The UK has ranked top in what is believed to be the biggest global survey of corporate responsibility reporting ever published.
The
KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2011, released today, found all the UK’s
Top 100 companies were now reporting on
corporate responsibility (CR), putting the UK top of the the global CR reporting table – believed to be the most comprehensive survey of its kind.
The analysis of 3,400 companies across 34 countries and 15 industry sectors, concluded that nearly every Global Fortune 250 (G250) company now reports its CR activity – with nearly half securing financial value from it. However, the report also concluded that CR reporting lacks rigour, with restatements four times more likely than in financial reporting. Meanwhile, it confirmed that, in CR, size matters, with bigger companies twice as likely to report as those with revenues under $1 billion (£620 million).
Commenting on the findings, Vincent Neate, who leads KPMG’s UK Climate Change and Sustainability practice, said: "It’s heartening to find that without exception, the UK’s largest companies are monitoring and reporting on their CR behaviour. This is the latest indicator of CR’s move up the corporate agenda, which is entirely sensible given its relationship to sound commercial concerns such as cost reduction, risk management,
regulatory compliance and brand enhancement."
CR paysThe survey found that CR reporting is now undertaken by 95 per cent of the G250, representing a 14 per cent increase on 2008, the year the survey was last conducted. Significantly, the report confirms that CR pays, with 48 per cent of Top 100 companies saying they had achieve cost savings through CR initiatives and 47 per cent saying they had increased revenues and/or their position in the current market through such measures. Reputation and ethical considerations, meanwhile, topped the G250 list (62 per cent) of global business reporting drivers.
"CR initiatives have moved from being a moral to a critical business imperative," Neate said.
CR reporting by country
The UK’s clean sheet was up nine per cent from the 91 per cent of companies reporting their CR activity three years ago. After the UK, Japan was the second highest-ranking country in terms of CR reporting (99 per cent), with South Africa shooting up to third place (97 per cent compared to just 45 per cent in 2008). The report also found China was making rapid progress, from not even figuring in the 2008 survey, to just under 60 per cent of its top companies now reporting. However, the report found "some pockets of the world" were still lagging, with India (20 per cent) and Israel (18 per cent) ranking lowest.
"Much work remains in some pockets of the world, particularly the Asia/Pacific region and within privately-held companies around the world. Both must recommit themselves to enhancing transparency and creating a more level playing field through greater CR reporting," the report said.
CR reporting by sector
The report found the best performing sectors for CR reporting were forestry, pulp and paper (84 per cent), mining (84 per cent) and automotive (78 per cent), while those that had seen the greatest improvement over the last three years were construction (65 per cent in 2011 from 32 per cent in 2008) and pharmaceuticals (64 per cent from 25 per cent).
External assurance
In the absence of mandatory CR reporting, the KPMG survey found the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines was becoming the de facto reporting standard, with 80 per cent of the G250 and 69 per cent of top 100 companies now using it. Meanwhile, it found that a growing number of companies were looking to external assurance providers to validate and certify their CR reporting, but, nevertheless, concluded that CR reporting lacked financial rigour.
"Unlike financial reporting, the disclosure of sustainability metrics to the market is largely unregulated. Restatements are four times higher compared to financial reporting and demonstrate that CR reporting has some way to go," Wim Bartels, global head of KPMG’s Sustainability Assurance, said.
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