Readability of sustainability reports

An increasing number of enterprises reports annually on the results attained in the field of sustainability in a so-called sustainability annual report. The reasons for reporting vary. One company finds it important because of an ethical perspective, whereas for another company reputation is the main motive. The question is if these reports always are in line with the readers’ needs. For readers it is often hard to assess if the report is complete, if the company is actually describing the main sustainability issues and if the company is really transparent (no ‘green washing’).

Trends

In cooperation with adelphi Consult from Germany, CREM studied this common ground between reporting enterprises and readers for the European Commission. The study shows the trends and main challenges in sustainability reporting. For example, one trend is to integrate sustainability reports with financial reports. An important challenge for enterprises is to produce a report that really meets the needs of readers and is attractive to read with a good balance between success stories and challenges. Governments try to encourage corporate reporting in various ways. Sometimes by obliging certain categories of enterprises to report, sometimes by creating an impetus. Think for example of the Dutch Transparency Benchmark that is organized annually by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.

Report

The report ‘The State of Play of Sustainability Reporting in the European Union’ provides a good overview for anyone wanting to know more about the state of affairs regarding sustainability reporting, including the trends, challenges and the role of governments. Below you find a summary of the report.

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• Contact: Marjon van Opijnen >>

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