Page 176 - Sustainability Communication Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoritical Foundations

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guidelines for the production of environmental or sustainability reports that aim at
covering all main activities in a specific sector exist at international (sector supple-
ments of G3 guidelines), regional and national levels. Some guidance documents
specifically address SMEs. For example, the GRI (2004) has developed a ‘begin-
ner’s guide’ which is particularly targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises.
Overall, a growing body of international and national guidance documents for
sustainability reporting has evolved in recent years. In one of the most recent reviews
of approaches to enhance sustainability reporting in 30 selected countries (UNEP
et al. 2010) a total of 50 standards, codes and guidelines with some form of voluntary
sustainability-related reporting guidance have been identified. The study does not
provide a comprehensive list but it indicates an increasingly diverse and mature
international framework for sustainability reporting and calls for closer collabora-
tion between standard or guideline setting bodies. The GRI appears to play a key role
in achieving a convergence of the various approaches. The strategic alliance of the
GRI and the UN Global Compact (UNGC) can be seen as one of the first initiatives
to reduce the complexity of reporting practices. Since 2010, the UNGC encourages
its participants through its reporting policy to use the G3 guidelines when demon-
strating progress towards attainment of the ten principles of the UNGC within their
annual Communication on Progress (COP) reports. Easier understanding of the
(increasingly confusing) multitude of reporting schemes is facilitated by various
types of reporting linkages between the GRI and bodies such as the UN Principles for
Responsible Investment Initiative, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, and the ISO (UNEP et al. 2010). It is generally assumed that enhanc-
ing the convergence between the numerous reporting schemes will strengthen their
adoption and implementation. Adams and Narayanan (2007) however stress that
guidance documents differ in terms of the extent to which they are concerned with
the interest of business and the views and needs of a broad range of stakeholders.
There remains a tension between using reporting guidelines as a legitimating
exercise (to report the minimum required in such guidelines) and demonstrating
accountability for the views and needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Given that
some guidelines focus on the needs of business and prescribe report content at the
expense of concern with processes of stakeholder engagement, they conclude that
“[…] without mandatory reporting guidelines focusing on processes of reporting and
governance structures, some companies will continue to produce reports which leave
out impacts which are material to key stakeholder groups” (Adams and Narayanan
2007: 83). Indeed, as discussed below, many governments have begun to determine
mandatory reporting requirements and setting regulatory frameworks for reporting.

Regulations

The disclosure of sustainability information has become the subject of a growing
body of regulations (UNEP et al. 2010). In Europe, the implementation of the EU
Accounts Modernisation Directive, a reform regulating the balance sheet (EU 2003),