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Now more than ever: sustainability reporting in lean times: strong communication to a variety of stakeholders about sustainability efforts can help companies successfully navigate the financial crisis.

Article Excerpt
As the economic crisis deepens, people are watching closely to see whether companies will stick to their sustainability commitments, or whether these social and environmental programs, including reporting, will be the first on the chopping block.

A 16 May article in The Economist claimed that sustainability departments and programs were not suffering any more or less than others in terms of cutbacks. Sustainability teams, it said, are coping with shrinking budgets and therefore must prioritize some activities and initiatives over others, but for the most part they are still intact.

Is it possible that the business case for sustainability has finally emerged? The type of company that will weather this storm, or any other, is one that has a focus on long-term strategy, not just short-term gains; maintains best practice in corporate governance; and is at the cutting edge of integrated risk management practices. These are the hallmarks of what it means to be committed to sustainability.

There's evidence that companies committed to sustainability are benefiting from these programs when put to the toughest financial test of our times. More than ever, organizations need to ensure strong communication to a variety of stakeholders about the link between sustainability and successfully navigating the financial crisis.

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Four good reasons

The current financial crisis is taking place in the context of other complicated global challenges--environment and climate change, social unrest, and poverty--all of which are interlinked.

The Global Reporting Initiative sets the standard for corporate reporting on economic, environmental and social issues. The GRI board of directors recently issued a declaration aimed at governments stating that "the root causes of the current economic crisis would have been moderated had company directors properly exercised their due diligence and reviewed long-term risks, including those related to companies' responsibilities regarding their environmental, social and economic impacts." The signatories believe that the lack of transparency in the existing system of corporate...

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