NFRCSR (Non-Financial Reporting and CSR) Resource Centre >

Mandatory non-financial reporting/disclosure REQUIREMENTS in some countries; Comparison of national legislations; Company law, etc.; Mandatory versus voluntary non-financial reporting; Pressures, initiatives for greater disclosure

· UNEP United Nations Environment Programme >

o Thematic Areas > Business & Industry > UNEP DTIE = Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics > Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics > Branches > Business & Partnerships > Further information > Business & Partnerships >

§ Sustainability Reporting > e.g. Public Sector and Reporting > e.g.

· Carrots and Sticks for Starters - Current trends and approaches in Voluntary and Mandatory Standards for Sustainability Reporting (.pdf, October 2006, 64 pp.; A joint report from UNEP and KPMG's Global Sustainability Services)

o »Carrots and Sticks for Starters« gives an overview and analysis of current trends and approaches in mandatory and voluntary standards for sustainability reporting and corporate responsibility as promoted through initiatives with reporting requirements.

o Listing over 100 initiatives and legislative requirements found in OECD countries and the emerging market economies of Brazil, India and South Africa, the publication provides a valuable update and guide for governmental officials and managers in multinational corporations.

o Contents:

§ Executive Summary

§ Introduction

§ Voluntary and mandatory reporting standards

· Voluntary standards and self-regulation

o Advantages of self-regulation

o Disadvantages of self-regulation

· Mandatory standards

o Advantages of mandatory reporting

o Disadvantages of mandatory reporting

§ Overview of selected standards

· Voluntary standards

· Mandatory standards

o For countries / regions:

§ European Union, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, USA

· Global and national assurance standards

§ Case Studies from five regions

· Brazil

· Denmark

· European Union

· India

· Japan

· South Africa

· United States of America

§ Conclusion: Where to start…

§ References

· KPMG Global Sustainability Services & Amsterdam Graduate Business School >>>

o KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2005 (.pdf, June 2005, 55 pp.; at WBCSD)

§ Or here (.pdf, at KPMG International) or here (.pdf, at KPMG Netherlands)

§ »KPMG believes it is the most comprehensive survey of its kind since its initiation in 1993. With its vast coverage of 1600+ companies, including the top 250 companies of the Fortune 500, the survey provides a truly global picture of reporting trends over the last ten years.«

§ See Appendices:

· Mandatory reporting »a summary of mandatory requirements in the countries surveyed as identified by the survey team«;

· Standards, codes & guidelines »on corporate management and reporting«

o KPMG International Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting 2002 (.pdf has 36 pp.)

· CorporateRegister.com & ACCA >

o Towards transparency: progress on global sustainability reporting 2004 (.pdf, 9 September 2004, 64 pp.)

· ESRA The European Sustainability Reporting Association

o In 2006, for the first time, the European participants are focusing on sharing European reporting developments and best practice from both country-specific and regional perspectives. This is (perhaps temporarily, ??) replacing the European Awards scheme and the ESRA acronym now stands for "European Sustainability Reporting Association", whose purpose is "to inspire and improve sustainability reporting in Europe by sharing developments of European countries".

o > e.g.

§ individual country-reports: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

· These reports are centred around eight main headings, also:

o Overview of any national government activity

· (historical website ??) GRI Global Conference: »Reporting: A Measure of Sustainability« (Amsterdam, 4-6 October 2006) > Program > Leadership Tracks > Block III > L10-Public Policy

o »Will a voluntary or mandatory approach to reporting better advance sustainability?«

§ Chair:

· Ton Boon von Ochssee, Ambassador Sustainable Development, The Netherlands

§ Introduction:

· Penny Wong, Senator, Australia

§ Panelists:

· Juan Jose Barrera, Director General for Social Economy, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Spain)

· Deborah Doane, Chair, CORE Coalition

· David Vidal, Director of Research, Global Corporate Citizenship, The Conference Board

· Cornis van der Lugt, Division Office, UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics

· CPASR The Centre for Public Agency Sustainability Reporting™ was launched in March 2005. Its mission is to improve the sustainability performance of public agencies through the practice of reporting. (Melbourne, Australia) >>

o Sustainability Reporting by public agencies: International uptake, forms and practice (.pdf, November 2005, 68 pp.)

§ See »Literature review« >

· 2.6. »Mandatory versus voluntary reporting« (see pages 15-17)

· Corporations and Market Advisory Committee (CAMAC; Australia) >

o Reports >

§ The social responsibility of corporations (.pdf, December 2006, 182 pp.)

