AccountAbility Insights

Leading in a “Material World” - The Sustainability Outlook 2013 Survey

How was your 2012? For most companies, it was a turbulent year, with a storm of the century in the U.S.; the Eurozone’s existential moment; crises at suppliers and banks; and citizen protests on every continent. More of the same is expected in 2013. You can’t be all things to all people. But you can still make a big impact – if you focus on materiality first. Results from our survey point toward five priority areas.

Pharma's 3I Mandate

Massive transformations in public expectations of health care make the job of a CEO and other top managers  – not to mention boards – more challenging than ever. Whatever the jurisdiction and however complex the firm, changes affecting providers, patients, payers, regulators, and policymakers require adjustments to business models and strategies to remain competitive.

The Rise of the CSO: Sustainability in the C-Suite

Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) are no longer an oddity on the C-suite roster. In 2004, the first CSO was appointed to a publicly-traded U.S. company.i  In 2010, a study of 650 companies found that...

AccountAbility at the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum (CSF)

The 2012 Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum (CSF) commenced on June 15^th with private sector, government and non-profit participants convening to discuss poverty eradication, social equality, human rights, anti-corruption, and environmental sustainability...

Corporate Governance in an Interconnected World: The 21st Century Fiduciary

The massive transformation in public and shareholder expectations of corporate governance and accountability, particularly affecting environmental, social, and governance performance, challenges prevailing assumptions about fiduciary obligations...

Six Steps Towards Building a More Sustainable Organization

The late Steve Jobs had said of design what could be applied to organizations – “Design is not just what it looks like.  Design is how it works.” True sustainability is only possible in the presence of thoughtfully designed, adaptable, and intelligent systems.

Top Five Misconceptions About GRI Reporting

The Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability reporting Guidelines (G3.1), while widely applied, are often misunderstood. With nearly 200 pages of guidance and detailed technical protocols, it is easy to lose sight of the purpose of reporting, which is to be accountable to stakeholders and drive performance.

For Good Measure: Business and Social Sustainability

As the practice of corporate social responsibility matures, the focus is shifting from good intentions to good impacts, not just outcomes.

Population Matters: Managing the 7 Billion Member Household

Dramatic demographic changes not only shape markets and consumption patterns, but also pose challenges to business affecting generations of young and old people, urbanization and migration, and gender empowerment to reduce equity gaps.

3E’s – The Challenges of Integrated Reporting: Execution, Engagement, Education

The rise of integrated reporting – which merges financial and sustainability data – poses challenges (as well as opportunities for solutions) in execution, engagement, and education.

Building Disaster Readiness, Resilience, and Recovery

Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and severity, challenging business to shift from “relief” mindsets to “readiness, resilience, and recovery” risk reduction models and multi-lateral partnerships that increase preparedness, mitigate damage, and reduce the adverse impacts of future catastrophes through sustainable redevelopment policies and practices.

The Great Paradigm Shift

Human-induced resource constraints and climate impacts are increasingly driving companies to redefine materiality to include climate risk, and integrate sustainability context into decision-making.

Patient Adherence to Drug Therapy Provides Challenges and Opportunities for CR Professionals

According to the World Health Organization, of the 1.8 billion prescriptions dispensed annually, only 50% are taken correctly by the patient.  Some estimates suggest that the pharmaceutical industry loses $350 billion annually due to lack of patient adherence.

Riskier Business

For companies committed to responsible competitiveness, operating environments around the globe are growing increasingly complex, requiring them to redouble their risk management. 

Public Sustainability – Turning Commitment into Action

Over the last fifteen years, the world has seen the birth and development of a large number of compacts and standards, setting sustainability development principles for companies, institutions, and governments.

Corporate Responsibility in 3D

Corporate responsibility is evolving across three dimensions: horizontally on expressions of accountability; vertically on questions of responsibility; and longitudinally on questions of communication and strategy.

Volunteering Programs: an Opportunity for Professional Development and Brand-Building

When it comes to employee engagement, the volunteering program is a classic. We’ve all seen them and most of us have taken part in them: painting a fence, cleaning a beach, weeding a garden.

Insight: Do Consumers Care about Certified Labels?

Today more and more companies are making commitments to source raw materials that have been certified by voluntary standards systems according to social and environmental criteria.

Insight: Power Shifts: How Natural Disasters, Political Turmoil, and Economic Transitions Impact Corporate Responsibility

Social and environmental upheavals create “opportunity gaps” that companies can fill with innovative programs and strategies that forge new partnerships with other practitioner disciplines, along with diplomatic, humanitarian, and civil society groups – possibly even the military – to alleviate suffering, uphold human rights, and jumpstart disrupted economies.

Insight: Does Governance Matter?

Governance in the traditional view no longer reflects today’s business reality. External factors such as policy environments, advocacy pressures, and environmental and social costs are increasingly relevant and impactful on business operations.

