Anglo American and BT have shared this year’s award for being the best
UK sustainability reporters, breaking the stranglehold of Co-operative
Financial Services and the Co-operative Bank, which have held the
honour for the past four years.
Best social reporter was judged to be Traidcraft, while the best
environmental reporter was Unilever. Guardian Newspapers also received
a commendation for innovation in social reporting.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which announced the
awards in London in February, said the Anglo American report was
praised, among other things, for its ‘extensive overview’ of the
challenges the group faces on HIV/Aids, while BT’s document impressed
with the ‘frank manner’ it dealt with controversial CSR issues in a
‘hot topics’ section. Guardian Newspapers was commended for its
leadership role on reporting in the media sector.
However, the panel of 22 judges said too many of the 80 entrants were
recklessly declaring themselves to be sustainable without fully
considering ‘what is involved in being sustainable’. They pointed out
that some organizations may just not be capable of ‘total sustainable
transformation’ and that this should be acknowledged honestly in their
reports.
Companies were also urged to deal with some of the judges’ long-running
complaints, such as failing to identify the target audience and not
giving an overview of the business. They said they would also be
looking for better-quality external assurance and more explanation of
the link between CSR activities and day-to-day decision-making.
