New Report sets out Roadmap for the Future of Social & Environmental Reporting
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
With the Government imminently due to unveil proposed changes to corporate reporting, a new report is published today, detailing for the first time exactly how environmental and social reporting legislation could be written to ensure effective take up by companies.
The report, Simply Put, published by the CORE Coalition, contains expert analysis of how the current legal framework is failing and what changes need to be made to the existing social and environmental corporate reporting regime. Through smart and straightforward amendments, the report identifies how existing legal requirements could be simplified and streamlined to take the guesswork out of corporate compliance [1].
Corporate reporting legislation is the subject of intense debate and legal amendment. The Coalition Government committed to reform reporting law last year, and made additional commitments in this year’s budget [2]. However the details are currently unclear, following several consultations on this issue from two different Government Departments and the EU [3].
Lisa Nandy, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Corporate Responsibility said of the report:
“The UK’s existing legal framework for corporate non-financial reporting has been criticised by a number of independent experts, and its failings noted in the Government’s own recent review of the provisions in The Companies Act…. The Government has recently committed to reform social and environmental reporting requirements, and this report is a timely contribution to outlining the kind of reforms required to deliver a ‘UK PLC’ legal framework that is fit for purpose..”
Most companies, their stakeholders and governments agree that company narrative reporting is useful. Since 2007, medium and large UK companies have been required to produce an annual ‘Business Review’ which contains this information. However, current UK reporting standards focuses too much on flexibility for companies, at the expense of the high quality reporting needed by investors for risk management and to meet stakeholder needs. The lack of clear consistent standards about how and what companies should measure, analyse and report on also creates inefficiencies for companies themselves.
Hannah Ellis, Coordinator of The CORE Coalition said:
“The UK’s current legal regime is unhelpfully vague on narrative reporting obligations. CORE’s research highlights how through some relatively straightforward amendment to existing rules – the guess work currently required by companies could be effectively removed.”
The report comes at a time when there is growing recognition of the need for businesses to communicate effectively about their activities, given their influence over the environment, communities, supply chains and human rights.
Anne Lindsay, CAFOD Lead Private Sector Analyst added:
“This month in Geneva, governments will be deciding on the recommendations of the UN Special Representative on business and human rights and discussing how to make sure his work delivers results. The CORE report offers practical ideas to ensure that UK companies think about what they are doing to respect human rights in their operations overseas, by evaluating and reporting on any significant risks and impacts.”
Contact:
Hannah Ellis, Coordinator The Corporate Responsibility (CORE) Coalition 0207 566 1601 or (m) 07952 876 929
Lisa Nandy MP, Chair All Party Parliamentary Group on International Corporate Responsibility 0207 219 7188 or (m) 07896 668 601
Anne Lindsay, CAFOD Lead Analyst – Private Sector 0207095 5423 or (m) 07789652112
Notes
[1] The report Simply Put is written by Jennifer Zerk and produced by The CORE Coalition. It is available for download at http://corporate-responsibility.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Simply-Put.pdf and copies of the report are available on request from info@corporate-responsibility.org
[2] The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, (May 2010),
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/coalition-documents p10.
Budget Document The Plan for Growth
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_growth.pdf
[3] For an overview of these developments see Legal Commitments, Consultations & U-Turns produced in March 2011 by CORE
http://corporate-responsibility.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/reporting_timeline.pdf
Following two recent Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) consultations, a current consultation on GHG Emissions, is being carried out by The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) http://www.defra.gov..uk/consult/2011/05/11/ghg-emissions/
At a European Level, The Single Market Act adopted by The European Commission on 14th April 2011 states that the Commission will present a new proposal on social and environmental reporting legislation (p.15).
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/smact/docs/20110413-communication_en.pdf#page=2