Does your company use integrated reporting? The International Integrated Reporting Council wants feedback from businesses about this approach to corporate reporting — the organization released the International <IR> Framework in 2013 — and today launched a worldwide call for feedback on its implementation.
The two-month comment period is aimed at businesses, investors, regulators, policy makers and other key stakeholders. The IIRC will hold focus groups in over 10 countries around the world, including the US. Public feedback can also be submitted via a dedicated webpage.
IIRC chief executive Richard Howitt says 1,500 global companies have adopted integrated reporting, linking financial and non-financial indicators such as climate risk, and how they impact corporate performance.
“It’s now time for us to further assess how this tool is being used to assist the quality of the reporting, reinforce its relevance to new challenges and ensure it remains fully in tune with market needs,” Howitt said.
SAP is one of the companies using integrated reporting. In its 2016 Integrated Report, published yesterday, the software giant said reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by a mere 1 percent would have a positive impact of €5 million ($5.3 million) for its operating profits.
“Documenting the financial impact of non-financial indicators helps us move closer to achieving our sustainability goals,” the SAP report says. “Rather than simply stating the business case for social or environmental change, we now have the numbers to back it up.
IIRC has also been collaborating with other reporting organizations to streamline the various corporate reporting frameworks and guidelines. In January, the Global Reporting Initiative and IIRC began working together to clarify how companies can use both the GRI Standards and the International <IR> Framework in their integrated reporting.