Other winners, selected from nearly 100 nominations by an independent panel of expert judges, included Anvil Knitwear, American Electric Power and SAP.
“Corporations in the 21st Century need to have transparent and honest disclosure of their environmental and social impact,” said Ceres President Mindy Lubber. “The winners of the Ceres-ACCA reporting awards serve as best practice models for corporate sustainability reporting that we hope will lead to improved sustainability performance.”
The Ceres-ACCA Reporting Awards program, which began in 2001, is aimed at recognizing exemplary reporting on sustainability performance by corporations, and other organizations across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The awards also provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports.
Ceres and ACCA believe that recognizing disclosure best practices is crucial to driving improvements in sustainability performance; that reporting motivates benchmarking, learning and goal-setting, and builds an accountability mechanism for internal and external stakeholders—as well as a platform for engagement. This year there were 98 entries from companies and organizations, representing more than 20 sectors. From these, 17 reports were short-listed and 4 winners chosen.
This year’s award winners are:
Nike’s report addresses the new context within which business must operate—one with a rising global population, decreasing natural resources, and an unstable climate—and reveals how Nike, in an effort to take a competitive advantage, is shifting to a more sustainable business model. In the report Nike recognizes that “sustainability is a route to profitability,” and to that end the report details how the company is integrating sustainability into strategic planning and decision-making, from its board of directors, to its product designers and across its supply chain. The report also demonstrates the company’s commitment to scaling sustainability solutions through the open sourcing of its audit and design tools and its integral role in the creation of the Green Xchange platform.
American Electric Power’s (AEP) Corporate Accountability report represents the company’s shift to a more integrated reporting model—combining AEP’s annual report to shareholders with its traditional sustainability disclosure. This new model of reporting represents the company’s efforts to provide the investor community with a better understanding of the materiality of its corporate sustainability strategies and performance. AEP also issues mid-year updates to stakeholders on its key performance metrics and performance against goals and targets.
Anvil Knitwear’s first sustainability report demonstrates the company’s commitment to the integration of sustainability into its business model. The company uses the web to deliver a compelling report and candidly describes key challenges facing the company and its industry. Anvil also drives consumer education through its interactive website TrackMyT.com, which allows customers to input the tracking number from a t-shirt and learn how the product was produced from farm to store.
SAP utilized web technology—including video, online dialogue forums, and customizable data charts—to create an interactive online platform for sharing its sustainability strategy and performance. The report offers stakeholders the opportunity to provide uncensored and real-time feedback on every page of the report. SAP also includes an interactive materiality matrix, which invites readers to submit their own materiality analysis for the company and view how the aggregate community feedback compares with the SAP’s own assessment.
Ceres is a leading coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as climate change and water scarcity. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1,800 companies using its guidelines. Last year Ceres released The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, a tool for companies and investors to integrate sustainability across their strategies and day-to-day decision-making. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), which includes 100 investor members with more than $10 trillion in collective assets under management.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a global body for professional accountants. It offers business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. It supports more than 140,000 members and 404,000 students throughout their careers, providing services through a network of 83 offices and centres. ACCA also participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of ACCA UK’s social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.
]]>Now in its tenth year, the awards program is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports.
Since launching the Ceres-ACCA North American Reporting Awards ten years ago, we’ve seen a substantial increase in both the quantity and quality of corporate sustainability reports in the U.S., Canada – and more recently, Mexico,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, “Not only is sustainability disclosure improving, but companies are now beginning to integrate that information into their financial reporting – a crucial step for companies, investors and other stakeholders to better understand how environmental and social performance affects a company’s bottom-line.
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The independent judging panel includes North American leaders and experts representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.
"Our aim is to promote ground breaking sustainability reporting practices by leading organizations," said Paul Costello, Head of ACCA Canada and USA. "This year's finalists are all fine examples for other companies to emulate as they demonstrate leadership in the public disclosure of important non-financial information."
American Electric Power
Anvil Knitwear
Baxter
Cemex
Covanta Energy
Duke Energy
Ford Motor Company
GE
HP
Intel
Mexichem
Nike
SAP
Seventh Generation
Suncor
UPS
Vancity
For more information about the awards program, visit our Awards section, or www.accaglobal.com/sustainability.
Ceres is a national network of more than 130 investment funds, environmental organizations, labor unions and other public interest groups working to increase corporate responsibility. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide.
In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1500 companies using the guidelines.
In early 2010, Ceres released The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, a tool for companies and investors looking to transition to a more sustainable economy. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) with more than 90 investor members with nearly $10 trillion in assets under management.
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
ACCA supports our over 131,500 members and 362,000 students throughout their careers, providing services through a network of 80 offices and centres. Our global infrastructure means that exams and support are delivered – and reputation and influence developed – at a local level, directly benefiting stakeholders wherever they are based, or plan to move to, in pursuit of new career opportunities.
In addition, ACCA participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of ACCA UK’s social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.