Insight: Gender Rising

The TakeAway: Companies that advance gender equality and empower women at the board and C-suite levels gain competitive advantage and increase shareowner value, as well as enhance stakeholder relations.

Insight: Natural Capital: The Finance Sector & Financial Reporting – Catalysing Action?

This Insight is an extract from an article by Kurt Ramin and Cornelis Reiman featured in  ‘Trust Meltdown II’ launched at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos. The full article is available for download from the AccountAbility website.

Insight: Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives: An Avenue to Improved Performance

Over the last couple of decades, the landscape of corporate responsibility has seen an increase in the use of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) as a means of solving problems through comprehensive and collaborative action.

Insight: Setting the Social Media Pace for Sustainability Communication

Corporate Responsibility innovators are increasingly looking beyond traditional communications approaches to engage with their stakeholders. Leading organistions are now communicating at the rapid speed of social media.

Insight: Corporate Responsibility, Marketing and Economic Development in Emerging Markets

In low-to-medium income emerging markets, savvy companies are using Corporate Responsibility (CR) principles to formulate innovative business strategies that also stimulate economic development.

Insight: Tackling the Challenges of the Arab World through Corporate Responsibility

The recent launch of the 3rd Arab Millennium Development Goals Report revealed that despite some progress, the Arab World's ability to accomplish the MDGs is in doubt.This lagging progress presents both an opportunity and a risk to the private sector.

Insight: Access to Finance - What is the Best Way Forward?

Fewer than 10 percent of people have access to financial services. In many countries, the most vulnerable often cannot use a bank account to manage payments, save securely or get a loan at competitive rates. However, the development of products and services for the underbanked is not without challenges.

Insight: Beyond Compliance - Adding Value Along the Supply Chain

In a world where factory owners need to guarantee low prices and commit to quick production turnaround times, meeting ESG requirements is neither easy, nor cheap. So, what incentive is there for manufacturers to comply?

Insight: Integrating Integrated Reporting - Part II

Last week, in Part I, we discussed Vision and Leadership as two of the four vital areas in which to drive organizational change through integrated reporting. This week's Insight discusses Management and Knowledge excerpted from the Ebook "The Landscape of Integrated Reporting: Reflections and Next Steps".

Insight: Integrating Integrated Reporting - Part I

Recently AccountAbility participated in a workshop on Integrated Reporting at the Harvard Business School. AccountAbility's contribution—"Integrating Integrated Reporting"—is featured in a free "Ebook" written by workshop participants available here. This week's Insight presents the first half of the article.

Insight: Unlocking Key Performance Indicators

Measuring the right issues is a difficult -- and essential -- first step to managing social and environmental performance. Our experiences show four measurement principles that can help companies and analysts.

Insight: Integrated Reporting: Why it’s Important and Where to Begin

Companies pour significant resources into CR reports to make them interesting and inspiring. They are widely distributed in print and on the web. But there's a major problem with CR reports - investment analysts don't read them.

Insight: New Approaches to Poverty and Lessons for Business

September marked the five year countdown to the end-date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With still so much to achieve, a number of influential reports have recently been published marking a shift in approaches to poverty measurement and alleviation.

Insight: Social Media - Mobilising Stakeholder Engagement

Hundreds of millions of people check in with their favourite social network as part of their daily routine. Not surprisingly, companies have taken note of this on-line revolution -- often referred to as Web 2.0 -- and are struggling to play catch-up with a public that appears more comfortable with Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn than conventional media.

While these websites and others like them may prove to be useful communication channels for corporate advertising and reputation-building, social media can also hold significant dangers for companies.

Insight: CR - It's a Moving Target

A leading processed meat manufacturer claims to have reduced salt in their products decades before various municipal regulations required reduced sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods. While the action taken by this manufacturer is certainly a laudable one, the question remains, how long can any business hang their hat on a single CR initiative from the distant past? Answer: Not long.

Insight: Accountability at 450 Meters Underground...

On August 22nd, the world heaved a collective sigh of relief as news emerged that 33 miners had been found alive 450 meters underground at the San Esteban Mine in Northern Chile, 17 days after an explosion had trapped the miners inside.

Insight: Making the Case For Corporate Social Responsibility

Dr. Aneel Karnani, associate professor of strategy at the University of Michigan argues that the idea companies have an obligation to solve social problems is misguided and counterproductive. We believe otherwise.

Insight: Sticking to Principles

As we cross our fingers that the cap will hold, what can we say about the over three month oil leak in the Gulf and its implications for corporate responsibility (CR)?

Insight: Integrated Reporting Requires Integrated Thinking

Recently I was asked to read and critique a multinational company's Corporate Responsibility Report. It was over a hundred pages long, very expensively designed and printed -- and a complete waste of time.