Wording of paragraph 47 is 'purely aspirational' and lacks the necessary 'teeth' to impact on corporate behaviour, says sustainability reporting experts
HONG KONG, July 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The current wording of paragraph 47 is not strong enough to change companies' behaviours and thinking about corporate sustainability reporting, says a focus group held by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) to discuss paragraph 47.
The Hong Kong based discussions were one of six held around the world to understand how the international community should take forward the commitments set out in paragraph 47 of the UN's outcome document The Future We Want, which was agreed at the Rio+20 conference in 2012. The global discussions – held in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the UAE and the UK are presented by ACCA from both stakeholder and national perspectives, and are published in a new ACCA report called Paragraph 47: international perspectives one year on.
In Hong Kong, the experts noted that mentioning reporting was a positive outcome from the different countries' views on the issue. Sustainability reporting is not something that has seen wide uptake in Hong Kong. Because of this, companies have not invested in the reporting systems necessary carrying out regular corporate sustainability reporting, so to impose any sort of regulations from the Rio+20 conference last year, would have proved unpopular.
Rachel Jackson, ACCA's head of sustainability, said, "We were aware that from our conversations over the past 12 months that there were different interpretations and understanding of what paragraph 47 meant. We set out to capture those differing views from both a regional and stakeholder perspective. The findings will be valuable to governments and other key actors, one year after the declaration was signed, in driving paragraph 47 forward, thus increasing the levels of corporate sustainability reporting."
"There was common opinion that sustainability reporting will help efforts to address social and environmental issues, that government-led action was an important way to kick start the wider adoption of sustainability reporting, and that existing frameworks should be used to develop best practice, rather than being inefficient and reinventing the wheel."
Emerging from the debate, a set of recommendations has been put forward for any government intending to implement paragraph 47.
The 11 recommendations are:
1. Focus on materiality
2. Ensure outcomes-based and contextual reporting
3. Facilitate the integration of sustainability into business strategy
4. Collaborate and consult with key stakeholders
5. Use stock exchanges and their influence over listed companies
6. Build on existing frameworks and harmonising requirements
7. Develop an awareness of local knowledge and limitations
8. Adapt to national and sectoral needs
9. Capacity building should be a multi-way learning and sharing process
10. Include as much social as environmental transparency
11. Scale down requirements for SMEs
Gordon Hewitt, ACCA's sustainability advisor, said, "It has been an extremely valuable exercise to capture these differing perspectives, one year on from the declaration being signed, to serve as a reminder that the implementation of paragraph 47 will need to address the myriad of stakeholder and cultural views and differences in order to succeed."
"These discussions will hopefully make a difference in helping to change perspectives and show just how important corporate sustainability reporting is to helping Hong Kong’s economy regain its momentum."
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Notes to editors:
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. As the first global accountancy body entering into China, ACCA now has over 23,000 members and 48,000 students, with 8 offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Hong Kong SAR, and Macau SAR.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accounting professionals bring value to economies in all stages of development. We aim to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that, through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and their delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.
We support our 162,000 members and 426,000 students in 173 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills needed by employers. We work through a network of 89 offices and centres and 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development.
For further information, please visit www.accaglobal.com or follow ACCA Hong Kong at www.facebook.com/ACCA.HongKong.