]]>The Ceres-ACCA Reporting Awards program, which began in 2001, is aimed at recognizing exemplary reporting on sustainability performance by corporations, and other organizations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Awards also provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to push sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports.
“Corporations in the 21st Century need to have transparent and honest disclosure of their environmental and social impacts,” said Ceres President Mindy Lubber. “The winners of the Ceres-ACCA reporting awards serve as best practice models for corporate sustainability reporting and demonstrates their dedication to improving sustainability performance.”
Ceres and ACCA believe that highlighting best practices in sustainability disclosure reporting is crucial to driving improvements in sustainability performance—which creates a platform for engagement, an accountability mechanism for internal and external stakeholders, motivates benchmarking, learning, and goal-setting. Sustainability disclosure is just one of 20 expectations for a sustainable 21st century corporation as defined by the newly released Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability. For more information about the Ceres Roadmap, please visit http://ceres.org/company-network/ceres-roadmap.
This year there were 93 entries from companies and organizations, representing over 20 sectors. From these, fourteen reports were short-listed including Citigroup, Coca-Cola, General Electric, and Suncor.
An independent panel of judges representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the non-profit, corporate and investment fields selected the winners.
This year’s award winners are:
Best Sustainability Report
The Timberland Company
Timberland’s report follows the company’s theme of “Responsibility runs deep” with its effective usage of a variety of disclosure strategies, quarterly updates with new data on key performance indicators, and an excellent discussion of the company’s challenges and their efforts towards building an industry-wide standard for labeling. The report also expands upon traditional communication strategies by offering stakeholders new opportunities to engage with Timberland on sustainability issues.
Best Sustainability Report (First Runner Up)
Ford Motor Company
Ford’s 2008-09 Blueprint for Sustainability Report addresses the fundamental challenge of sustainability and presents detailed discussion of the company’s economic recovery plan including current progress, restructuring plans, and sustainable strategies. In addition, the report clearly connects sustainability with the business strategy by highlighting past performance, mistakes made, how the company is working to further integrate sustainability into their business model, and their approach for identifying and assessing material risks.
Best Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Report
Seventh Generation The 2008 Corporate Consciousness Report takes a look into the company’s vision for “Reinventing the Purpose and Possibility of Business” with an in depth discussion of Seventh Generation’s engagement with its manufacturing partners to improve sustainability performance. The report provides transparent discussion of the increasingly competitive industry and describes how Seventh Generation is working to change its industry through collaboration for improved disclosure.
About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of over 130 investment funds, environmental organizations, labor unions and public interest groups working to increase corporate responsibility. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that lead to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1500 companies using the guidelines. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 90 institutional investors and financial firms with collective assets totaling nearly $10 trillion in assets under management.
About ACCA
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a global body for professional accountants, offering business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development through its sustainability awards program since 1991, and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries.
About CorporateRegister.com
CorporateRegister.com is the Communications Supporter of the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards program. CorporateRegister.com is the global corporate responsibility (CR) resources website. It hosts the world’s most comprehensive directory of CF and sustainability reports, profiling nearly 23,000 reports worldwide from over 5,000 companies. With an archive stretching back to 1990, it is indispensible for anyone working in the field of CR and sustainability report. www.corporateregister.com
Now in its ninth year, the awards program is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports.
“More corporations are voluntarily disclosing their sustainability performance than ever before – and a future where sustainability disclosure becomes mandatory may not be too far in the distance.” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. “The Ceres-ACCA awards recognize those companies that not only document their performance, both positive and negative, but also set clear targets for future progress.”
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The independent judging panel includes North American leaders and experts representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.
“Recognition of the importance and benefits of sustainability is an important ingredient in promoting ground breaking reporting practices by leading organizations,” said Paul Costello, Head of ACCA Canada and USA. “This year’s finalists are all fine examples for other companies to emulate as they demonstrate leadership in public disclosure of important non-financial information.”
Short-Listed Reports
For more information about the awards program visit www.ceres.org orwww.accaglobal.com/sustainability.
For further information, please contact: Kristen Lang Ceres lang@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 x128
Tina Hutchinson ACCA Canada tina.hutchinson@ca.accaglobal.com 416-966-2048 ext. 315
About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of over 130 investment funds, environmental organizations, labor unions and other public interest groups working to increase corporate responsibility. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1500 companies using the guidelines. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) with over 70 investor members with over $7 trillion in assets under management.
About ACCA
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world’s largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since 1991. ACCA is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries across the world and participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.
About CorporateRegister
CorporateRegister.com is the Communications Supporter of the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards program. CorporateRegister.com is the global corporate responsibility (CR) resources website. It hosts the world’s most comprehensive directory of CR and sustainability reports, profiling nearly 23,000 reports worldwide from over 5,000 companies. With an archive stretching back to 1990 it is indispensable for anyone working in the field of CR and sustainability reporting. www.corporateregister.com
]]>The purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports. The deadline for submissions is October 23, 2009. Apply online at www.ceres.org/reportingawards.
