germany, 327 pages, GRI A+

This report is very long - at 327 pages, it weighs in as the second longest report in the entire competition. The report structure goes from corporate background and profiles (often quite technical) and then to consolidated financial statements, followed by a sustainability section which is made up of the GRI Index, the UNGC Index and the KPI's of EFFAS, all of which take up a further 16 pages  and is followed by some more detailed disclosures against performance indicators. There is little in the form of sustainability narrative - mainly data and while this is a business all about sustainability, I didn't detect too much overall integration in between financial and sustainability performance. It's quite a techy impersonal report in simple b/w design, making for a not terribly entertaining reading experience.  

Siveco Romania SA, 2010 Annual Social Responsibility Report, Romania, 46 pages, not GRI

There is one page of economic narrative in this Sustainability Report. It's a Sustainability Report. Do Sustainability and Integrated sound so alike?

In fact, this report only barely qualifies as a Sustainability Report. It is so light on sustainability data that it would not make a GRI C Application Level. It's more of a marketing-oriented brochure that reflects Siveco's business performance with a couple of CSR themes thrown in for good measure.

While I commend Siveco for being one of the few Romanian sustainability reporters, and the only Romanian report entered in the entire CRRA competition, the Company needs to develop its understanding of what CSR and Sustainability really mean, and how this can be presented more effectively and transparently.


Syngenta International Annual Review 2010, Switzerland, 58 pages, GRI A+

Hah! This is the only report in this entire category which makes a connection between environmental impacts and financial results. Syngenta says: "We monitor energy use to identify opportunities to improve efficiency. Our energy strategy encourages local teams to select the best ways to reduce energy at local sites. By 2012, we aim to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent relative to EBIT from the 2006 baseline."

Energy consumption, GHG  and other air emissions and water consumption all carry a $ value and are measured in terms of their impact on financial results as well as environmental sustainability.

The nature of Syngenta's business, developing seeds for more sustainable agriculture, advancing food security, lends itself well to a blended business and sustainability discussion, which makes the narrative in this report readable, informative and quite enjoyable. (Check out also Syngenta's Grow More from Less website).The people section is light, and I would have welcomed more discussion about responsible workplace practices and a similar assessment and measurement of sustainable people practices in relation to cost efficiencies. Much of this can be quantified, and it would be an interesting next step for Syngenta to incorporate measurable people impacts in their next report.

In the meantime, given that Syngenta is the only report in this category which has made the connection I was looking for, as well as providing an integrated view of the business in a readable and accessible manner, without too much financial geek jargon and headaches, this report has my vote as the category winner!

(At this point, I will overlook the fact that this is a self-declared GRI A+ level report, and that several core indicators are not fully reported, which to me seems to fall below the A level threshold.)

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Annual Report 2011, Japan, 150 pages, GRI A+

Takeda is a 230-old corporation so I guess they must be doing something right that supports their sustainability as an organization, although 2010 marks the first year of "Transformation into a New Takeda" strategy, driven by innovation, culture and growth. The reports looks and feels  more like a Sustainability Report than an Annual Report, and includes extensive interviews with company people, and a thorough explanation of a significant acquisition, Nycomed, including aspects of culture and management style. (Most company reports do not examine in detail the basis for and impacts of acquisitions - this is a nice approach).

Financial results and discussion takes up 41 pages (27%) of this report, and some of the business and market disclosures in the body of the report are rather too detailed for the lay stakeholder to read and engage with, but overall, the report hangs together nicely, even though, as with other integrated reports, I could not find and direct connectivity between environmental or social performance and business results.

Takeda has adopted the seven core subjects of ISO26000 as a basis for CSR policy and reporting and structures disclosures around these themes. Takeda also publishes a CSR Data Book which replicates all the information in the Annual Report and adds some, and also includes the GRI Index. So if you are looking for a more traditional standalone CSR Report, this is the one to view.

As with most Japanese reports, many messages are formulated into charts and diagrams. I liked this one which explains Takeda-ism and Takeda stakeholders.

