All corporations have an impact on society and the environment, and to openly report the impact of business activities on sustainable development is an accountable act towards stakeholders, as well as presents goodwill to the general public.
Such practices can therefore build up public confidence towards the corporations, especially during difficult times such as financial tsunami. The ACCA Hong Kong Awards for Sustainability Reporting, organized for nearly 20 years, is to identify and reward innovative attempts to communicate organizational performance in environmental, social and sustainability reporting.
Good Governance
In the ACCA Hong Kong Awards for Sustainability Reporting 2009 presentation ceremony held in November 2009, Kelly Chan, immediate past President of ACCA Hong Kong, commented that ˇ§the economic downturn could actually lead organisations to focus on demonstrating good governance and a core strategy to prepare for future risk and opportunities. Economic downturn may affect resources allocation, but companies need to consider by saving resources to sustain the environment, and they should set good practices for others to follow.ˇ¨
Corporal Survival
The Guest of Honour, Christine Fang, BBS, JP, said that sustainability reporting carries a special meaning especially during poor economy. ˇ§It is a necessary tool for corporate survival, to demonstrate to stakeholders intangible aspects that can keep corporations survive in the financial tsunami such as reputation, risk management, social capital and customer confidence.ˇ¨ It enhances competitiveness of the corporation on the market because it helps build up company goodwill and public confidence.
Future Trend
Sean Gilbert, China Director of Global Reporting Initiative, comments that sustainability reporting is the trend. In China, for example, the number of companies producing sustainability reporting is increasing. In 2005, less than 50 companies there produced reporting, whereas in 2009, more than 500 companies did so. Gilbert added that sustainability reporting is not only a practice for large corporations. For SMEs, they can understand the operation process a lot better with sustainability reporting.
The sustainability report should demonstrate the corporationˇ¦s policies, targets and long-term objectives to reduce its environmental, social and sustainability impacts of its operations and products. The judging panel, consisting Professor Peter Hills, Director of The Kadoorie Institute, the University of Hong Kong; Dr Andrew Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of Business Environment Council; Albert Lai, Chairman of The Professional Commons; and Mike Kilburn, Environmental Programme Manager of Civic Exchange, assessed the reports based on completeness, credibility and communication. The joint winners of the Best Sustainability Report Award 2009 are CLP Holdings Limited and MTR Corporation. The runner-up is Cathay Pacific Airways Limited.
Source: JobsDB HK
Picture provided by: ACCA
Updated: 29 Jan 2010