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 11 expert judges includes North American leaders representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds.
Last year’s award for Best Sustainability Report was given to General Electric, with Best Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Report going to Seventh Generation. The judges also recognized the sustainability reports of Ball Corporation and Symantec (co-winners of the Best First Time Reporting Award), the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Commendation for Innovative Reporting) and Dell, Inc. (Commendation for Emerging Issues Reporting).
Paul Costello, Head of ACCA Canada said, “The quality of reports has improved greatly during the nine years of these awards. We are anticipating that trend to continue this year and hope to see more submissions from first time reporters.”
Any Canadian, American or Mexican company, institution or organization can submit a report to the awards program. An organization not based in these countries can submit a report if it is solely focused on a site or subsidiary based in Canada, the United States, or Mexico. Companies may apply on their own behalf or be nominated by others.
"Transparent and honest disclosure that illustrates the full costs of environmental and social impacts and their integration into business strategies will level the playing field and provide investors with the information they need to reward companies on their sustainability performance," said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. "The Ceres-ACCA reporting awards set an example for companies to follow as sustainability reporting increases in priority for shareholders and other stakeholders.”
TO APPLY
Visit www.ceres.org/reportingawards. The deadline for submissions is October 23, 2009. For more information about the 2009 awards please read the Applicants’ Info Flyer.
For further information, please contact:
Kristen Lang
Corporate Programs Senior Associate, Ceres
lang@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 x128
Vince Mirabelli
Manager, Member Relations, ACCA Canada
Vincent.Mirabelli@ca.accaglobal.com, 416-966-2225
About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of over 130 investment funds, environmental organizations, labor unions and other public interest groups working to increase corporate responsibility. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1500 companies using the guidelines. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) with over 70 investor members with over $7 trillion in assets under management.
About ACCA
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world’s largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since 1991. ACCA is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries across the world and participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.
About CorporateRegister
CorporateRegister.com is the Communications Supporter of the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards program. CorporateRegister.com is the global corporate responsibility (CR) resources website. It hosts the world’s most comprehensive directory of CR and sustainability reports, profiling nearly 23,000 reports worldwide from over 5,000 companies. With an archive stretching back to 1990 it is indispensable for anyone working in the field of CR and sustainability reporting.
Now in its eighth year, the awards program is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports.
"Transparent and honest disclosure that illustrates the full costs of environmental and social impacts and their integration into business strategies will level the playing field and provide investors with the information they need to reward, or penalize, companies on their sustainability performance," said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. "The Ceres-ACCA reporting awards set an example for companies to follow as sustainability reporting becomes a bigger priority for shareholders and other stakeholders.”
“Recognition of the importance and benefits of sustainability reporting continue to increase and the leadership of these companies provide an example for others to emulate,” said Paul Costello, head of ACCA Canada and US.
This year there were 97 entries from North American companies and organizations. From these, 19 entries were short-listed, including Starbucks, Intel, and Vancity.
The winners were selected by an 11-person independent panel of judges representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds. The judging criteria focused on completeness, credibility, and effectiveness of communication.
This year’s award winners are:
GE Corporation, Fairfield, Connecticut
The 2007-08 Citizenship Report from GE provides a complete picture of how the company’s sustainability priorities are aligned with the company’s strategic business priorities. The report also presents these priorities in the context of emerging global challenges including climate change and energy, globalization, human rights, water scarcity, and the subprime mortgage crisis.
Seventh Generation, Burlington, Vermont
The 2007 Corporate Consciousness Report explores the company’s vision for a “Sustainable and Restorative” business model and reflects upon the challenges and complexities inherent to long-term sustainability for Seventh Generation, the industry, and greater society. The report is innovatively communicated through a web-based e-book, which incorporates video, blogs, and hyperlinks to the company’s website.
Ball Corporation, Broomfield, Colorado
The 2007 Sustainability Report comprehensively describes Ball’s approach to sustainability and highlights the company’s five key sustainability priorities. The report also details the company’s strategy for producing sustainable packaging and links the company’s need for an increased supply of recycled metals and plastics for its products with Ball’s efforts to increase community recycling infrastructure and support for community participation in recycling.
Symantec, Cupertino, California
Symantec’s 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report discloses the company’s materiality analysis and stakeholder engagement processes and includes a materiality matrix illustrating the issues and impacts of priority to the company. The report also incorporates innovative online communication mediums, including a podcast that presents the business case rationale for reporting, as well as candid discussion of the company’s experience and challenges as a first time reporter.
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC)
The Vancouver Organizing Committee’s Sustainability Report serves as a planning tool for making the 2010 Olympic Games more sustainable and is a clear example for how other project-based entities can and should address sustainability. The report details the Committee’s approach to stakeholder engagement and the process of prioritizing engagement of Aboriginal people. The report also discloses the Committee’s sustainable procurement strategy, including the environmental, social, and aboriginal objectives considered for purchasing decisions.
