Voluntary and Mandatory Reporting Standards and Reporting by

Voluntary and Mandatory Reporting Standards and Reporting by Government Agencies By Bill Blackburn International Workshop “The Role of Government in (C)SR” November 3, 2007 Vienna School of International Studies (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna) Co-Delegate for GRI to ISO 26000 William Blackburn Consulting, Ltd. Web: www. WBlackburn. Consulting. com Email: WRB@WBlackburn. Consulting. com Phone: 847. 530. 4014 © Copyright 2007: William R. Blackburn

Sustainability Reporting by Governments Global Reporting Initiative’s G 3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (with Public Agency Supplement) ISO 26000 draft reporting provisions Mandatory sustainability and environmental reporting Local Agenda 21 Campaign progress reports (UN-founded ICLEI Model Communities Programme from the 1992 Earth Summit) TBL as part of financial reporting by some local authorities (NZ, Australia)

INTEGRITY IN SR/SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING

Top Strategies for Strengthening the Credibility of Reports External verification 2. Being honest about mistakes and bad practices 3. External reporting standard (GRI) 1. Source: Pleon Kohtes Klewes Global Stakeholder Survey--2005

Reporting Principles (with Tests) Principles that help define report content – Materiality (significant impacts, substantially influence stakeholder decisions) – – Stakeholder inclusiveness Sustainability context Completeness Boundary setting Principles that help determine report quality – – – Balance Comparability Accuracy Timeliness Reliability Clarity

G 3 Report Content Strategy and analysis Organizational profile Governance, commitments & engagement Discussion of management approach (DMA) Performance indicators – – – Core and additional indicators Sector supplements (includes Public Agencies) National annexes

Special Focus Groups Public Agencies NGOs Small Enterprises

GRI Ties to International Government on Corporate Reporting Supports UNGC and OECD Guidelines implementation Mentioned at WSSD and 2007 G 8 meeting

ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility

ISO 26000 Update: Scope & Issues What it will be - International “guidance standard” providing practical guidance on 1. operationalizing social responsibility 2. engaging stakeholders 3. enhancing the credibility of SR reports and claims - Complementary to other intergovernmental and global SR initiatives (e. g. , UN, ILO, OECD, GRI) - Applicable to all types and sizes of organizations - Guidance emphasizing results and performance improvement What it will NOT be - A management systems (PDCA) standard - A specification standard for certification - A set of social obligations or expectations of the type properly defined by governments

ISO 26000 Update: Content: Implementing SR General guidance for organizations in implementing SR – Vision, strategy development – Stakeholder identification and engagement – Monitoring and measurement – Reporting and communication (but no indicators) – Etc. Reference existing tools Management system elements? ?

A Successful ISO 26000 Clear, understandable Flexible; workable for business, NGOs and government, et al. Not reinvent the big wheels (UNGC, GRI, OECD Guidelines, etc. ), but builds on them Not too complex, overwhelming

Some Mandatory Reporting Requirements SD strategies-and-plans reports: – Canadian federal agencies (1997 + every 3 years) – UK local authorities Environmental reports: – Public agencies in Hong Kong – Departments within the state of Victoria, Canada – Some Australian states

Some Noteworthy Reports Watercare Services Limited; Ministry for the Environment (NZ) City of Amsterdam Environmental & Building Department (NL) Greater Vancouver Regional District (CAN) The Royal Mail Group; NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (UK) Australian Dept of Family & Community Services Hong Kong Architectural Services Department UNEP Division of Technology, Industry & Economics Seattle, WA; Santa Monica, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Hamilton, ON; and Wolverhampton, UK; Oslo, NO municipal reports

William Blackburn Consulting, Ltd. Web: www. WBlackburn. Consulting. com Email: WRB@WBlackburn. Consulting. com Phone: 847. 530. 4014 Book: The Sustainability Handbook— The Complete Management Guide to Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility (See Web site)