· The Australian government is studying how best to induce corporate social responsibility (CSR), weighing the balance between regulatory requirements, voluntary incentives, and market-based inducements.

· Contents:

o Overview

o The international context

o Duties of directors

o Corporate disclosure

§ »The Advisory Committee has been asked to consider whether certain types of companies should be required to report on the environmental and social impact of their activities, in narrative or quantified form.«

§ By way of background and comparison, relevant developments in a number of other countries are outlined, see:

· 4.7. Overseas reporting requirements (pp. 125-135)

o USA, European Union, UK, France, Germany, South Africa, Canada

o Promotion of responsible practices

§ Summary of submissions (December 2006; .pdf has 92 pp.)

o Submissions >

§ Corporate social responsibility: Summary of submissions and individual submissions

o See also, e.g.:

§ related press release at CSRwire:

· The Social Responsibility of Corporations - Australian report covers world-wide issues on corporate social responsibility (12 December 2006)

§ >??> Corporate social responsibility – Discussion Paper (.pdf, November 2005, 128 pp.)

· Parliament of Australia >>

o Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (The committee is established by the (ASIC) Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.) > Completed inquiries >

§ Corporate responsibility: Managing risk and creating value (Date Completed: 21 June 2006)

· = Inquiry into corporate responsibility and Triple-Bottom-Line reporting, for incorporated entities in Australia

· > e.g.

o Report > View the report as separate downloadable parts >

§ Chapter Six - Sustainability reporting: background and current status >

· Overseas developments

o (United States, European Union, South Africa)

· The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (USA) >

o Convenings >

§ Institute for Responsible Investment (IRI) >>

· Issues >

o Corporate Disclosure of Environmental, Social, and Governance Data

§ »The IRI offers a brief survey of regulatory changes related to corporate reporting of environmental, social, and governance issues around the globe.«

§ Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom (UK), United States (USA)

· SSRN Social Science Research Network >> e.g.

o Social Reporting and New Governance Regulation: The Prospects of Achieving Corporate Accountability through Transparency (2005-?, work in progress; By David Hess, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan)

· CGA Online »The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada« >>

o (2005 report) Measuring Up: A Study on Sustainability Reporting in Canada

§ 100 pp. (in Three Parts), plus Survey (4 pp.)

§ In addition to unveiling its newly collected data (Part Two, .pdf), the CGA-Canada report also includes a comprehensive examination of global best practices and research related to sustainability reporting. See e.g.:

· CSR: The Current Environment (See Part One, .pdf)

o Sustainable Development & CSR, Corporate Sustainability Reporting

· The Future of Corporate Sustainability Reporting (See Part Three, .pdf)

o Future Drivers of CSR, Investor Pressures & SRI, Institutional Investors, Governments & Regulators, Consumers and Employees

o The Business Case for CSR and Corporate Sustainability Reporting

o Sustainability Reporting Horizons

§ Enhancing Corporate Sustainability Reporting, Improving Guidelines and Reporting Practices, Improving Credibility, The Role of Government, The Role of Securities Regulators, The Role of Society)

· InterPraxis (Canada) >

o Resources > Feature Reports > Corporate Accountability Dialogue >

§ Corporate Responsibility and Accountability in the Global Marketplace (.pdf, 2003, 15 pp.)

· See Appendix 4:

o CSR Legislation and Recent Significant Government and International Initiatives; National and international standards for corporate social responsibility or sustainability as it relates to business practice.

· Trucost (UK) »is an environmental research organisation established to help companies and investors understand the environmental impacts of business activities.« > e.g.

o Published research > e.g.

§ Briefing: New Non-Financial Reporting Regulations in Germany (in .pdf; 17 January 2005, 4 pp.; also international comparison)

§ Briefing: Environmental Reporting – Expect More (.pdf, 5 March 2004, 3 pp.)

§ Also briefings about OFR and EU Modernisation Directive

o News

· Economie teoretica si aplicata = Theoretical and Applied Economics > e.g.

o Arhive > 2007 > Nr. 11 / 2007 >

§ New Perspectives on Corporate Reporting: Social-Economic and Environmental Information (By Camelia Iuliana Lungu, Chirata Caraiani & Cornelia Dascalu; .pdf has 6 pp.)

· MUFAD - Muhasebe ve Finansman Ogretim Uyeleri Dernegi = AAFA Assocation of Accounting and Finance Academicians (Turkey; Also English version of website) > e.g.

o Dijital Archieves >> e.g.

