...Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Defining Sustainability 2 What Sustainability means to Woolworths 3 Corporate Stakeholders of Woolworths 3 Woolworths Drive for Change 5 Integrated Reporting 6 Why Integrated Reporting? 6 Woolworths Integrated Reporting 7 The Future of Integrated Reporting 7 Conclusion 8 Word Count: 1995 Executive Summary This report examines the new world of sustainability reporting, and the complex web of stakeholders. It focuses particularly on the demands for new kinds of transparency which serve the interests of the environment and society. In this report, Woolworths, one of our major competitors has been analyzed in order to understand how they have evolved the concept of sustainability and how they have applied it to their organizational level. As a result, Woolworths has placed our organization at a competitive disadvantage. The report finds Woolworths future prospects as a positive template in managing our organization. Their engagement on sustainability issues with their stakeholders, customers, suppliers, investors and employees through their Sustainability Strategy have placed them in the lead. This report provides an opportunity on sustainability and integrated reporting for our organization. Introduction Over the years there has been an increase in pressure and concern over the impact that organizations have had on the environment and the society. As a result, organizations are being challenged...
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...The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting Ioannis Ioannou London Business School George Serafeim Harvard Business School Abstract We examine the effect of mandatory sustainability reporting on several measures of socially responsible management practices. Using data for 58 countries, we show that after the adoption of mandatory sustainability reporting laws and regulations, the social responsibility of business leaders increases. We also document that both sustainable development and employee training become a higher priority for companies, and that corporate governance improves. Furthermore, we find that companies implement more ethical practices, reduce bribery and corruption, and that managerial credibility increases. These effects are larger for countries with stronger law enforcement and more widespread assurance of sustainability reports. We conclude with thoughts about mandatory sustainability and integrated reporting. Keywords: sustainability reporting, mandatory reporting, corporate social responsibility, integrated reporting Assistant Professor of Strategic and International Management, London Business School, Regent’s Park, NW1 4SA, London, United Kingdom. Email: iioannou@london.edu, Ph: +44 20 7000 8748, Fx: +44 20 7000 7001. Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, Soldiers’ Field Road, Morgan Hall 381, 02163 Boston, MA, USA. Email:gserafeim@hbs.edu, Ph: +1 617 495 6548, Fx: +1 617 496 7387 (contact...
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...JOHNSON & JOHNSON: A CASE STUDY ON SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING When compiling data for its sustainability reports, Johnson and Johnson does not request direct input from its managerial accounting staff. What should be the role of management accountants in collecting and reporting sustainability data? Could Johnson & Johnson’s sustainability reporting be improved with input from managerial accountants? Why or why not? The role of the managerial accounting staff in sustainability should extend beyond the obvious one of collecting, analyzing and reporting sustainability-related information. Many accountants fill a variety of other positions within organizations, including senior management, in which they exert a more direct influence on strategy and decision making. The managerial accounting staff has a role to play in understanding, demonstrating and achieving the efficiencies that organizations can gain from sustainable business practices. The pursuit of sustainability depends on the generation, analysis, reporting and assurance of robust and accurate information (both financial and non-financial). But it is important that the managerial accountants gain an understanding of the concepts of sustainability and the challenges it poses in achieving long term growth in shareholder value or value for money. The accountanting staff, directly or in a supportive capacity, can help organizations embed sustainability issues into strategic planning and its execution...
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...Discuss the role that Corporate Social Reporting (sustainability reporting) plays in adding value to the Annual Report. Your answer could consider why organisations have chosen to disclose sustainability information when there is no legal requirement to do so, and how Sustainability Reports have developed in recent years. Whatever name they go by, corporate social responsibility reports are attempting to serve one essential purpose: they portray the relationship between a corporation and society. They seek to improve communications between the corporate world and the broader society within which companies report. The concept of corporate social responsibility first surfaced in the 1970s as both companies and governments began to look beyond financial performance, for a more comprehensive understanding of the company’s long-term value-creating potential. In subsequent years, a number of high-profile disasters, such as the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in India brought the issue of corporate accountability and transparency to center stage. Following a series of other disasters involving corporate giants like Shell with its human rights violations in Nigeria and Exxon Valdez spill in the 1990s firm stakeholders and indeed the wider public started asking what the price of doing business was…was it enough to round of a year of negative publicity by a bottom line figure? Environmentalists and human rights activists were particularly critical of the human rights violations...
