AA1000 Assurance Standard (2008) Global Launch
8th October 2008
The first corporate accountability standard to be developed using a web-based wiki approach
The global launch of AccountAbility’s AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS) 2008 will take place in London on October 24th 2008 - followed by numerous regional and country level launches beginning November 2008.
The AA1000 Assurance Standard aims to provide a systematic and consistent framework for assurance of performance. It covers the full range of an organisation’s disclosure and performance and was created in response to increasing business demands for credible, fair and balanced information on organisations’ management and understanding of non-financial issues. The standard assesses reports against three main principles: materiality, completeness and responsiveness.
Since late 2006, the AA1000AS has been undergoing a thorough revision process which has involved an extensive multi-stakeholder process- involving national consultations in more than 20 countries and has seen the participation of over 4,000 individuals from 90 different countries via the innovative use of a wiki platform (www.accountabilityaa1000wiki.net).
The new AA1000AS (2008) marks a step forward in the development of sustainability assurance. As these issues become increasingly important for businesses and their stakeholders a value adding assurance process is crucial for both internal management and external stakeholders.
Keynote speakers at the global launch include: Denise Esdon, Deputy Chair IAASB; Ernst Ligteringen CEO, GRI; Kevin McKinley Deputy Secretary; ISO who provide their insights into the important but still emerging area of sustainability reporting and assurance.
Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) is sponsoring the launch of the revised standard and LRQA’s Corporate Technical Manager, Sandy Sutherland will open the event. Mr Sutherland will talk briefly on how AA1000AS (2008) marks a step forward in the development of sustainability assurance. This revised standard will help companies better understand their social responsibility and sustainability issues and lead to improved performance. It will also help them to communicate more credibly with stakeholders by having a verified CSR report.
This reinforces CorporateRegister’s recently published report ‘The Assure View’. LRQA also supported this report which looked at the global approach and trends in CSR report assurance.”
For any queries or comments please email Kezia Nielson or visit www.accountability21.net where you can register for more information. For more information about LRQA email enquiries@lrqa.com or visist www.lrqa.com