Corporate Sustainability

Preface xiii Acknowledgments xix PART I: AN INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE, REPORTING, AND ASSURANCE 1 Chapter 1: Introduction to Business Sustainability and Accountability Reporting 3 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 The Case for Sustainability 5 Current Status of Sustainability and Accountability 6 Drivers of Sustainability Initiatives and Practices 7 Best Practices of Sustainability Programs 10 Principles of Business Sustainability 14 Business Sustainability and Corporate Accountability Framework 14 Key Performance Indicators 16 Emerging Issues in Sustainability Reporting 17 Promotion of Sustainability Development, Performance, and Disclosures 21 Conclusion 22 Action Items 22 Notes 23 Chapter 2: Brief History of Sustainability Reporting 27 Executive Summary 27 Historical Perspectives 27 Recent Developments and Initiatives 29 Status of Business Sustainability and Sustainability Reporting and Assurance 31 Going Forward 32 Conclusion 33 Action Items 33 Notes 34 Chapter 3: Business Sustainability and Accountability Initiatives, Reporting, and Assurance 37 Executive Summary 37 Multiple Bottom-Line Dimensions of Business Sustainability 37 Usefulness of Sustainability Information 39 The Sustainability Reporting Process 41 Sustainability Reporting in Action 46 Promotion of Sustainability Reporting 47 Future of Sustainability Reporting 48 Mandatory versus Voluntary Sustainability Reports 51 Sustainability Assurance 53 Continuum of Assurance on Sustainability Information 57 Internal Controls Relevant to Sustainability Performance 58 Sustainability Risk Management 58 Conclusion 61 Action Items 62 Notes 62 PART II: DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE 67 Chapter 4: Sustainability, Corporations, Capital Markets, and the Global Economy 69 Executive Summary 69 Global Economy and Financial Crisis 69 Capital Markets 71 Role of Corporations in Society 72 Sustainability Information Needs of Investors 74 Corporate Reporting 77 Recent Initiatives in Corporate Reporting 79 Web-Based Corporate Reporting 83 Predictive Business Analytics 84 Narrative Reporting 85 Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) Reporting 86 Sustainability Reporting 87 Conclusions 88 Action Items 88 Notes 89 Chapter 5: Economic Vitality as a Component of Sustainability 91 Executive Summary 91 Introduction 91 Economic KPIs 92 Public Trust and Investor Confidence in Financial Information 92 Internal Control Reporting 98 Internal Control Reporting Requirements 101 Integrated Financial and Internal Control Reporting 105 Conclusion 109 Action Items 110 Notes 110 Chapter 6: The Corporate Governance Dimension of Sustainability 113 Executive Summary 113 Corporate Governance Definition 114 Drivers of Corporate Governance 114 Global Convergence in Corporate Governance 116 Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 117 Dodd-Frank Act 121 The United Kingdom's Financial Regulatory Framework 122 Listing Standards Related to Corporate Governance 123 Corporate Governance in the Post-Crisis Era 123 Corporate Governance Functions 128 Board Committees 131 Proxy Voting for Sustainability 134 Emerging Corporate Governance Issues and Challenges 138 Corporate Governance Reporting and Assurance 139 Conclusion 142 Action Items 143 Notes 144 Chapter 7: The Social Dimension of Corporate Sustainability 147 Executive Summary 147 Introduction 147 Social Performance 148 Social KPIs 150 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 151 CSR and Financial Performance 159 CSR Performance Measurement 160 CSR Programs 161 Components of CSR 163 CSR Reporting 164 Conclusion 167 Action Items 168 Notes 168 Chapter 8: The Ethical Dimension of Sustainability 171 Executive Summary 171 Business Ethics 172 Ethics and Law 172 Ethics KPIs 176 Workplace Ethics 177 Training and Ethics Education 182 Corporate Culture 183 Corporate Codes of Ethics: Rules and Best Practices 185 Financial Reporting Integrity 185 Ethics Reporting 187 Conclusion 190 Action Items 191 Notes 191 Chapter 9: The Environmental Dimension of Sustainability Performance: Government Policy, Societal Forces, and Environmental Management 193 Executive Summary 193 Introduction 194 Emerging Environmental Issues 194 Environmental KPIs 196 Environmental Regulations in the United States 198 Global Environmental Initiatives and Regulations 203 European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) 208 Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) 209 California Assembly Bill 32 209 Global Progress 209 Societal Actors Influencing Corporate Environmental Behavior 215 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 220 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) 222 Environmental Reporting 226 Environmental Assurance and Auditing 229 Conclusion 230 Action Items 231 Notes 232 PART III: EMERGING ISSUES IN SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE, REPORTING, AND ASSURANCE 237 Chapter 10: Business Sustainability in Action: Global Initiatives and Emerging Issues 239 Executive Summary 239 Introduction 240 Global Initiatives on Business Sustainability 240 Social Accountability International (SAI) 244 Macro Sustainability Issues 248 Climate Change 250 Sustainability KPIs 254 Business Sustainability in Action 259 Lessons Learned from Sustainability 260 Emerging Issues in Sustainability 263 Conclusion 266 Action Items 267 Notes 267 Chapter 11: The Future of Business Sustainability: Sustainability Reporting and Assurance 271 Executive Summary 271 Introduction 271 The Emergence of Business Sustainability 272 Sustainability Reporting 274 Sustainability Assurance 287 Sustainability Assurance and Internal Control 297 Emerging Trends in Sustainability Reporting 297 Sustainability Assurance in Action 298 Sustainability Database 299 Sustainability Education 300 Conclusion 300 Action Items 301 Notes 302 About the Authors 305 Index 307