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...Introduction Peoples wants are unlimited but unfortunately resources are not, and since the beginning of production firms have been depleting the Earths finite resources. Firms have now been attempting to achieve a sustainable existence, this is because one of the firms goals is to run indefinitely, without sustainability they may meet the need of the present but may sacrifice the needs of future generations. Companies now are looking to more sustainable products or services in order to keep their company running long into the future. BHP Billiton has taken one such initiative, as one of the largest mining companies, it understands the importance of the environment to big business, both social, environmental and economical, therefore has been producing readied sustainability reports for the past 3 years. Sustainability strategy BHPs sustainability strategy is incorporative of how they can match their capabilities to accomplish its objectives but without compromising their or futures generations ability to use their opportunities to achieve their goals in the marketplace. They have done this through four main foundations in which it is trying to improve sustainability; they include safety, healthcare, environmental effects and lastly the community at large. Safety is an important factor for BHP as it is a large mining company many of the jobs include some level of risk. There official motto for safety is “we do not compromise our safety values”. They planned to have Zero...
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... • Introduction 1 • Reasons for sustainability report 1 • Key features of mining and metal sustainability report 3 • Evaluation of Onesteel’s sustainability report 5 • Conclusion 6 • Recommendation 6 • Reference 8 Executive summary The purpose of this paper was to explain the reasons for which companies started to produce non-financial report and figure out the key features of sustainability report, and then evaluate the sustainability report of Onesteel in relation of the key features. This essay is based on academic journals and professional business websites, as well as information sourced from company’s sustainability report for the year of 2011. The paper discussed the key features of sustainability report mainly by the global reporting initiative sustainability reporting guidelines, such as the six principles (balance, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity and reliability) and the core indicators (environmental factors, human rights, labor practices and decent work, society, product responsibility and economic factors). In conclusion, the company of Onesteel is a leading one of mining industry, it had done well in sustainability report according to the key features of sustainability report. However, Onesteel should include the information about opportunities and predictions for future in order to make the sustainability report more completed, besides this, Onesteel should...
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...Green Mountain Coffee “Brewing a Better Day” Milestone One Kim Hureau Southern New Hampshire University Green Mountain Coffee “Brewing a Better Day” The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis on Green Mountain Coffee. This analysis will cover an overall market, cost and production and supply and demand analysis for Green Mountain Coffee, including Keurig. Green Mountain Coffee provides single serve brewed coffees in a variety of flavors and brewing styles to both the at home as well as corporate consumers. Green Mountain has an extreme focus on sustainability and green business practices and was the first company in the coffee industry to support the United Nation’s Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) mission to develop globally accepted sustainability reporting guidelines (Sustainability, n.d.). History of the Company Purchased by Robert Stiller in 1981 while vacationing in Waitsfield, Vt., Robert thoroughly enjoyed the coffee he bought when he stopped in at the small specialty coffee shop so much that he bought the store. In 1989, Green Mountain Coffee formed an environmental committee to address conservation concerns Robert Stiller had, this conservation program has remained a consistent social program through the many changes at Green Mountain. The Company changed their name to Green Mountain Roasters in 1993 and became a publically traded in company in September of that same year. In the late 1990’s, Green...
