Q11. Is there other information that a sustainability report should include at a minimum?
The report should link the organisation's sustainability strategy to its overall strategy and include financial KPIs.
Q12. Topics are subject matters on which an organisation may report, such as market presence, emissions, child labour, product and service labelling, etc... Would you say topics to be covered in a sustainability report should be defined by:
An external body, such as GRI, based on international, multi-stakeholder consultation.
Q13. If an external body, such as GRI, based on international, multi-stakeholder consultation, should define, a set of topics that cover the key economic, environmental and social performance and impacts of organisations, and require reporting on these topics, would you say these topics should be:
A standard set of topics per sector.
Q14A. Could you indicate why you think this should be [Choice from Q13]?
Such an approach would allow for sector specific impacts to be addressed, which would be a more tailored approach than having a standard set of topics for all organisations.
Saying that, there will be a number of issues that are material to all organisations, so these should be included as a subset of the sector topics.
Q16. Should an external body, such as GRI, based on international, multi-stakeholder consultation, define a standard set of indicators that capture the key economic, environmental and social performance and impacts of organisations, and require reporting on these indicators?
Yes.
Q17. Would you say these indicators should be?
A standard set of indicators per sector - in line with the standard set of topics per sector.
Q18A. Could you indicate why you think this should be [Q17]?
Such an approach would allow for sector specific impacts to be addressed, which would be a more tailored approach than having a standard set of indicators for all organisations.
Q20. Would you say GRI's Guidelines should offer guidance on how the sustainability reporting process or sustainability report content can be used to produce an Integrated Report?
Yes - very supportive of this proposal.
Q22. In May and June 2011, GRI invited the public to submit topics that it thought should be added to G4 and researched emerging trends in the sustainable development discussions. Below is a list of 12 topics that received broad support.
The survey has requested that 5 key topics should be selected. The ACCA sustainability team considers the following 7 to be of particular importance:
Biodiversity. Revision to reflect recent international work in this field, including ecosystem services.
Business Ethics. Implementation and promotion of ethical business practices.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Alignment with other international emissions reporting frameworks.
High Impact Event Management and Preparedness. Consideration of emergencies such as natural disasters and product recalls.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Implementation of LCA methodology into processes, products and services.
Remuneration and performance-based pay. Explores the link between compensation systems and sustainability objectives, difference between the organisations highest and lowest income levels.
Water. Revision to include regional basin or reservoir considerations.
Q23. Which of the following sustainability-related standards, frameworks or initiatives does your organisation uses either as a reporting or management tool?
None of the above sustainability-related standards are used by ACCA in formulating the CSR report.
Q24. Please list other sustainability-related standards, frameworks or initiatives your organisation uses either as a reporting or management tool.
ACCA uses the GRI reporting framework when creating its CSR report.
Q25. Please list the top 5 material economic, environmental and social topics that your organisation has identified for its sustainability report, in separate fields.
For details of the below list, please refer to ACCA's 2010/11 CSR report (http://www.accaglobal.com/agm).
Economic Topics:
- Direct economic value of ACCA's operation.
- Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organisation's activities due to climate change.
- The organisations defined benefits scheme.
- Recruitment process for senior management.
See page 25 of ACCA's CSR report.
Environmental Topics:
- Paper use
- Direct energy consumption
- Indirect energy consumption
- Water use
- Green house gas emissions
- Waste management.
See page 21 of ACCA's CSR report.
Social topics:
- Role of ACCA in supporting charitable initiatives.
- Operation of ACCA in countries with sensitive social, political and economic issues.
- Social dimension of climate change risk.
- Value created through the ACCA qualification.
See page 26 of ACCA's CSR report.
Q26. Please indicate the entities for which your organisation prepares sustainability information. This may include any form of environmental, social, economic and governance information.
ACCA prepares sustainability information on a voluntary basis. As an advocate of corporate accountability and an organisational stakeholder in the GRI, it is felt that producing a sustainability report is important.
Q30. In response to stakeholder feedback, GRI's Guidelines could also include new guidance elements (eg principles, new concepts, definitions...). Which guidance elements, if any, should be added to the current Guidelines?
ACCA believes that the GRI should offer guidance on the assurance of its standards. By having sustainability reports assured by an independent auditor, an organisation would be able to produce reports that are far more credible and trustworthy than unassured information. The guidance should be developed in consultation with assurance experts.