Dell Inc., Austin, Texas
Dell’s sustainability report identifies several emerging issues that are not only important to Dell, but the industry, including supply chain, HIV/AIDS, mining, nanomaterials, and retail. The report provides thoughtful insight into how the company prioritizes sustainability issues, including details of why an issue is of material interest to Dell and a description of what the company is doing to integrate the relevant risks and opportunities into Dell’s business strategy.
About Ceres
Ceres is the leading U.S. network of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 80 institutional investors and financial firms with collective assets totaling more than $7 trillion in assets focused on the risks and opportunities from climate change.
About ACCA
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development through its sustainability awards program since 1991, and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries.
About Corporate Register
CorporateRegister.com, the world's most comprehensive directory of corporate non-financial reports, profiling over 19,000 reports worldwide, is the communications partner for the awards program. For more information about the awards program visit www.ceres.org or www.accaglobal.com/sustainability.
Now in its eighth year, the awards program is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports. This year there was an increase in the number of submissions in the first time reporter and small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) categories. Six reports from the two categories made it into the final shortlist.
"In this time of economic duress, it is of utmost importance for companies to both understand and mitigate financial risks, including environmental and social impacts.” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. “The Ceres-ACCA reporting awards recognize those companies which not only document their performance, both positive and negative, but also set clear targets for future progress.”
"ACCA is encouraged to see a wide range of sectors represented in the shortlist this year, including four first-time reporters,” said Paul Costello, head of ACCA Canada and US. “Recognition of the importance and benefits of sustainability reporting continue to increase and the leadership of these companies provide an example for others to emulate.”
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 11 judges includes North American leaders and experts representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.
Short-Listed Reports
For 16 years, ACCA has held annual awards – first in the UK and now in more than 20 countries – to promote transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development. Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance.
CorporateRegister.com, the world's most comprehensive directory of corporate non-financial reports, profiling over 19,000 reports worldwide, is the communications partner for the awards program. For more information about the awards program visit www.ceres.org or www.accaglobal.com/sustainability.
About Ceres
Founded in 1989, Ceres is a leading network of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), comprised of 75 investor members who collectively manage more than $6 trillion in assets. For more information, visit www.ceres.org.
About ACCA
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development through its sustainability awards program since 1991, and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries.
Ceres-ACCA 2008 Reporting Awards Judges Panel
]]>William Blackburn
President
William Blackburn ConsultingChantal Line Carpentier
Sustainable Development Officer, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United NationsElizabeth Everhardus
External and Stakeholder Relations Coordinator
Ontario Ministry of the EnvironmenJenna Feldman
CSR Advisor
Canadian Business for Social ResponsibilityEric Fernald
Director of Research
KLD Research & AnalyticsJulie Fox Gorte
Senior Vice President for Sustainable Investing
Pax WorldAndrew Hoffman
Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise
The University of MichiganChris Jochnick
Director, Private Sector Team
Oxfam AmericaKatharine Partridge
Managing Partner
Stakeholder Research Associates, CanadaHeidi Soumerai
Director of Social Research
Walden Asset ManagementDavid Vidal
Research Director, Global Corporate Citizenship
The Conference Board
The purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports.
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 12 expert judges includes North American leaders representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds. The deadline for submissions is October 24, 2008.
This year’s awards will also feature a water risk theme. The panel of judges will analyze how companies are reporting on the risks and opportunities related to water and highlight examples of best practices.
Last year, Ford Motor Company and the Timberland Company both received the top award for Best Sustainability Report, while Suncor Energy, Inc. was recognized for its climate change disclosure and Dell, Inc. for the company’s excellent reporting on product stewardship. Both ACCA and Ceres expect the number of applicants to increase this year.
Lynn Beauregard, Administrative Head of ACCA Canada said, “The quality of reports has improved greatly during the eight years of these awards. We are anticipating that trend to continue this year and hope to see more submissions from first time reporters.”
Any Canadian, American or Mexican company, institution or organization can submit a report to the awards program. An organization not based in these countries can submit a report if it is solely focused on a site or subsidiary based in Canada, the United States or Mexico. Companies may apply on their own behalf or be nominated by others.
“Reporting environmental and social performance is essential for companies to both understand and mitigate financial risk and their environmental and social impact,” said Mindy, S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a national coalition of investors, companies and public interest groups. “The Ceres-ACCA Awards recognize innovation, leadership, and best practices in such corporate reporting.”
To apply:
For more information about the 2008 awards please read the Applicants’ Info Flyer and visitwww.ceres.org/reportingawards.
To submit your report you can download the application form or complete the online application by visiting www.ceres.org/ACCAreportingawardsapplication.
The deadline for submissions is October 24, 2008
For further information, please contact:
Kristen Parkinson
Corporate Programs Senior Associate
Ceres
617-247-0700 x128
parkinson@ceres.org
Vince Mirabelli
Manager, Member Relations
ACCA Canada
416-966-2225
Vincent.Mirabelli@ca.accaglobal.com
About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of over 100 investment funds, environmental organizations, labor unions and other public interest groups working to increase corporate responsibility. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1300 companies using the guidelines.
