The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Ceres, a US coalition of environmental and investor groups, recently called for submissions to the ninth-annual Ceres-ACCA North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting. The purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports. The deadline for submissions is October 23, 2009. Apply online at www.ceres.org/reportingawards.
The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 11 expert judges includes North American leaders representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds.
Last year’s award for Best Sustainability Report was given to General Electric, with Best Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Report going to Seventh Generation. The judges also recognized the sustainability reports of Ball Corporation and Symantec (co-winners of the Best First Time Reporting Award), the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Commendation for Innovative Reporting) and Dell, Inc. (Commendation for Emerging Issues Reporting).
Paul Costello, Head of ACCA Canada said, “The quality of reports has improved greatly during the nine years of these awards. We are anticipating that trend to continue this year and hope to see more submissions from first time reporters.”
Any Canadian, American or Mexican company, institution or organization can submit a report to the awards program. An organization not based in these countries can submit a report if it is solely focused on a site or subsidiary based in Canada, the United States, or Mexico. Companies may apply on their own behalf or be nominated by others.
“Transparent and honest disclosure that illustrates the full costs of environmental and social impacts and their integration into business strategies will level the playing field and provide investors with the information they need to reward companies on their sustainability performance,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. “The Ceres-ACCA reporting awards set an example for companies to follow as sustainability reporting increases in priority for shareholders and other stakeholders.”
TO APPLY
Visit www.ceres.org/reportingawards. The deadline for submissions is October 23, 2009. For more information about the 2009 awards please read the Applicants’ Info Flyer.
For further information, please contact:
Kristen Lang
Corporate Programs Senior Associate, Ceres
lang@ceres.org 617-247-0700 x128
Vince Mirabelli
Manager, Member Relations, ACCA Canada
Vincent.Mirabelli@ca.accaglobal.com, 416-966-2225
