Corporate sustainability reports were once complicated beasts that were produced by only the most forward-thinking companies; today, while such reports are now the norm, producing them still takes quite a bit of energy, inspiration and organization. So what makes a report that is compelling and invites readership?
Accountability is an important aspect of a winning report, according to Air Canada president and CEO, Calin Rovinescu. Air Canada’s Citizens of the World report was named a Best Sustainability Report by the Finance and Sustainability Initiative (FSI), a Canadian non-profit that brings together finance professionals dedicated to promoting sustainable finance and responsible investment. By producing sustainability reports, a company announces successes, but also goals - and knowing they will be accountable for those goals in future reports is an important aspect of sustainability programs, Rovinescu says.
By allowing itself to be held accountable, a company builds and maintains trust among investors, employees, the communities in which it operates, and other stakeholders.
The Air Canada report was created in accordance with principles of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an internationally recognized standard for sustainability reporting.
GRI standards allow a company to communicate the impact of business on critical sustainability issues. Of the world’s largest 250 corporations, 74% of those reporting on corporate responsibility do so using GRI standards, the organization says. As new demands are placed on sustainability information - from investors, regulators, and potential customers - companies are being called on for more and better performance data. Using recognized standards like GRI can help ensure a company communicates the information in a way that makes sense to its audience.
To further validate the report, Air Canada took the extra step of retaining a third-party auditor to assure select indicators and independently verify the company's disclosure. The report is framed around the findings of an extensive stakeholder survey to identify areas of most concern with respect to sustainability.
The 2018 FSI Competition for Best Sustainability Report refocused the report assessments on the investor perspective by asking the jury teams to pay particular attention to information contained in the reports that is material and decision-useful to investors.
Investors are increasingly looking for chances to invest in companies that are reporting on the risks they face from climate change and the opportunities that come from addressing them. A recent report from S&P Global found that nearly all (95%) of respondents plan to engage with companies they invest in about issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Investors say their assessment of a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) profiles have evolved from a simple measure of corporate responsibility to a key driver of an investor’s decision-making.
Other winners of the FSI competition include CAE, Canfor, Thomson Reuters, Gilman, Vermillion Energy, Goldcorp, Tech, Telus, Capital Power, and TD.
