Appendix 1: Existing standards and guidance for
sustainable development reporting
There is at present no mandatory or voluntary standard
agreed by the UK government for public sector sustainable development
reporting, and no government agreement to adopt specific external
voluntary standards or guidelines, such as the GRI guidelines.
However, key international codes and standards that have some
link with sustainable development reporting are as follows:
- UN global compact (code)—challenges
business leaders to follow 9 broad principles in the fields of
human rights, labour standards, and the environment
- OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises
(code)—sets out a set of broad principles for good corporate
citizenship
- ISO14000 (14001, 14004, 14031) series (standard)—address
environmental management systems and practices
- ISO 14063 (standard)—a standard for environmental
communication, not limited to reporting
- SA 8000 (standard)—a workplace standard
and verification system, focusing on labour issues
- AA 1000 (standard)—focuses on providing
a rigorous process mechanism for the stakeholder engagement that
supports sustainable development, not limited to reporting
Key UK / EU / international guidance that links with
sustainable development reporting include the following:
- GRI (reporting guidelines)—an
international multi-stakeholder effort to create a common framework
for voluntary reporting of the sustainable development impacts
of organisational level activity
- UN Division for sustainable development—has
issued international guidance on environmental management accounting
for government decision makers
- The European Eco-Management and Audit System
(EMAS)—contains a public reporting requirement as part of
the management system
- EU Commission Recommendation (2001/453/EC) on
environmental issues in the annual report and accounts—focusing
on the recognition, measurement and disclosure of environmental
expenditures, liabilities and risks and assets and the company's
attitude to the environment and environmental performance to the
extent it may affect the financial position of the company.
- UK Company Law Accounting Standards Board Operating
and Financial Review standard—which requires directors to
report on any risks, including in relation to environmental, social
and sustainable development issues, which they consider to be
'material' to the future of the business
- The UK SIGMA Project—has issued Sustainability
Accounting guidelines, to help organisations move from traditional
financial accounting to wider monetised sustainability accounting
(see box below)
THE SIGMA PROJECT: KEY ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY
ACCOUNTING
The SIGMA Sustainability Accounting guidelines highlight
that moving from financial accounting to sustainability accounting
requires adjustment and extension to the primary statements in
the following ways:
- Restatement of the Profit and Loss Account to
show how sustainability related costs and benefits can directly
impact on the bottom line
- Extension of the Profit and Loss Account to encompass
the external costs and benefits to the environment, society and
the economy which are not traditionally taken into account
- Extension of the Balance Sheet to take a fuller
account of the range of assets (including intangible assets such
as brands, human capital or reputation as they relate to sustainability);
and 'shadow' liabilities (including liabilities relating to sustainability
risks) of the organisation
Whilst the above guidance focuses primarily on companies,
they nonetheless provide an indication of the emerging pressure
on the public sector to engage in making similar disclosures.
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