About ACCA
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world’s largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since 1991. ACCA is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries across the world and participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.
The 7th annual Ceres-ACCA North American awards program, sponsored this year by Weber Shandwick’s Planet 2050, is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American companies and other organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports.
“The Ceres-ACCA Awards reward transparency by giving recognition to organizations that report environmental and social performance in the most complete and credible way. We do not reward rhetoric,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a national coalition of investors, companies, and environmental groups. “These reports articulate ambitious goals, make the business case for sustainability, discuss areas for improvement, and reflect the feedback— both laudatory and critical – of key external stakeholders.”
“As stakeholders grow increasingly savvy in their understanding of sustainability issues, they’re also increasingly demanding about the quality of CSR information they expect from companies,” said Jeff Swartz, Timberland’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We work hard to ensure that we’re providing current, relevant and transparent communications to our stakeholders, and we’re honored to receive this important recognition of our efforts.”
This year there were 87 entries from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. From these, 21 entries were short-listed, including Gap, Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Starbucks, Nike, and Weyerhaeuser.
The winners were selected by a 12-person independent panel of judges representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds. The judging criteria focused on completeness, credibility, and effectiveness of communication.
This year’s award winners are:
Best Sustainability Report (co-winner)
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan
The 2006/07 Sustainability Report from Ford clearly identifies the material sustainability issues affecting the company, including climate change, human rights, sustainable mobility in emerging markets and safety. The report discloses the greenhouse gas emissions of Ford’s fleet and benchmarks tailpipe emissions per vehicle against industry averages. It also communicates well through both an online and print report; the printed copy encourages reader to learn more online and the website provides an easy-to-navigate format.
Best Sustainability Report (co-winner)
The Timberland Company, Stratham, New Hampshire
Timberland’s 2006 Corporate Social Responsibility Report provides a comprehensive dashboard of key performance indicators and trends that illustrate progress to date on existing goals and sets new goals for the following year. It discusses Timberland’s influence on its supply chain with strong disclosure on factory location, factory growth, and the company’s monitoring, assessment and remediation program. In addition, it provides a thoughtful discussion of how the company is encouraging responsible action among its customers by providing product-specific sustainability information, and shares external feedback on Timberland’s material issues through extensive stakeholder quotes and commentary.
Commendation for Climate Change Reporting
Suncor Energy, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
The 2007 Report on Sustainability from oil sands producer Suncor highlights the strategic importance of climate change for the company by highlighting the risks and opportunities the company faces. The report describes the management accountability structure for addressing climate change at Suncor, from the board of directors down, and discloses comprehensive and detailed carbon emissions data, both historical and forward-looking, on each of the company’s primary business areas.
Commendation for Product Stewardship Reporting
Dell Inc., Austin, Texas
Dell’s sustainability report provided notable discussion about how the company is working to integrate sustainability considerations into the design, manufacture and recovery of its products. It details Dell’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) process and the company’s recovery, reuse, and recycling efforts, including global recycling and environmental standards, consumer recycling and donation programs, and commercial asset recovery services.
About Ceres
Ceres is a national coalition of investors, environmental groups, and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. In 1997 Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative, which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk, a group of more than 60 institutional investors from the U.S., Europe, and Canada who collectively manage $5 trillion in assets.
About ACCA
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development for over a decade and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with 296,000 students and 110,000 members in 170 countries.
About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick's Planet 2050 is a specialist communications and change management agency designed to help business, NGOs and governments navigate the environmental and social challenges needed to operate in a planet under pressure.
For 15 years, ACCA has held annual awards -- first in the UK and now in more than 20 countries -- to promote transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development. Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance.
Planet 2050, the lead sponsor of this year’s awards, is a specialist communications and change management agency from the Weber Shandwick network, designed to help business, NGOs and governments navigate the environmental and social challenges needed to operate in a planet under pressure. Planet 2050’s understanding of corporate responsibility is built upon the premise that responsible business practice not only delivers real social and environmental benefits, but is critical to long term business value and reputation.
CorporateRegister.com, the world's largest online directory of corporate non-financial reports, is the communications partner for the awards program. For more information about the awards program, call 617-247-0700 x39 or visit www.ceres.org orwww.accaglobal.com/sustainability.
About Ceres
Founded in 1989, Ceres is a leading network of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), comprised of over 60 institutional investors who collectively manage more than $4 trillion in assets. For more information, visit www.ceres.org.
About ACCA
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since 1991 and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with 296,000 students and 115,000 members in 170 countries. In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.
