It has been eight years in a row since the Tata Group companies have been bringing out dedicated reports on sustainability. So far, the results have been satisfactory with the companies learning from these documents, and in the process faring well at global sustainability-tracking surveys and many of its senior directors making it to the boards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Social Accountability International, the UN Global Compact and the CII Centre for Sustainability.

The story is equally encouraging at ITC. The conglomerate recently bagged the GRI Readers? Choice Awards 2008 for Best Report: Employees and third place in the category of non-OECD company. The companies in the survey were judged by over 1,700 readers in 70 countries. This time, GRI asked readers, not a panel of judges, to vote for the 800 best reports from 50 countries. The only other Indian company that made it to the list of awardees was ABN AMRO under the category of financial services.

ITC started compiling a detailed sustainability report (SR) in 2004. Today, it assesses its footprints in vital areas like CO2 emissions, water, solid waste and various social projects through a strong team of managers from EHS (environment, health and safety), communications, HR, secretarial and finance departments before sending it to an external auditor and finally to the GRI. ?We have been adding significant sections of the report to our Directors? Report & Accounts each year. At an opportune time it is quite likely that both the reports may be integrated,? says Subhash Rustagi, executive VP, corporate environment, health and safety, ITC.

SR scenario

The interest in sustainability reporting is catching up globally ? the GRI began with 150 companies in 2000 and now has 1,500. Seven of the top 10 Business Week Global Brands 2007 today issue GRI-based sustainability reports, while 49 of the FTSE 100 issue GRI-based sustainability reports. In India too, more players have joined the movement initiated by the Tata Group, ITC, ABN AMRO and others.

An SR comprises information on how a company acts responsibly towards the environment, how fair are its business practices, engagement with local communities, addressing issues like climate change, helping the deprived while being in business and so forth to ensure development as the means to satisfy the needs of present generations without compromising the resources meant for the future. The report over the years has been getting deeper to include details of sourcing of raw material and humane labour conditions (right from diversity in the workforce to including those in the company?s supply chain and beyond the payroll).

?A sustainability report helps a corporate house ensure transparent communication and engagement with its stakeholders ? government agencies, employees, investors, financial institutions, community, NGOs, consumers and others. It requires a positive mindset to be transparent in everything one does,? says Seema Arora, head, CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development.

Lots of promises to keep

For Chad Holliday, chairman and CEO, DuPont, sustainability reporting is a part of the corporate world?s changing beliefs. For him, it is a subject of pride too. ?At DuPont, we have transformed our company several times since our foundation in 1802. It is at the heart of our transformation to a science company and imperative for our growth. Our 2015 Sustainability Goals span all of our operations ? from R&D to manu-facturing to marketing. They go beyond traditional footprint reduction to include goals that tie our business growth even more directly to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for the many global markets we serve. While we have made progress, we recognise we have more to do,? he says.

The realisation towards a genuine SR is making companies keep aside dedicated time and resources. For instance, ABN AMRO?s recent report was managed by three people working full time for four months with the company allocating Rs 60 lakh for the project. With its first full-fledged report out last December, the company intends to come out with an SR every second year. ?We were aware of the costs that an SR entails and were willing to make the investment as part of our mission to embed sustainability within the organisation and, in the process, open ourselves to constructive criticism from experts,? says Moumita Sensarma, head, microfinance, ABN AMRO India.

Jubilant Organosys has been bringing out an SR since 2003. ?The transparency has been particularly appreciated by many readers,? says the company spokesperson.

How widely accepted is an SR? For many, the practice of bringing out an SR still lacks the numbers. ?The industry today stands divided between those who are trying hard to be best and transparent and those who still believe in the idea of signing cheques to manage a socially responsible image,? says Viraf Mehta, CEO, Partners in Change. ?In case of those reporting, at times there is a lack of uniformity. For example, one does not see global corporate entities reporting their deeds in markets beyond the domestic market, while a few won?t keep the document in the public domain. This leads to many employees not even aware of such reports. Besides, the reports are executed by CSR managers at the company, with least involvement of the CEOs, making the job a tick-in-the-box.?

Experts say of around 4,700-odd companies listed on BSE, a handful come out with a dedicated sustainability report ? or at least make public. Of these, a few reports are followed diligently as per the guidelines by bodies like the GRI, while a few just documents with no external checks done. ?To many corporates, breaking traffic rules by their drivers doesn?t even make a case to be addressed. Here, more than corporate realisation, people power needs to get into action,? says Mehta.

Arora of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development has been counselling many companies on SR and its benefits. ?It?s not that the big corporate entities that have been coming out with SRs don?t err or have no gaps in their reports. What is encouraging here is their positive attitude. External audits with respect to GRI guidelines also make them realise what is pending,? she adds.

Says Elaine Weidman, director, corporate responsibility, Ericsson: ?Our sustainability document has evolved over 15 years to include everything it should. Today the key issues addressed are our responsibilities in terms of supply chain management, environmental management, prevention of corruption, how we treat our employees, etc.?

For those who think sustainability reporting is a headache of a later day, Scott McAusland, spokesperson, GRI, has a piece of advice. He wants the non-believers to watch out for policy, investors and pressure from society. ?While debate continues as to the precise mix of regulatory and voluntary means to achieving sustainability reporting, the message from policymakers, as we gathered at sessions like G8 Summit in Germany, comes clear ? businesses must take sustainability seriously and report on their sustainability performance.?

According to the Edelman 2007 Trust Barometer, a majority of global opinion leaders believe that global business plays a role that no other institution can in addressing major social and environmental challenge. ?People are increasingly aware of the impact business can have on society and the environment, and are demanding action, either as consumers, as voters, or as members of NGOs,? adds McAusland.

A few other experts underline sustainability reporting as a tool that helps in a globally expanding world ? where mergers and acquisitions look at one?s attention on sustainability ? besides making for strong peer pressure. ?Either ways, it helps us with numbers and serious heads,? concludes Arora.