29 May 2012

ACCA urges that 'integrating material sustainability information into corporate reports should be a key and critical outcome of Rio +20'

ACCA's new paper deals with corporate reporting and its need to be brought into the 21st century by integrating material sustainability information into corporate reports of listed and large private companies.

To influence policy-makers and create debate prior to the Rio+20 summit, ACCA has published a paper (see link at foot of page) which looks at possible changes to a key aspect of the discussions – paragraph 24 - which is concerned with the integration of material sustainability information into the corporate reports of listed and large private companies.

ACCA believes that:

• paragraph 24 should lead to a commitment by UN Member States to develop mechanisms for sustainability reporting at a national level - while such national reporting would need to meet global standards, flexibility in the mechanisms applied to meet the standards would allow for country-specific solutions;
• paragraph 24 should obligate companies to report on a ‘comply-or-explain’ basis - this requirement would provide appropriate flexibility and would stimulate substantive board discussions on risks and opportunities arising from sustainable development.

Rachel Jackson, head of sustainability at ACCA, adds: "There is a ground swell of opinion on this issue, led most recently by Aviva Investors through a coalition of investors, NGOs and UN agencies, as well as ACCA. This coalition recently called for a commitment from UN Member States to work on an international agreement requiring companies to integrate sustainability issues in their annual report and accounts, on a report or explain basis.  The coalition believes this would be a realistic, tangible and meaningful success. 

"However, whatever the policy outcome at Rio+20, there will be a need for rigorous and credible arrangements to map out and assess the fulfilment of any undertaking, whether voluntary or binding. This is where accountants come in – the profession provides the much needed transparency, measurement and comparability required for common international reporting."

ACCA's paper includes a series of expert views on this issue from its Global Forum for Sustainability members and other voices from the accountancy profession. The Forum was established in 2011 to bring together leading thinking on sustainability and the role of accountants. 

Press release

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