ABSTRACT
The past 20 years have seen a major change in the debate around the social and environmental responsibilities of companies. Companies are now expected to manage issues as diverse as climate change, environmental pollution, employee relations, human rights, and bribery and corruption. Furthermore, companies’ responsibilities are seen as extending far beyond the factory gate to encompass questions such as health and safety in suppliers’ factories, environmental management in the supply chain and the use and disposal of the company’s products. Companies have responded by establishing management systems, conducting environmental and social audits, creating board committees and appointing senior managers, and committing capital and resources to efforts to improve their social and environmental performance. In order to demonstrate their commitment to action, and as part of the process of building their brands, strengthening their reputations and improving their relationships with key stakeholders, many large companies now publish annual reports on their social and environmental performance. In total, some 3,500 corporate responsibility reports were issued in 2009 alone (CorporateRegister.com 2010: 4). These reports cover topics as diverse as emissions to air and water, waste generation, resource consumption, human rights, health and safety, community engagement and philanthropy.
