As green issues move up the corporate agenda, environmental reporting to stakeholders is increasing and evidence is growing of the business benefits from good management.
THE TREND IS UP
Concern about the environment is moving up the corporate agenda, partly fuelled by external pressure, and a majority of companies now favour compulsory environmental reporting, the second annual UK Business and the Environment Trends Survey has found. The environmental consultancy, Entec, questioned 300 of the UK’s top 1,000 companies, working with the Green Alliance, and found:
67% say they attach more importance to environmental issues than a year ago;
58% favour compulsory environmental reporting and 92% the outlawing of misleading green claims in adverts;
34% say improved corporate image and better employee, customer and community relations result from environmental policies and are reflected in increased revenues;
only 11% take no environmental steps beyond what is required by law.
Waste packaging, raw material recycling, waste minimisation and energy saving are the main actions being taken. Contact Mike Hopkins, Moffatt Associates, on 0171 723 7033
PRIZE WINNING REPORTS
British Airways has won the ACCA Environmental Reporting Award for the second year running, with London Electricity gaining the runner-up award. Sainsbury’s won the award for the best first time report. The scheme, set up by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 1991, received entries from 55 companies and the awards were presented on April 22.
A new European award scheme for environmental report, set up between the ACCA and its Dutch and Danish counterparts, has been won by Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company. Its report was externally verified, contained detailed performance data and set targets for future action. Contact Roger Adams, ACCA, on 0171 396 5971
SUSTAINING DEVELOPMENT
Three leading international business people have prepared a report arguing that financial institutions must integrate environmental factors in their valuations. Georges Blum, chairman of Swiss Bank Corporation, Jerald Blumberg, executive vice-president of DuPont, and ?ge Korsvold, president and CEO of Storebrand, led an 18 month working party and presented their findings to the UNEP Roundtable on finance and the environment in New York on May 23. Environmental Performance and Shareholder Value argues that the quality of environmental management is a good indicator of overall quality of business management and that environmental drivers can provide competitive advantage. Their report, published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, includes a check-list of questions to address.
In March, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development also published a progress report on business action since the 1992 Rio Summit. Signals of Change gives examples of practical action by 30 international companies and sets out what more is needed by companies and others to achieve sustainable development. Contact Christine Elleboode, WBCSD, on 00 41 22 839 3100
GREEN PROFITS
Environmentally and socially responsible companies have usually out-performed their less responsible competitors, a study by Imperial College’s Centre for Environmental Technology has found. Conducted with support from Jupiter Asset Management, the return on capital between 1992 and 1995 of 51 firms with good environmental performance records was found to be significantly more than that of competitors in the same industry. The authors conclude that investment funds which include such factors can gain the edge over those that do not. Contact Michael Tyrrell, Jupiter, on 0171 412 0703
GREENER GERMANS
Reactions to Brent Spar and the BSE crisis in Britain and Germany have revealed major differences in approach to the environment which are economically costly and politically damaging, a study for the Anglo-German Foundation has concluded. Based on a study of 27 companies and published on May 30, this shows that German companies generally operate to higher standards, but this is less a result of voluntary actions and more from stringent regulation. The supportive economic and social context in Germany, such as long term decision-making, is also a factor. Contact Maya Penrose, Anglo-German Foundation, on 0171 404 3137
1000 DAY PARTNERSHIP
DIY store, B&Q, part of Kingfisher, has agreed a “1,000 day action plan” with the conservation charity, WWF, detailing their working partnership over the 1,000 days from April 5 to the year 2,000. B&Q has agreed specific targets in support of WWF campaigns on forests, endangered seas and climate change, such as the sourcing of timber and promotion of energy efficiency. Also included is a public education campaign. WWF hopes to learn from B&Q, with job shadowing of key staff. A partnership board including B&Q chairman and chief executive, Jim Hodkinson, and WWF-UK director, Robin Pellew, oversees the initiative, with dedicated staffing on both sides. Contact Lorian Coutts, B&Q, on 01703 256256
GREENER PLC
Conservation organisations, Groundwork and BTCV, formed a partnership with the Halifax Building Society to minimise the environmental consequences of its conversion to a bank. Mailings to the eight million members consumed an estimated 5,000 tonnes of paper, so the Halifax supported the two organisations in planting and now maintaining 30,000 replacement trees. Redundant building society letterheads and leaflets, an estimated 1,000 tonnes, were sent for recycling, with the proceeds donated to the charities. Contact Mark Hemingway, Halifax, on 01422 333333
ESSO TREES CAMPAIGN
The latest phase of the Esso Living Tree Campaign was launched on May 21, with 22 environmental and community organisations joining a three year effort to encourage more tree planting. Trees of Time and Place aims to plant one million trees by the year 2000, with general publicity and school information packs to show people how to collect seeds and plant them. Britain is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, with just 10% woodland cover compared to 21% in France and 31% in Spain. Esso is investing ?3 million over three years. Contact Trees of Time and Place hotline on 0345 078139
CONSERVING SPECIES
Fifteen groups of students from around the world have won awards from the 1997 BP Conservation Programme for projects to protect rare and endangered species. Run in partnership with BirdLife International and Fauna & Flora International, prize money totalled more than ?50,000 and the presentation were made on April 23 at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Contact Katherine Gotto, BirdLife International, on 01223 277318
BIGGEST WEEK
The UK’s biggest participatory environmental event took place in May, as BT Environment Week mobilised over one million people in local improvement activity. Several hundred projects won funding worth ?50,000, with special awards totalling ?5,000 for BT employees. The scheme, supported by BT since 1989, is coordinated by the Civic Trust. Contact Gerard Derby, BT, on 0171 356 5300
CONSERVATION HOLIDAYS
Commercial Union has pledge ?150,000 over three years to support BTCV’s programme of Natural Breaks and International Conservation working holidays. Around 500 are organised each year to tackle practical environmental projects. Contact Diane Jones, BTCV, on 01491 839766
FACILITATED ACTION
The Environment Council has published a case study of how its Sustainable Business Forum helped the energy company, Eastern Group, to engage its stakeholders. Over six months in 1996, a series of workshops with Eastern staff and external experts discussed the strategic issues and devised new solutions, facilitated by the Council. Contact Gregory Vines, Environment Council, on 0171 881 7606
comment
That some companies’ shares out-perform less green competitors does not in itself prove that being green is good for profits, merely that the two are compatible. Successful companies can afford to pay more attention to the environment. Proof or not, there is a growing conviction that successful companies are well managed in all respects, and so quality of environmental management is a good indicator of overall quality.
Where does this leave the community affairs manager? Not too many years ago, the approach was fairly crude: as a company we have a negative impact, so let’s try to understand the issues and redress the balance somewhat by getting involved with green community projects. To describe the Halifax scheme as a good example of this, is not to denigrate it but to demonstrate the limitations.
As community affairs managers gradually mutate into stakeholder relationship managers, the environmental report takes centre stage as the means to communicate total impact. The ACCA Awards scheme is an excellent annual check on progress, and the 25% increase in reports submitted this year is just one indication that companies are getting serious. But as reports multiply, the weaknesses emerge more clearly. Proliferation of indicators and lack of consistency in their compilation makes benchmarking between companies very difficult. Most reports are still stand-alone, with poor links to financial data and social impact. And how amny people actually read the mass of data now provided? Sorry to sound ungrateful, but maybe we need less but better information, or at least coherent summaries of the big picture.
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