Vancouver City Credit Savings Union (Vancity) 2010 Annual Report, Canada, 94 pages, GRI A+

Vancity is a member-owned, community-based credit union seeking to develop member and community value through everything it does. Vancity is Canada’s largest credit union, with $14.5 billion in assets, more than 417,000 members and 59 branches. Vancity calls this report "their first truly integrated Annual Report", and in my view, they have done a good job. Vancity's report gives a reasonably integrated business overview, with a financials taking up only 28 pages. One of the few integrated reports which has less bespoke financial content - and one of the few which is actually quite pleasant to read, with many nice visuals and a good storyline in the narrative. If you are wondering how Vancity manages to do this - I suspect I know why :)  Take a look at the following shot of the Chair of the Board and the CEO! Women power is obviously the key!

Vancity's reporting on Materiality is interesting. In fact, they produce a whole separate report about it - it's 4 pages long, and defines the materiality process undertaken and the specific priority responses received by stakeholders from different forms of engagement with them, and how these issues have been addressed in the Annual Report. While this is excellent practice and transparency, I do wonder about the decision to omit this, beyond a mention and referral to the separate report, from the Annual Report main document. Materiality process is so core to reporting, particularly integrated reporting - why push it out of the main document? Another nice touch I have always liked about Vancity's reporting is the way their targets are clearly laid out and the specific accountability for achieving each target is noted- once upon a time, Vancity included actual names of people but today, it's just the job title, such as VP Human Resources, CFO or other. Still, it's good to know who in the organization is accountable for what.

Wilderness Holdings Ltd, Integrated Annual Report, South Africa,
153 pages, GRI Undeclared level

Wow. You have to look at this report, just to see the spectacularly breathtaking photography! It's just too beautiful for words. The second reason you need to look at this report is to learn about the intricate details of cultural and sustainable tourism - the high level of detail this report provides is also breathtaking - some might say overkill - but it has a certain authenticity and charm which makes you want to read more. The report includes a list of issues raised by stakeholders and Wilderness's response to them.

Consolidated financial statements begin on page 108, however, so that is where I stopped :)

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation Sustainability Report 2009-2010, USA, 56 pages, GRI C

Oops! Another Sustainability Report. Not integrated. No vote in this category. It does include 2 pages about business performance and revenues, but this hardly constitutes a full set of financials. This report belongs in the Best First Time Report category. Phew! It's there. And also in the Best Carbon Disclosure Category. So that's alright then.

I couldn't resist taking a little peek, though! Two things caught my eye. First, is the Wyndham has a website dedicated entirely to women travelers. I will have to see what that offers the next time I am off somewhere. I wonder if they supply people to pack and unpack my bags. That's by far the worst part of travelling.

The second thing I noticed is Wyndham's Sustainability structure, which seems highly slanted towards Environmental Sustainability.
  

Wyndham - green is it

Overall, the Report is a lightweight GRI level C report, responding to just 11 performance indicators in full. But a nice first time effort, all the same. Hmm. Wonder how it got into that Integrated Category, though!

And to round it all off...if you got this far ....

Of the 18 Reports entered in the Best Integrated Report category, there are five which I believe cannot be classified by any stretch of the imagination as integrated. Reporting companies should be more careful about how they define their entries in CRRA in future years. Also, some more specific guidance from CRRA might be helpful.

Of the remaining 13 reports, all go some way to presenting financial information blended, to a greater or lesser degree, with social and environmental impacts. However, very few manage to make a connection between business strategy and sustainability material issues in a way which shows how value is created or destroyed in both financial and sustainability terms. This shows the true nature of the leap that Integrated Reporting needs to drive. It is more than developing green products or delivering new drugs. It's about truly connecting all aspects of all business initiatives in which the sustainability impacts of business are represented in financial terms (where possible) and the business impacts of sustainability are represented in social and environmental terms (where possible). I fully recognize that 100% integration may be hard to achieve, but, based on my review of the Integrated Reports that are showcased here, even some first tentative steps would be significant.

Oh, and by the way, my own company Sustainability Report, which is not integrated (phew!) is entered in the Best Report, Best First Report, Best SME Report and Best Creativity categories in CRRA 12. I would be delighted if you would consider voting for Beyond Business Sustainability Report. Check out the CRRA 12 Awards here. PLEASE vote for your fave Integrated Reports AND for the Beyond Business report :))

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)