24/03/2006 - More Australian companies
are reporting annually on sustainability, the Minister
for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell
said today.
Releasing a reporting survey of the top 500 Australian
companies, The State of Sustainability Reporting
in Australia 2005 is the third annual report bringing
together information from Australian companies in
the Standard & Poor’s/ASX 300 index, the top
100 private companies, and the top 100 unlisted
public companies.
Sustainability or non-financial reporting involves
companies assessing their performance against environmental,
social and economic criteria, how these results
relate to the success of the business, and how potential
impacts, opportunities and risks are addressed.
The survey found that the rate of reporting is highest
in the manufacturing and mining sectors, followed
by the wholesale trade, electricity, gas and water
supply industries. It also revealed that companies
are now producing separate sustainability reports,
instead of including them in annual reports or on
websites.
“It is encouraging to see that of the 486 companies
researched for this project, 119 companies are producing
a sustainability report. It is also pleasing to
see that of the Standard & Poor’s/ASX 300 index,
52 companies produced a sustainability report –
up from 42 in 2004,” Senator Campbell said.
“The companies surveyed said there were several
benefits for producing a sustainability report.
These may include increased market share, brand
dominance, innovation, new business opportunities,
enhanced reputation and the ability to attract and
retain employees.
“The Australian Government remains committed to
pursuing partnerships with industry to make sustainability
reporting more meaningful. I have been working closely
with the Australian Stock Exchange in recent months
to enhance the quality and uptake of sustainability
reporting by Australian companies.
“It is through this collaborative approach that
the incidence of companies reporting on sustainability
issues will one day become more accepted and expected.
“The Australian Government looks forward to an increase
in reports in years to come.”
Senator Campbell also acknowledged the assistance
of the Centre for Australian Ethical Research (CAER),
KPMG and Deni Greene Consulting Services in the
production of the research report.
