| CSR Reporting and Dialogue with Investors |
As
the new year begins, we believe companies
will continue to experience financial, peer,
and media pressure to engage with their stakeholders.
The most public manifestation of the need
to engage stakeholders is the continued growth
in CSR reporting. According to SIRAN's 2006
report on environmental and social reporting
practices, "more than three-quarters
of the S&P 100 Index now have special
sections of their websites dedicated to…social
and environmental policies and performance."
This is a whopping increase of 35% from 2005. |
| In short, the world’s largest companies appear to have concluded that reporting is a given. But as the 2006 SustainAbility report, "Tomorrow's Value," suggests, "reporting is a necessary but not sufficient—condition of success." |
| While we anticipate continued growth in reporting, the face of reporting is changing as companies seek to balance transparency, strategic focus and the depth sought by analysts and stakeholders. Toward this goal, many companies are reducing the size of their printed reports in favor of a) adding or expanding their CSR website content and b) making more information available in an online report. |
| To engage with the social investment community, one important step for companies is the development of an open dialogue. Some communication steps are easy, such as ensuring that SRI analysts know the appropriate person to contact within a company. Other simple steps include the addition of an index based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards in a CSR report. In a roundtable discussion organized by SRI World Group preceding the November Business for Social Responsibility conference, research analysts noted that GRI indices are the first place they look for information. The SIRAN report found that some 27% of companies incorporated an index of GRI indicators, while more than one-third base their reports on these widely-recognized standards. |
| Beginning a process of an
open dialogue can help companies when they are
faced with shareholder resolutions from investors.
Many times the issues social investors are asking
companies to address can be resolved without
a resolution being filed. Even after a resolution
is filed, both sides can come to agreement before
the resolution reaches the proxy ballot. According
to the Social Investment Forum and ISS, 84 environment
social and environmental resolutions and 63
corporate governance resolutions were withdrawn
in the first half of 2006. |
| The landscape of CSR is constantly changing. With the introduction of GRI's G3 guidelines this year we will see many companies reevaluating how they communicate with all stakeholders, including investors. SRI World Group looks forward to assisting the dialogue between companies and the social investment community. |
Featured Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) Research |
| The
Materiality Report: Aligning Strategy, Performance
and Reporting (AccountAbility)
|
| CSR
Resources and Articles Virtue
Rewarded (CFO Magazine)
|
| About OneReport™ |
| OneReport streamlines sustainability
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publishing solutions. OneReport provides a structure
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social and governance information. |
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