Ceres-ACCA 2007 Reporting Awards Judges Panel
Kathrin Bohr
Vice President, Member Development & Managing Director
Canadian Business for Social Responsibility
Chantal Line Carpentier
Sustainable Development Officer, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
Valerie Chort
Partner
Deloitte & Touche's Enterprise Risk Services
Elizabeth Everhardus
Director, Communications & Special Projects
Pollution Probe
Julie Fox Gorte
Senior Vice President for Sustainable Investing
Pax World
Greg Hoover
Research Associate, Energy, Environmental and Transportation Policy
Conference Board of Canada
Chris Jochnick
Director, Private Sector Team
Oxfam America
Steve Lydenberg
Chief Investment Officer
Domini Social Investments
Jennifer Nash
Executive Director, Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Katharine Partridge
Managing Partner
Stakeholder Research Associates, Canada
Heidi Soumerai
Director of Social Research
Walden Asset Management
David Vidal
Research Director, Global Corporate Citizenship
The Conference Board
Contact:
Brooke Barton, Ceres, 617-247-0700 x39, barton@ceres.org
Paul Costello, ACCA, 416-466-9115, paul.costello@ca.accaglobal.com
The purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports.
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 12 expert judges includes North American leaders representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds.
This year's awards will also feature a climate change theme. The panel of judges will analyze how companies are reporting on the risks and opportunities related to climate change and highlight examples of best practice.
"Hundreds of companies are trying to increase accountability to stakeholders by investing serious time and energy into reports disclosing their social and environmental impacts and performance," said Ceres president Mindy S. Lubber. "We think it is important to recognize innovation and leadership in such corporate reporting."
"Sustainability reporting is a key driver of corporate social responsibility behaviors," added Lynn Beauregard, administrative director of ACCA Canada. "It plays a vital role in improving not only communication, but also credibility and trust between organizations and their stakeholders. It also provides a clear framework for all stakeholders to compare companies on their social and environmental performance."
Last year, Ceres and ACCA received reporting award applications from 102 companies. Vancity, a Canadian financial co-operative, and Bristol-Myers Squibb were top award winners. Both ACCA and Ceres expect the number of applicants to increase this year.
Any Canadian, American or Mexican company, institution or organization can submit a report to the awards program. An organization not based in Canada, the United States, or Mexico can submit a report if it is solely focused on a site or subsidiary based in Canada, the United States, or Mexico. Companies may apply on their own behalf or be nominated by others.
ACCA has been promoting greater transparency in corporate reporting of social and environmental impacts since 1991 and is involved in similar reporting awards throughout Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. Ceres launched and led the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with the United Nations Environment Program, until it became an independent, international standard-setting organization in June 2002. The number of companies around the world that follow the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines is now nearly 1000.
To apply for the 2007 awards, please read the Applicants' Info Flyer and complete theApplication form. For additional information click here.
For further information, please contact: Brooke Barton, Manager of Corporate Accountability at Ceres, at 617-247-0700 x39 or barton@ceres.org; or Nigel Hall, Sustainability Awards Organizer at ACCA Canada, at 416-966-2225 or Nigel.Hall@ca.accaglobal.com
About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of investors, environmental organizations, labor unions and other public interest groups working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the "triple bottom line" of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with more than 1,200 companies using the guidelines. For more information, visit http://www.ceres.org
About ACCA
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world's largest international accountancy body with 296,000 students and 115,000 members in 170 countries. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since 1991. ACCA is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries across the world and participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.
]]>The Ceres-ACCA North American awards program, now in its sixth year, is designed recognize and encourage exemplary reporting on sustainability issues by corporations and other organizations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish corporate sustainability reports.
“These winnings reports are the best of the best in articulating sustainability strategies, setting clear targets and identifying actions and areas that need improvement,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a national coalition of investors, companies and environmental groups.
“We know we aren’ t perfect,” says Dave Mowat, CEO of award recipient Vancity Group. “We set incredibly high standards for ourselves. This document gives us a report card on how we are doing, allows us to see potential issues and opportunities that may be on the horizon, and helps us build trust with our members, employees, and communities.”
“We are proud to recognize the innovation and leadership these companies have demonstrated in recognizing the importance of improved non-financial reporting,” said Lynn Beauregard, Administrative Director and Head of ACCA Canada. “We encourage others to follow their lead.”
The winners were s elected by a diverse panel of 14 judges who focused on the reports’ completeness, credibility and effectiveness of communication. As part of today’s awards ceremony, Ceres and ACCA also released the Report of the Judges , which highlighted the state of the art in sustainability reporting, as well as areas in need of improvement, including continued inadequate disclosure by companies on climate risk, lobbying activities and product responsibility.