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...SUSTAINABILITY AT TELSTRA Bigger Picture 2014 Sustainability Report Sustainability at Telstra Contents CONTENTS About us Chairman and CEO message Sustainability scorecard Sustainability highlights Our approach Strategy infographic 03 04 05 06 07 08 Stakeholder engagement Key issues 09 10 11 Click on page links Transparency and accountability Bigger Picture 2014 Sustainability Report 2 Sustainability at Telstra About us ABOUT US Our business Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications and information services company, offering a full range of communications services and competing in all telecommunications markets. We employ close to 32,000 people directly, facilitate access to more than 1,900 points of presence across the globe and have one of Australia’s largest shareholder bases, with 1.4 million shareholders. We have a diverse range of customers, including consumers, small business, large enterprises and government organisations, and we strive to put them at the centre of everything we do. In Australia, our services are offered through 362 Telstrabranded retail stores, 90 Telstra Business Centres, 127 Telstra business and enterprise partners and are distributed by over 15,000 retail points of presence managed by our partners. In Australia we provide 16 million mobile services, 7.5 million fixed voice services and 3.7 million fixed data services. Telstra’s international businesses...
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... 2 2. Motivating factors for companies to publish sustainability reports 2 3. Key features of effective sustainability reports 3 3.1 General standard disclosures 3 3.2 Specific standard disclosures 3 3.3 Sector specific disclosures 4 4. The evaluation of Westpac’s sustainability report 4 4.1 General standard disclosures 4 4.2 Specific standard disclosures 5 4.3 Sector specific disclosures 5 5. Conclusion 5 6. Reference 6 Executive Summary This article is going to explain the reason for companies to present their sustainability behaviors and highlight the key feature of an effective sustainability report. Sustainability reports refer to disclose companies’ social and environmental performance. It is essential for the financial service industry to convey their sustainability profile and integrate this to their financial report. This article also makes an evaluation about Westpac’s sustainability report. Westpac’s sustainable reporting has used the table and bar chart to illustrate their sustainability performance accurate and transparent. Therefore, this report has a good quality. 1. Introduction...
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...Introduction ................................................................................................. P. 3 Evaluation - Reporting Quality Balance ........................................................................................................ P. 4 Comparability ............................................................................................ P. 5 Accuracy ..................................................................................................... P. 6 Timeliness ................................................................................................... P. 6 Reliability .................................................................................................... P. 7 Clarity ......................................................................................................... P. 8 Conclusion .................................................................................................... P. 9 Bibliography .............................................................................................. P. 10 Introduction Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is provides the globally applicable guidelines to business organization that voluntary use to design and ensure the quality of their sustainability reports. GRI framework is helping the organization to measure and report the sustainability report’s three aspects that includes economics, environmental and social performance. This framework can be used in any size...
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...Sustainability Reporting Guidelines & Oil and Gas Sector Supplement © 2000-2012 GRI Version 3.1/OGSS Final version The Oil and Gas Sector Supplement is based on the G3.1 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines © 2000-2012 GRI Version 3.1/OGSS Final version Oil and Gas Sector Supplement Sustainability Reporting Guidelines RG & OGSS Table of Contents Overview of the Guidance provided in this Document for the Oil and Gas Sector Human Rights Society Product Responsibility 43 47 52 Preface Sustainable Development and the Transparency Imperative General Reporting Notes Data Gathering Report Form and Frequency Assurance 10 Glossary of Terms Acknowledgments 12 12 13 14 54 54 55 56 58 Introduction Introductory Section for the Oil and Gas Sector Overview of Sustainability Reporting The Purpose of a Sustainability Report Orientation to the GRI Reporting Framework Orientation to the GRI Guidelines Applying the Guidelines Part 1 Defining Report Content, Quality, and Boundary Guidance for Defining Report Content Principles for Defining Report Content Principles for Defining Report Quality Guidance for Report Boundary Setting 16 17 22 26 Part 2 Standard Disclosures Strategy and Profile 1. Strategy and Analysis 2. Organizational Profile 3. Report Parameters 4. Governance, Commitments, and Engagement 5. Management Approach and Performance Indicators Economic Environmental Social: Labor Practices and Decent Work 40 29 29 30 30 31 33 34 36 ...
