Assurance of Sustainability Reports
Professor Jeffrey Ridley Professor Dr. Kenneth D’Silva
Centre for Research in Accounting, Finance & Governance London South
Bank University, London, England
CIBS LECTURE 14TH FEBRUARY 2012
EABIS 9th Annual Colloquium 2010 St. Petersburg, Russia
Contribution of Internal Auditing to Sustainability Assurance in Emerging Markets
Corporate Governance Vol. 11 issue 4 2011
- A New Era of Sustainability
UNGC (2010)- Vision 2050 – The new business
agenda WBCSD (2010)
- Europe 2020 – A strategy for sustainable and inclusive growth
EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSION (2010)
Governance and Stakeholder Theories
...encompasses environmental, social and corporate governance issues, as embodied in its Ten Principles which cover UNGC (2010)
HUMAN RIGHTS
LABOUR
ENVIRONMENT
ANTI-CORRUPTION
Nine Sustainable Pathways 2050
WBCSD (2010)
PEOPLE’S VALUES * HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMY * AGRICULTURE * FORESTS
ENERGY & POWER * BUILDINGS
MOBILITY * MATERIALS
Vision 250 WBCSD (2010 p. 60)
With significantly more capitalflowing among increasing groups ofcollaborators, there will be growing
demand for transparency, whichinvolves reporting, accounting and
assurance services.
Current Organisation Issues and Guidance UNGC (2010) p. 47
Interrelated sets of enabling conditions for [FULLY] integrated sustainability
CUSTOMERS
EDUCATION
MEASURES
REGULATION
EUROPE 2020 (EC 2011)
The Commission is proposing five measurable EU targets for 2020 that will steer the process and be translated into national targets:
- employment - research and innovation - climate change and energy- education - poverty
They represent the direction we should take to measure our success.
Our Content Analysis of UNGC New Era of
Sustainability• YES NO
• MANAGE W AUDIT
• MONITOR O ASSURANCE
• MEASURE R COMPLIANCE
• GOVERNANCE D CHECK
• REGULATE S INSPECT
• REPORT
Monitor & Measure
SUSTAINABILITY ASSURANCE UMBRELLA
Internal External Independent
Objective
Management GlobalSupervisionGovernment
Regulator
INTERNAL AUDIT
Independent
Objective
EXTERNAL AUDIT
International Research Conference 2011 The Sustainability Challenge
Assurance of Sustainability Reports:Insights And Evidence from
UK Companies
Included - Anuj Saush, LSBU Energy & Environment Manager
Research Paper AbstractPurpose
The purpose of the paper is to illuminate
the linkage between governance and
sustainability considerations, and to
highlight the fact that the value of
sustainability reporting is diminished
when it is not independently assured
Research Paper Structure
INSIGHTS
1. Governance and Stakeholder Theory
2.International Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting and ASSURANCE
EVIDENCE
3.Current reporting practices and ASSURANCE in UK companies
POLICY CONSIDERATIONS AND CHANGE
Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
GRI (2011)
Uses the term ‘external assurance’ to
refer to activities designed to result in
published conclusions on the quality of the
report and the information it contains.
Assurance in UK Companies
8 GRI Reporting Framework registered 18/5/2011
Application Levels Reported
Acelor Mittal A+ x 2Anglo American A BAE Systems B+ x 1BG Group B x 1 British American Tobacco C+ x 1London 2012 CSegro U* x 3Thomas Cooke Group
Assurance in UK Companies Assurance
Content Analysis
Published
Conclusions
Policy Considerations and Change
ORGANISATION ASSURANCE CHANGES NEEDED
Stakeholders – involvement evident before reporting
Responsibility – include verification practices in reporting
Board – to be driven by all board committees
Coordination of assurance – evidence of independence
Published conclusions – compliance with GRI framework
Motivation for improvement – use of awards and standards
MULTI-CHOICE QUESTIONS