Content
Chart 2 UK report output
Corporate responsibility reports are the
nation’s favourite (see chart 1). Typically
they include environmental, community
and workplace issues, with occasional
forays into such areas as human rights,
business ethics and supply chain auditing,
depending on the reporter’s business sector.
Many of the world’s largest
multinationals are headquartered in the
UK, and their reports cover their global
operations, so some UK reporters may
address CR issues almost anywhere around
the globe. ‘Sustainability’ reports include all
the CR issues plus economic or socio-
economic aspects, and seen globally the
split between ‘Corporate Responsibility’
and ‘Sustainability’ reports is around 50:50,
so this difference between UK and other
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reports is interesting (see chart 1).
The most commonly used framework
for CR reports comes from the Global
Chart 3 Top 20 reporting countries
Reporting Initiative (GRI), a not for profit
body based in Amsterdam. When a
reporter uses this framework, it structures
‘
Many on the world’s largest
multinationals are
headquartered in the UK,
and their reports cover their
’
global operations
the report around a long list of defined
indicators, provides an index for these
indicators, and declares an application level
depending on how many indicators have
been addressed. Global use of the
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framework, which includes a growing
number of sector supplements, is gaining
momentum and in 2008 it was used in 33%
Chart 4 UK GRI uptake
of all 3,400 CR reports published.
Uptake by UK reporters is far less
enthusiastic, with a take-up level around
half the global average, and this gap is
increasing (see charts 4 and 5).
But, why is this? One reason may be that
UK reporters already know what they need
to report, have materiality models to
prioritise issues, or stakeholder panels to
provide input. They may feel constrained
by the GRI framework, and ticking GRI
boxes may mean reporting on issues which
do not drive their business. Another reason
may be that GRI reporting is often seen to
be a badge, particularly in the drive to
attain an ‘A’ application level rather than a
‘B’ or ‘C’, and UK companies are
sufficiently confident in their reporting not
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to need that badge.
SB FutureProof ❘ October 2009 7
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