Only a handful of companies are providing adequate information on their
public policy positions in their non-financial reports, according to
new research.
An examination of 50 of the best sustainability reporters by the
Brussels-based public affairs consultancy Blueprint Partners found that
companies’ efforts to influence the direction of public policy was one
of the ‘least reported’ areas.
Blueprint, which conducted the study with the SustainAbility
consultancy and WWF, says that such disclosures are ‘a minority
pursuit’ even among forward-looking companies.
Most of the 50 companies provided ‘sketchy’ details at best, and in
some cases none at all. Some investors say they would like more
information on behind-the-scenes lobbying to assess its consistency
with publicly stated social and environmental goals, among them
F&C, Morley, NorthStar and Schroders.
Coming in from the cold considered
the 50 sustainability reporting leaders identified in a 2006 analysis
by Standard & Poor’s, SustainAbility, and the UN Environment
Programme. The average score for recording of public affairs by the
companies was 1.7 out of a possible four – the second lowest score for
the 29 topics covered. When the best performers were stripped out, the
average fell to 0.8.
Four companies were thought to be doing well (see box below). British
American Tobacco was praised for revealing its position on minimum
smoking age legislation, and BT highlighted for providing data on its
membership of trade bodies and specific policies on issues such as
digital inclusion and the mis-selling of telecoms services.
There were marked national differences. None of the five Japanese
companies in the 50 provided information on public policy but the ten
UK companies averaged a score of three.
Three years ago several companies backed plans to develop rules for the
disclosure of efforts to influence public policy, and Co-operative
Financial Services offered to fund the work. However, EP has learned that the idea was not pursued.
