Amsterdam Declaration ties Economic Downturn to lack of CSR Transparency
12th March 2009 by Alex Briggs
Global leaders from business, labor and civil society today declared their belief that the lack of transparency in the existing system for corporate reporting has failed its stakeholders. In issuing The Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency and Reporting, Board Members of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) called on governments to introduce policies requiring companies to address publicly environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
The declaration states that the root causes of the current economic crisis would have been moderated by a global transparency and accountability system based on the exercise of due diligence and the public reporting of ESG performance. It calls on governments to take leadership in rebuilding a revitalized and resilient economic system through:
Introducing policy requiring companies to report on ESG factors or publicly explain why they have not done so.
Requiring ESG reporting by their public bodies – in particular: state owned companies, government pension funds and public investment agencies.
Integrating sustainability reporting within the emerging global financial regulatory framework being developed by leaders of the G20.
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