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Environmental Disclosures
09 May 2011
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Key Findings
- Most companies are now referring to an environmental topic in their 2009-2010 annual reports.
- 67% of FTSE All-Share companies are reporting quantitatively on their environmental impacts.
- 36% of the environmental disclosures were made in the audited sections of companies' annual report and accounts.
- 90% of companies included a Business Review.
- Climate change and energy use are the topics with the most quantitative disclosures.
- Companies are increasingly focusing on key environmental issues such as pollution.
- The biggest increase in reporting between 2006 and 2009-2010 was for references and discussion of environmental management systems (EMS).
- 33% of companies referred to environmental procurement in 2009-2010, a significant increase from 10% in 2004.
- Discussion of biodiversity/land use has increased by 139% since 2004.
Extract
This study reviews the environmental disclosures published in 2009-2010 by companies listed in the FTSE All-Share. Under existing statutory reporting requirements, these companies must report on significant environmental matters in their statutory annual reports and accounts.
The report looks at changes in the level and quality of corporate environmental disclosures since the Environment Agency baseline report in 2004 and their last review in 2006. Since the first study, the law and rules concerning environmental disclosures by companies have been strengthened.
Where relevant, companies must report environmental matters in their Business Reviews as part of their statutory annual reports and accounts, or state why they have not done so. As well as reviewing the latest environmental reporting trends, the report examines disclosure frameworks, highlights 11 examples of good practice in carbon, water and waste reporting, and looks at the future of corporate environmental reporting.
Why did the Environment Agency commission the research?
The Environment Agency commissioned this study as part of their ongoing work to encourage the use of existing government guidance on corporate environmental reporting. The aim of the report was to explore the progress made by FTSE All-Share companies on environmental disclosures since the Environment Agency review of reporting in 2006, and to compare findings against a 2004 baseline.
The previous studies found that environmental information provided by most companies was not comprehensive and lacked the quantitative data to demonstrate performance. However, reporting has improved since legal requirements to report significant environmental impacts came into force under the EU Accounts Modernisation Directive.
Report image: Reporting on impacts
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