Sustainability reporting:
A contrarian’s viewpoint
Lynn Patterson
Director, Corporate Responsibility
RBC
lynn.e.patterson@rbc.com
416-974-1381
The facts
Source: Corporate Register
CR Reporting Awards ‘08
March 2009
2
Why report?
SRI
Community
Activist
NGOs
Regulators
and
government
Consumers
Employees
Your
Company
Al Gore
Factor
Scandals
Development of
global
standards
Peer and other
industry pressure
New media, blogs,
internet
3
Stakeholders say they want to hear about:
human rights
61.4
energy/eco-efficiency
61.0
health and safety
60.4
59.4
climate protection
environmental policy
58.8
environmental management
of the production process
corporate governance
58.8
56.8
standards in developing countries
56.6
avoiding soil and water contamination
53.9
environmental management system
53.9
52.7
bribery and corruption
supply chain standards for social issues
corporate citizenship
4
51.1
34.5
Source: Pleon
Transitioning from “a report” to “reporting”
Ad hoc
Annual Report
Marketing Vehicles
CR Report/Review
CR or sustainability website
Responses to SRI analysts
5
RBC’s reporting suite
6
…plus a ‘create your own’ option
7
So…what to include?
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
8
Issues that are relevant to your business (common sense)
GRI indicators (menu approach)
Areas of interest identified on SRI surveys
Competitive scan (financial services)
Input from stakeholders
Report rankers (CERES, Stratos)
Content of award-winning reporters (UK, Brazil, Canada,
US)
Current events (trends, scandals, media campaigns etc.)
Codes of conduct or voluntary commitments your company
has signed (UN Global Compact)
Example: CERES/ACCA
9
RBC’s reporting cycle
Spring
Summer
DJSI Survey
1 month
Website updated
Report Production
Website updated
3-4 months
Report Released
Winter
10
Promotional tools updated
Fall
RBC reporting strengths and
weaknesses
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•
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•
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Readable style
Consistent structure year
over year
3-year comparative data
Discussion of issues that
are relevant to the business
Good mix of formats for
various audiences
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•
•
•
•
11
Few or no targets
No external verification
Lack of specific information
about risk, liabilities and
exposure within our
investments arm (carbon
etc).
Lacking specific detail on
CR governance (such as
job titles (!)
Too much good news
Impact
12
Reality Check
13
Who’s reading CR reports?
CR Consultants
Students
Corporate CR
Professionals
Academics
Are these your
target audiences?
14
How attentive are readers?
15
How easy are reports to read?
16
Who has a vested interest?
17
Who’s making money?
1. Surveys
2. Results pre-packaged
and sold
4. Desire for increased
disclosure
18
3. “Seals of Approval”
used for company PR
Is CR content really ‘material’?
“Whatever else emerges from this crisis at the heart of our financial system,
a total overhaul in the content and presentation of company annual reports
is now due.
[B&B’s Corporate Responsibility report was 28 pages long] … 7 times longer
than the coverage given to risk management and control.
And here we find top-notch twaddle: deep layers of low-grade corporate
mince that is now routinely served up by the bucketful in annual reports.”
Bill Jamieson,
Upon reading the Bradford & Bingley 2007 Annual Report
From The Scotsman
19
Reporting does not = performance
20
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Best Practices
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1. Focus
22
2. Report targets and performance
23
3. Drill down on key issues
24
4. Consistency for comparability
25
4b. Consistency across media
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5. Opportunities for conversation
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Lynn Patterson
Director, Corporate Responsibility
RBC
lynn.e.patterson@rbc.com
416-974-1381