CSR reporting -  Global Leaders awards

Two of my students found this report on Thursday - well done Natasha and Robyn! - while researching news reports about Nestle. The Lundquist Global Leaders ranking assesses how the world’s most sustainable companies are communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) online. It hits the button for AQA research bullet point 5 - the value and limitations to businesses and stakeholders of social reporting - and while the list of companies who they consider best at social reporting is interesting (Nestle came second), I think the most valuable part of the report are the comments made in the press release about how businesses deal with such reporting and the importance they place (or don’t place) on it.

The press release says that “The study finds many companies are locked into a once-a-year reporting mentality, failing to keep stakeholders updated in an engaging and dynamic manner.” It goes on to list some key findings:

• Companies provide a fair amount of pertinent CSR information online but fail to use the web’s potential for providing ongoing engagement and interactivity

• Websites perform best in providing environmental and social information as well as presenting CSR/sustainability reports

• Companies are weakest on dialogue, interactivity and information on governance, ethics and socially responsible investment (SRI)

• British companies performed well on average, along with the Dutch and Swiss, but US companies continue to perform below average

• Industries with major environmental impacts continue to perform best, such as utilities and oil & gas companies; financial and telecommunications companies fared worst