Analysis of Responses to FEE Discussion paper "Providing Assurance on Environmental Reports"

Source: FEE, 10 January 2001

What makes environmental reports worth the (recycled) paper they’re printed on?

The latest thinking on assurance reports the independent examinations that make environmental reports more valuable to users has been identified by the European Federation of Accountants (FEE).
The International Auditing Practices Committee is currently developing an international standard on assurance reports on environmental reports. In October 1999, FEE produced a discussion paper to contribute to the debate. The product of this consultation is a new paper entitled ‘Analysis of Responses to FEE Discussion Paper – Providing Assurance on Environmental Reports’. This brings together the latest thinking on assurance on environmental reports, an increasingly important part of the annual report of forward-thinking companies in the EU.

The paper discusses important issues such as the level of assurance that can be achieved, responsibility for assurance, risk assessment and compliance with laws and regulations.

Lars-Olle Larsson, Chairman of the FEE Environmental Audit Subgroup, comments: ‘This paper provides a snapshot of EU thinking in this developing field. We hope that it will help the International Auditing Practices Committee, who are developing a standard on the subject.’

FEE continues with research and discussions leading to improvements of environmental reporting and other aspects of sustainability reporting, including the verification of these reports. A discussion paper on providing assurance on sustainability reports is foreseen before the end of 2001.

Follow the link to download the new document.

Note: This new document can be ordered with the Discussion paper Providing Assurance on Environmental Reports or by itself if you are already in possession of the related Discussion paper.

Dowload the complete paper (Word)