§ A review on how CPAs should be involved in environmental auditing and reporting for the core aim of it (.pdf, 16 pp.; By Mehmet Özbirecikli)

· This Paper was presented in "The Balkan Countries' 1st International Conference on Accounting and Auditing" 8-9 March 2007

· Global Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure legislation (.pdf, September 2004, 2 pp.; Or here; By: Annemarie Meisling, assistant attorney at law at Lawhouse.dk)

o »Legislators and other financial rule-makers across the world are telling companies and institutional investors to say what part, if any, social responsibility plays in their business plans.«

· SRI World Group >

o SocialFunds.com > News > News Center > e.g.

§ By Category >

· Reporting

§ >> e.g.

· Environmental, Social and Governance Standards: Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full? (28 November 2007) - The spread of voluntary and mandatory ESG disclosure and performance standards for business raises the question, how robust is implementation and enforcement?

· The Problem with Voluntary Corporate Initiatives Is -- Well, They Are Voluntary (16 January 2007)

· Investors Call on S&P 500 Companies to Use New Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guidelines (5 October 2006)

· Canadian Social Investment Organization Recommends Mandating Global Reporting Initiative (20 September 2006)

· UK Kills Operating and Financial Review of Environmental and Social Information (8 December 2005)

· Institutional Investors Call on SEC, Wall Street, and Companies to Address Climate Risk (11 May 2005)

· Memo From: SRI Analysts To: Companies--Use GRI Sustainability Reporting Platform! (7 October 2004)

· UK Prepares To Mandate Environmental and Social Reporting (28 May 2004)

· Underreporting of Material Environmental Liabilities Persists (23 December 2003)

· Members of Congress Consider Social and Environmental Disclosure in SEC Filings (11 July 2003)

· SEC Urged to Strengthen Rules Governing Corporate Disclosure of Environmental Risks (21 August 2002)

· Companies Skirt Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities (8 April 2002)

· New French Law Mandates Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting (14 March 2002)

· Major UK Fund Manager to Require Environmental Reporting (19 April 2001)

· SEC Asked to Enforce Its Environmental Disclosure Rules (1 February 2001)

o Or / and:

§ OneReport^TM »The Sustainability Reporting Network« > e.g.

· News & Resources (and News Archive)

· Environmental Finance >

o Online News > e.g.

§ Mandatory reporting unnecessary, says Context (London, 27 July 2006)

· Most major companies are reporting on their environmental and social impacts voluntarily, making proposals to introduce mandatory reporting redundant, a corporate responsibility consultancy has said.

· Context, which helps produce reports, says that companies are reporting of their own accord and do not need government intervention to increase transparency.

§ Australian parliament pushes for sustainability risk disclosure (6 July 2006)

· An Australian parliamentary committee has recommended that sustainability reporting should not be made mandatory for major companies.

· Ethical Corporation »Analysis, Comment, Conferences« > e.g.

o Europe > e.g.

§ »European Commission: Pushing business-driven corporate citizenship« (16 May 2006)

· »No surprises as the European Alliance for CSR launches, encouraging voluntary corporate social responsibility practice«

o Special Reports > e.g.

§ Legal issues – Ultimate governance: the international regulation of corporate responsibility (11 January 2007)

§ »By Invitation: Ethical reporting and the law« (3 February 2005; By: Phillip H Rudolph, a corporate social responsibility partner in the Washington DC office of Foley Hoag LLP)

o By Invitation > e.g.

§ Book review - The failure of corporate law (8 November 2006)

· Joseph Singer recommends a new text on corporate law from Kent Greenfield

· »The Failure of Corporate Law: Fundamental Flaws and Progressive Possibilities is simply the best and most well-reasoned progressive critique of corporate law yet written.«

o »Search« might be useful.

§ Browse By Category > e.g.

· Non-Financial Reporting > e.g.

o The Operating and Financial Review - Testing transparency (4 January 2006)

o Why mandatory reporting has fallen from the EU agenda (19 August 2005; or at Spinwatch or SVN Europe)

o Turning on the lights (16 August 2005; Comment on the report »Influencing Power« by SustainAbility & WWF)

o The globetrotter's guide to stakeholder reporting (16 September 2004, 5 pp.)

o Renewed calls for mandatory environmental reporting (28 July 2004)

· Corruption & Lobbying > e.g.

o Corporate lobbying – rising up the CSR agenda (7 July 2005; Columnists; By: Mallen Baker)

· Regulation, Taxation & Legal Developments

· Business & Human Rights Resource Centre