SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
Statistics
WORLD
OF DIFFERENCE
Environmental reporting used to be something of a novelty – but it has now
entered the business mainstream, both in the UK and across the globe.
Paul Scott looks at recent developments – and predicts the future trends
Chart 1 UK sustainability reporting by report type
©CorporateRegister.com Ltd 2009
‘
The more reporters there are
in any given business sector,
S
ince the first environmental reports and establish momentum. The novelty of
were published in the early 1990s, reporting in the early years meant that
UK companies have taken the lead in forward looking companies were keen to
non-financial reporting. And it’s a lead enter the field. But the most compelling
the more the non-reporters
they’ve held. Reports now cover a range of argument is that reporting has encouraged
appear to be holding out
issues and are usually titled ‘CSR’ or more reporting – and the more reporters
‘sustainability’ reports (collectively ‘CR’ there are in any given business sector, the
’
against the tide reports), and of the 3,400 such reports more the non-reporters appear to be
published globally during 2008, nearly 400 holding out against the tide.
were from UK companies – more than Globally, sustainability reporting has
from any other country, including the US entered the business mainstream, with
(see charts 2 and 3). nearly 23,000 reports profiled on
There are several possible explanations CorporateRegister.com. Here, we take
for this. The first Environmental Reporting a quick look under the bonnet of
Awards were established in 1991 by UK sustainability reporting, using
ACCA and helped raise media awareness a ‘3Cs’ approach.
6 October 2009 ❘ SB FutureProof
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