Cleaner Production Tools -- Public Environment Reporting
[ Description | Links ]
Public Environmental Reporting (PER) - also referred to as Corporate Environmental Reporting - is a method by which businesses report on their environmental progress to shareholders. Governments may also use this method to report to citizens.
The environmental progress and plans of a corporation are typically included in its annual report. For any effectiveness, this must be a multi-year strategy, showing plans and progress towards goals. A typical PER includes background information about the organisation, the organisation's environmental policy, progress made towards specific targets established in previous reports, and new targets or actions to improve the organisation's environmental performance in the future.
According to the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), PER benefits both corporations and stakeholders in the following ways:
-
It empowers people with the information they need to hold corporations accountable, and invites stakeholders more fully into the process of corporate goal-setting.
-
It permits investors to harness the power of the capital markets to promote and ensure environmentally-superior business practices. It allows companies and their stakeholders to measure companies' adherence to the standards set forth in their statements of environmental principle, and their various goals and objectives.
-
As an internal driver of change, it helps illuminate weaknesses and opportunities and set new goals.
-
It will allow society better to understand the full implications of corporate activity, thereby to design more sustainable local and global systems.
In order for the PER more than just a marketing tool, it is helpful to have verification of the report by an independent agency. Also, standard formats, indicators and metrics are needed to allow comparisons between various companies. There are a number of excellent organizations devoted to this task, and many corporate environmental reports are available online.
Public Environment Reporting Links
ŠNDRC 2000-2006