"All mouth, no trousers?" is the first in-depth research into the reporting of corporate responsibility in annual reports. Each annual report from the top 100 European companies has been examined for ethical statements. The 52 that contain some form of statement are then further evaluated to ascertain whether these claims ring true. Using a unique evaluation model, each report is scored according to three perspectives: integration, affirmation and substantiation. The resulting 130-page report contains a wealth of information about the reporting of corporate responsibility in company annual reports, as well as best practice advice.
Corporate Responsibility? CSR? Sustainable development? The uncertainty about what the issue is called is mirrored by the lack of clarity about how to report the issue within a company annual report. Overall, its safe to say that companies are not reporting their corporate responsibility effectively. The best example comes from BP, primarily because its well integrated, backed up with a range of data and includes a number of relevant examples. The worst example comes from Siemens, which includes a passing mention of the issue, as if by way of an afterthought.
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