A monthly newsletter from see see eye

Volume 3, Number 11

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eye on > Corporate Responsibility Reporting

Over the past 20 years, corporate responsibility reporting has evolved into more than just a report on health and safety issues. Producing corporate responsibility reports is now viewed as an essential part of good business by most investors and stakeholders and is a practice that is being adopted by more and more of the nation’s leading corporations. Addressing key social, environmental and employment practice issues in an up-front and qualitative manner can be an important step in building trust and confidence in a company among its multiple stakeholder groups. Open and regular communications on these issues demonstrate that the company values responsibility and stewardship as much as it values profitability.

To build this trust and confidence, messages should be clear and consistent. Including audited reports that substantiate economic and environmental claims further delivers a credible message that your corporation is being transparent about all its business practices

According to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, there are 11 principles that are essential to producing a balanced and reasonable report on an organization’s economic, environmental, and social performance. Taken together, these principles can:

• form the framework for the report (transparency, inclusiveness, auditability)
• inform decisions about what to report (completeness, relevance, sustainability context)
• relate to ensuring quality and reliability (accuracy, neutrality, comparability)
• inform decisions about access to the report (clarity, timeliness)

While your organization may not necessarily be in a position to apply all of these principles, reference to outside and reputable standards of reporting and how your company has incorporated them into its evaluation will do much to enhance the credibility and value of your corporate responsibility report.

Bowater Demonstrates Serious Commitment

International paper manufacturer Bowater Incorporated understands the importance of environmental sustainability and careful stewardship of natural resources. While the company has long had environmental initiatives and policies in place, prior to this year they had not issued a communiqué dedicated to helping them respond to requests for information – or  proactively inform stakeholders – about their practices. Bowater’s 2005 Sustainability Report, designed and produced by see see eye in conjunction with the company, provided the company with a vehicle for communicating its serious commitment to environmental stewardship.

Make sure your company is sending the right message when it comes to corporate responsibility. see see eye develops effective graphic communications for a variety of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organizations.

Contact Lawson Cox to find out how we can help your company put its best foot forward.

About Us

see see eye is an award-winning graphic design firm that helps Fortune 1000 companies and other organizations build stakeholder confidence. The firm uses strategic creative design and effective message development to produce Web sites, branded collateral programs, annual reports and other communications targeted to customers, employees, investors and community members. Additional information can be found at the company's Web site, www.seeseeeye.com.