Count Me In -The Readers' Take on Sustainability Reporting

The highlights of the survey results

Publishing a sustainability report has a strong positive impact on readers’ perceptions of a reporter. 90 percent of readers said their views of a reporter had been influenced by reading its sustainability report. Of these, 85 percent reported a more positive perception of the organization.

Opinions are generally consistent across reader categories. Readers from business, civil society and other groups tend in general to share the same opinions regarding what they expect to see in a quality report. The main differences lie in how the various reader categories use the reports, owing mainly to differing roles in society.

Readers want to see a stronger role for stakeholders in reporting. Engagement of stakeholders in issue selection, inviting critical stakeholders to provide comments in reports, and demonstrating how stakeholders’ feedback is incorporated into strategy and targets are all highlighted as significant.

Readers believe reporters are most likely to omit failures from their sustainability reports. A balance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ news is seen as a key element in demonstrating credibility and commitment to sustainability.

A majority of readers feel assurance is important, both on sustainability reports and on sustainability performance. However, readers are divided on who the best assurance providers are for these various activities.