This year’s award winners are:
Best Sustainability Report
Vancity Group, Vancouver, British Columbia: Vancity’s winning 2004-2005 Accountability Report is an example of consolidated sustainability reporting, combining Vancity and Citizens Bank’s sustainability reports into one. The report sets future targets and action plans and holds a member of Vancity’s executive team accountable for each target. The report also provides an update on 44 targets and action plans set in 2004-2005. For advice in preparing its report, Vancity invited 26 community leaders and members from across Canada to comment on the report’s credibility, completeness, and responsiveness. Vancity also worked with stakeholders to set aggressive targets, invited external auditors to check how the organization is doing against these targets, report back the results - both good and bad, and verify that the report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative.First Runner-Up: Best Sustainability Report
Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York: Bristol-Myers Squibb’s web-based sustainability report clearly identifies the material sustainability issues affecting the company, including: governance and compliance, serious diseases with unmet medical needs, intellectual property and pricing, access to medicines and healthcare, and energy and water conservation. The report benchmarks Bristol-Myers Squibb’s environmental performance against that of its competitors and discloses donations made by the company to all political candidates, parties, and political action committees.Co-Winner: Best First-Time Sustainability Report
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, VT: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ 2005 Corporate Social Responsibility Report discusses the complexities of the company’s coffee-sourcing activities in a clear and engaging manner. The report also includes data from previous years to provide historical context, expressed in meaningful percentages and ratios. The report provides a thoughtful analysis of employee compensation, one of the few reports to address this issue.Co-Winner: Best First-Time Sustainability Report
Mountain Equipment Co-op, Vancouver, BC: Mountain Equipment Co-op’s inaugural Accountability Report has helped the cooperative develop a reporting system and the capacity to measure and understand its performance. The report conveys the cooperative’s commitment to transparency through full disclosure of non-compliance in its supply chain and of the material issues affecting the cooperative. The report also included the results of a series of employee engagement surveys and discusses employee satisfaction, turnover rates, and fair compensation.
About Ceres
Ceres is a national coalition of investors, environmental groups, and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. In 1997 Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative, which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk, a group of more than 50 institutional investors from the U.S., Europe, and Canada who collectively manage nearly $4 trillion of assets. For more information, visithttp://www.ceres.org
About ACCA
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development for over a decade and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with over 345,000 members and students in 160 countries.
Now in its sixth year, the purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practices in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports.
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 14 judges includes North American leaders and experts representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.
Short-Listed Reports
Alcan
Baxter International
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Citigroup
General Electric
Green Mountain Coffee (1st time reporter)
Harwood Products (SME)
Hewlett-Packard
Mountain Equipment Cooperative (1st time reporter)
Nexen
PotashCorp
Shell Canada
Starbucks
Telus
Timberland (corporate report)
Timberland (Dominican Republic facility report)
TransAlta
Vancity Group
Weyerhaeuser
For 15 years, ACCA has held annual awards -- first in the UK and now in more than 20 countries to promote transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development. Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. The Ceres-ACCA Awards Program was launched in 2001.
"The Ceres-ACCA Awards reward transparency by giving recognition to those organizations that report sustainability information in the most complete and credible way. We do not reward rhetoric,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres. “We are looking for organizations which document their key impacts and clearly explain changes in performance, positive or negative, and set a vision and targets for future progress. The Ceres-ACCA judging panel now has the difficult task of selecting the 2006 winners from this high quality shortlist.”
"ACCA is encouraged to see a wide range of sectors make the shortlist this year, including mining, telecommunications, banking and retailing,” said Rachel Jackson, Head of Social and Environmental Issues at ACCA. “These organizations have made the sensible business decision to be more accountable to their stakeholders by reporting publicly.”
CorporateRegister.com, the world's largest online directory of corporate non-financial reports, is one of the communications partner for the awards program, along with Canadian Business magazine and the Canadian Environment Awards run by Canadian Geographic. For more information about the awards program, call 617-216-7215 or visit www.ceres.org orwww.accaglobal.com/sustainability.
About Ceres
Founded in 1989, Ceres is a leading network of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), comprised of more than 50 institutional investors who collectively manage nearly $4 trillion in assets. For more information, visit www.ceres.org.
About ACCA
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world’s largest international accountancy body with 110,000 members and 250,000 students in 170 countries. ACCA's headquarters are in London, and it has an extensive network of nearly 80 offices and other centers around the world. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since the early 1990s. ACCA is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries across the world and participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.
Ceres-ACCA 2006 Reporting Awards Judges Panel
Helena Barton
CEO, Corporate Context Inc.
Kathrin Bohr
Director, Member Development, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility
Barbara Bramble
Senior Program Advisor in International Affairs, National Wildlife Federation
John Chibuk
Senior Policy Analyst, Strategic Policy Branch, Industry Canada
Valerie Chort
Partner, Deloitte & Touche’s Enterprise Risk Services
Elizabeth Everhardus
Director, Communications & Special Projects, Pollution Probe
Richard Ferlauto
Director, Pension and Benefit Policy, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Julie Fox Gorte
Vice President and Chief Social Investment Strategist, Calvert Group
David C. Greenall
Senior Research Associate, Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility, The Conference Board of Canada
Chris Jochnick
Director, Private Sector Engagement, Oxfam America
Chantal Line Carpentier
Head, Environment, Economy and Trade Program, Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Jennifer Nash
Director, Regulatory Public Policy Program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Katharine Partridge
Managing Partner, Stakeholder Research Associates, Canada
Heidi Soumerai
Director of Social Research, Walden Asset Management
Contact:
Brooke Barton, Ceres, 617-216-7215, barton@ceres.org
Nigel Hall, ACCA, 416-966-2225, Nigel.Hall@ca.accaglobal.com
The Ceres-ACCA North American awards program, now in its fifth year, is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American companies and other organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports. This year's awards are sponsored by CoVeris, an independent corporate verification firm.
