With growing awareness of the impact many organisations have on the environment, there is increasing pressure for those organisations to demonstrate that they are taking measures to minimise that impact. Many such organisations are accountable to shareholders, the local community, government departments and public opinion in general.
However, there is also growing cynicism about so-called ‘greenwash’ claims, so it is equally important for organisations to be able to be able to substantiate their claims. The following issues therefore need to be addressed:
- Measurement and recording of both soft and hard outputs, social, environmental and economic qualities
- Establishing suitable benchmarks to compare performance against and ensure that best practice is being followed
- Using the above to identify areas for improvement
- Instigating improvement initiatives
- Re-measuring to establish/verify the efficacy of improvement initiatives
This illustrates the fact that sustainability and other CSR issues have to be addressed in a more structured way than previously. Indeed, Social Auditing and Accounting is quickly assuming a similar status to Financial Auditing and Accounting.
Furthermore, just as specialist accounting tools are required for the financial side, it is fast become clear that the same approach is required for the measurement, analysis and reporting of environmental/CSR data.
By taking this formal approach, organisations can clearly and unequivocally demonstrate their commitment to sustainability/CSR.
This evidence also contributes to:
- Achieving Quality marks such as ISO 14001 and ISO 16001
- Supply chain management
- CSR and Community Impact reporting in Annual Reports (required for Community Interest companies)
- Collation of qualitative data on customer needs/responses for strategic planning
- Management of quantitative data relating to uptake of products and services and competitor analysis
- Measurement of brand profile