Measuring the Transparency of Environmental Sustainability Reporting

Here is a link to the pdf of Measuring the Transparency of Environmental Sustainability Reporting by:

Brad Rawlins, Brigham Young University
Katie Paine, KDPaine & Partners, and
Peter Kowalski, KDPaine & Partners

Summary:

The websites of Fortune 50 companies were evaluated to determine the depth and detail of information presented on environmental sustainability efforts of the company. A summary measure, called the Environmental Reporting Transparency Scorecard, was used to rank the companies. Findings:

· Environmental sustainability reporting is still being used as a public relations tool to position companies favorably on environmental issues, rather than to hold companies accountable to stakeholders for environmental performance.

· The majority of the Fortune 50 are providing some kind of environmental information online, but there is room for improvement in the adoption of the interactive and integrated technology that is available for reporting and stakeholder participation within the Web medium. These technologies would enhance the transparency of the reporting process.

· There is little evidence of stakeholder involvement in the environmental sustainability reporting process. If companies are involving stakeholders in this process, the disclosure of such participation would improve the appearance of transparency.

· Involving third party groups that provide reporting standards helped organizations to be more transparent in their reporting process, as determined by the ERTS scorecard.

Comments

[Festival]

It's very knowledgeble information so any one can read it.

[Diane Lennox]

Reports like this begin to form the foundation of ROI that will ring CEO's bells. As SAS CEO Jim Goodnight said at the launch of the company's SAS for Sustainability Management (shameless plug for my employer), it doesn't matter what you believe about the causes of climate change, addressing it has become a business reality, thanks to media attention and consumer concerns. Sites like http://www.climatecounts.org/scorecard_overview.php showcase companies that are communicating their efforts publicly, so too do studies like yours, which helps put some context and credibility around the claims. Your study will also help poke holes in false claims, which mask company efforts to milk the media obsession with "green" by trumpeting token activities. The analytics angle will become increasingly interesting, as it will enable companies to demonstrate which efforts are actually meaningful in the larger picture, both economical and environmental.