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...Tutorial 1 * Sustainability * Sustainability reporting * GRI Framework * S’pore Airlines & Capitaland to use GRI * Most Companies use GRI * Recommend for improvement * Should not commenting on “using other activity”, reduce fuel price” * Look @ quality of report and reporting process * Ask ourselves and benchmark what is quality of report Make reference to SGX Report print out * Look @ page 4 & page 5 on sustainability questions to use for coursework. * Page 4, potential risk * Not enough words for definition such as page 1 * Are there chart graphs of future? * Is company honest and transparent? * Is there a 2-way communication between stakeholders? * Be more critical and evaluate. * For e.g; being critical. If S’pore Airlines missed a point, recommend it. Do not critic activities. * Yes, a sustainability report should be audited. This would add points to assignment. * Do you want your stakeholders to believe report? Yes, get it audited say, “Yes, it has been reviewed.” * Do not describe activities. Do not describe what is sustainability. * Write all good things * Not everything is good. It would be good to be honest and highlight the negative. * For e.g; “ This report is good, because it also highlights the negative. It engages stakeholders. * Look @ GRI – Global reporting initiative Go to website as a guideline. Look @ content page > Search google on GRI > go to “G4...
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...publishing sustainability report 1 3. Key features of sustainability report 2 3.1 Completeness 2 3.2 Transparency 2 3.3 Comparability 2 4. Evaluation 3 4.1 Completeness 3 4.2 Transparency 3 4.3 Comparability 3 5. Conclusion 4 6. References 5 Executive summary Sustainability report is a kind of report which results from sustainable development, it aims at helping company to have a better long-term performance. Sustainability report is characterized by a range of information include environmental, social and governance. Sustainability report has a great impact on investment decision and company's financial performance. The motivation of company publish the sustainability report is the benefits which include more profit, reputation, and support from government and consumer. The key features of the sustainability report contain completeness, transparency and comparability. 1 Introduction With the growing demand for meaningful, timely and comparable data, sustainability report becomes more and more popular; almost every company will publish their sustainability report. Thus, stakeholders put more attention on the quality of sustainability report. This report will not only describe the motivation of company publish the sustainability report and...
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... 2013, 1:30 pm An introduction to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and sustainability reporting The Sustainability Initiative at NC State was started through the endowed gift of Lonnie Poole. As part of the Initiative we are examining sustainability issues throughout the curriculum. For accountants one of the most important issues of sustainability is reporting information to stakeholders. Just as we are learning about financial reporting in Intermediate Financial Accounting we also want to learn about sustainability reporting. The purpose of this case is to make you aware of sustainability reporting and sustainability reports. On the moodle site I have assigned each student a company that has prepared a report based on the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework and filed it with GRI. Each student should obtain the company’s report from the GRI webpage (globalreporting.org) or from the company’s corporate webpage. Sustainability reporting is not required Even though more and more companies are providing sustainability reports there is no requirement to report or any required standards like GAAP. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) currently provides a framework, with over 3,500 companies filing under the GRI framework. However, given that there is no enforcement of reporting companies may select different levels of reporting and different indicators to report on as well. This results in varied reporting and sometimes very incomparable results. However...
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...Among all stakeholders, recognition is focusing increasingly on the need for sustainable corporate practices, given pressing economic, social, and environmental problems on a global scale. By conducting business in ways that promote ecological health and human welfare, corporations increase value over the long term for consumers, shareholders and others for both current and future generations. Business students need to be familiar with, and committed to, principles and practices of corporate sustainability. This short essay outlines several sources in the literature on corporate sustainability provided by the following organizations: International Organization for Standardization (ISO); Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; International Federation of Accountants (IFAC); Ernst & Young; and Association of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). An annotated bibliography follows the discussion, highlighting articles of interest in corporate sustainability literature. Finally, figures provided in an appendix illustrate key concepts from the discussion. ISO 26000:2010 International Organization for Standardization * Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. A global consortium of experts in multiple aspects of quality-related standardization representing industry, nonprofits, government, healthcare, and academia. * Formulated by technical committees, standards are released after extensive review and a minimum 75% favorable vote by...
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