Environment

That some companies' shares out-perform less green competitors does not in itself prove that being green is good for profits, merely that the two are compatible. Successful companies can afford to pay more attention to the environment. Proof or not, there is a growing conviction that successful companies are well managed in all respects, and so quality of environmental management is a good indicator of overall quality.

Where does this leave the community affairs manager? Not too many years ago, the approach was fairly crude: as a company we have a negative impact, so let's try to understand the issues and redress the balance somewhat by getting involved with green community projects. To describe the Halifax scheme as a good example of this, is not to denigrate it but to demonstrate the limitations.

As community affairs managers gradually mutate into stakeholder relationship managers, the environmental report takes centre stage as the means to communicate total impact. The ACCA Awards scheme is an excellent annual check on progress, and the 25% increase in reports submitted this year is just one indication that companies are getting serious. But as reports multiply, the weaknesses emerge more clearly. Proliferation of indicators and lack of consistency in their compilation makes benchmarking between companies very difficult. Most reports are still stand-alone, with poor links to financial data and social impact. And how amny people actually read the mass of data now provided? Sorry to sound ungrateful, but maybe we need less but better information, or at least coherent summaries of the big picture.

Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue no: 34 - June, 1997