"Sustainability reporting is the driver, the lynchpin, to improving corporate performance on sustainability challenges such as workplace conditions or global climate change," said Mindy S. Lubber, president at Ceres, a national coalition of investors and environmental groups. "These winning reports are the best of the best in articulating sustainability strategies, setting clear targets, and identifying actions and areas that need improvement. Ceres is proud to recognize the innovation and leadership these companies have all demonstrated and we encourage more businesses to follow their lead."
Selected by a panel of 11 judges who focused on the reports' completeness, credibility and effectiveness of communication, the award winners are:
Best Sustainability Report (two co-winners)
Nike Inc., Beaverton, OR: Nike's winning 2004 Corporate Responsibility Report included unprecedented disclosure about the names and locations of the more than 700 active contract factories that currently make Nike-branded products worldwide. The report also discusses the impact of environmental performance on the company's product design and manufacture, and candidly discusses the challenges and unresolved complexities of monitoring as a mechanism for measuring company and contractor performance.
For advice in preparing its report, Nike invited experts from trade union, NGO, academic, investor and business communities acting in their capacities as individuals to participate in a Report Review Committee. Convened by Ceres, the committee provided feedback that helped establish the scope, coverage and focus for the company's report.
Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA: For a second consecutive year, HP has won the award for best sustainability report. Its 2005 Global Citizenship Report identifies the company's three primary sustainability challenges: electronic waste reduction, improving environmental and social performance in its extensive supply chain, and increasing global access to information technology. The report also presents the company's global reach and overall performance, in contrast to many other reports that focus exclusively on North American issues and impacts.
Best Small or Medium Enterprise Report
Seventh Generation, Burlington, VT: Seventh Generation's Corporate Responsibility Report, Widening the Lens, is a pioneering effort in transparency for a privately-owned company. In addition to describing the company's extensive stakeholder engagement efforts, the report includes candid employee testimonials revealing how the company responded to various challenges to its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The report also details how life-cycle analysis impacts its product design, and describes the company's efforts to motivate its suppliers to meet sustainability goals. Seventh Generation is the nation's leading marketer of non-toxic, environmentally safe household and personal care products.
Commendation for Continued Excellence in Integrated Reporting
Dofasco Inc., Hamilton, Ontario: For the third straight year, Dofasco has taken the unusual step of integrating sustainability reporting into its Annual Report. Employing this approach reinforces Dofasco's message to its shareholders that sustainability is a core part of its business strategy and that the company's social and environmental performance are just as important as the company's fiscal performance. The report details the company's performance in energy use, air and water quality, waste use and management of secondary materials, and includes an open letter from community stakeholders. Dofasco is Canada's largest steel producer, serving customers throughout North America.
Commendation for Continued Excellence in Social Reporting
Gap Inc., San Francisco, CA: Gap was once again awarded for excellence in social reporting. As in its 2003 Social Responsibility Report, Gap reports on its progress and challenges in implementing a social responsibility program throughout its retail apparel and garment manufacturing supply chain. The report also describes the company's diverse range of stakeholder partnerships that influence its program implementation, and includes an external stakeholder statement.
Julie Gorte, Vice President and Chief Social Investment Strategist at the Calvert Group, presented the top award to Nike and Hewlett-Packard at a ceremony today at the Ceres Annual Conference in Oakland. "While I commend all of the winners of this year's awards for their outstanding efforts at disclosure and transparency, Nike and Hewlett-Packard deserve special recognition for their efforts," said Gorte, a Ceres board member. "By revealing its factory list, Nike has shown its commitment to shaping labor standards around the world, and to creating a norm where responsibility and competitiveness go hand-in-hand. And Hewlett-Packard, once again, has produced a report that serves as an excellent benchmark for companies seeking to enhance the quality and credibility of their non-financial reporting."
"Each year we see more companies striving to increase accountability to their stakeholders by investing time and energy into sustainability reports that disclose their social and environmental impacts and performance," said Nigel Hall, Head of Member Affairs at ACCA Canada. "This year the number of reports submitted to the judges increased by nearly 30 percent. We are pleased to see an upward trend toward improved disclosure and transparency in North America."
About ACCA: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development for over a decade and is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries around the world. ACCA is the largest international accountancy body with over 345,000 members and students in 160 countries.
About Ceres: Ceres is a national coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change.
About CoVeris: CoVeris is an independent provider of assurance services dedicated to helping clients achieve results through responsibility. CoVeris offers assurance in corporate sustainability; environmental, health & safety auditing; and security & business continuity. For over 20 years, CoVeris auditors have been meeting client needs across diverse industry sectors in over 50 countries.
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