Read on for insight into the CR analysis Ethical Corporation subscribers will receive in the September edition.
Next month there’ll be a 10-page management briefing that delves into CR reporting and communications.
Firstly the briefing will reflect on GRI’s G4 guidelines and the key differences that reporters need to be aware of. The new guidelines have had extensive feedback and stakeholder engagement – but can CR/sustainability reporting have a one-size-fits all structure?
The briefing then will outline how companies can report better and more efficiently. It will highlight how to spread the burdens of reporting across the year. The briefing then will present both the pros and cons of traditional once-a-year snapshot style reports versus a process of continual reporting online. It will examine coherent data gathering processes and outlines the companies that are regarded as the best at this.
Next the briefing will focus on the pros and cons of integrated reporting. This section will ask if integrated reporting is the way to go. And if so, why? What are the dangers if separate sustainability/CR reports disappear? What’s innovative about the recently released IIRC draft framework?
The briefing will also present two in-depth case studies on the innovative reporting approach from both Unilever and Puma. The Unilever case study will outline how reporting has been a part of Unilever’s impressive Sustainable Living Plan. It will also review the challenges the company has found in communicating this new approach to all its stakeholders. The Puma case study will focus on how “environmental profit and loss” works. It will delve into the thinking behind it, how the process has given Puma insight into its impacts, and how Puma has improved its business practice in the light of what it has learnt.
In September’s strategy and management section sees the start of a series of in-depth sustainability commercialised features. First will be a comprehensive analysis of Skanska and how the company is rethinking building refurbishment. The article outlines how Skanska has developed low impact and sustainable construction, citing examples and strategic changes it has made. It looks at how these sustainable initiatives have saved money for both Skanska and its customers. The feature then highlights the challenges that Skanska has faced in convincing clients that sustainable, low-impact construction is the way to go.
The second instalment features in-depth analysis of Marks & Spencer and its work in developing smarter business models with its suppliers. It reveals how M&S is helping its suppliers develop new business models that deliver social and environmental gains. It considers the supplier side of the new models – how it has affected their business models and whether the benefits were clear to them. It finally highlights how the new improvements and requirements from M&S have affected both cashflows and profitability.
The expanded People section will feature interviews with some of the key movers of the month, plus a round-up of who has got a new job in corporate responsibility and sustainability.
The second new section in September’s issue will be a CR crib sheet. This double page column will contain everything you need to know from the latest corporate responsibility thinking, including the key statistics from sustainability reports, summary and analysis of research from agencies and academics plus data from the international agencies, including the UN, World Bank group and OECD.
In EthicsWatch there will be analysis of Acre’s new CR sector salary survey. The story will highlight the headline findings from the survey and what’s new. There will be analysis of how the salaries in the CR/sustainable business sector compare to other sectors and whether there are any geographical differences.
EthicsWatch will also examine a new report from Ceres that argues that the oil and gas sector in the US is not disclosing sufficient information on risk to the investment community. What are the improvements in disclosure that the report recommends, and why? How can the investment community leverage the oil/gas sector to be more transparent and improve performance? All these questions will be answered throughout the article.
In light of even further scandals, EthicsWatch will also review what’s been going on at HSBC and Standard Chartered, and the Barclays libor issue, and whether the banking sector is close to losing complete trust amongst the public. The article will present the views of many NGOs as well as Tridos, an ethical bank, which believes now is the time for ethical banks to step forward.
Finally, EthicsWatch will look at whether alternative fibres can really replace the traditional pulp market. The article will outline the alternative fibres that are available and the benefits of switching from traditional pulp. It will then consider whether Rio+20 Kimberly Clark’s pledge that by 2025, 50% of total fibre usage will come from alternative fibres – is this realistic? Is scale the main obstacle?
In September’s review sections, the latest sustainability reporting from STMicroelectronics and SABMiller will be analysed, as will the best new books and academic papers.
Plus, as always, they’ll be the usual contributions from the regular columnists: Jon Entine, Mallen Baker, Paul French, Peter Knight and Toby Webb.
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Ethical Corporation was established in 2001 and provides business intelligence for sustainability to more than 3,000 multinational companies every year. Ethical Corporation publishes the leading responsible business magazine, website, and research reports.