When can we believe a CSR report? New report sheds light on

1st August 2008

A new report reveals previously unpublished information about a young but burgeoning
multi-million pound global industry operating at the heart of corporate trust: CSR report
assurance.

Assure View - The CSR Assurance Statement Report is the first report to offer an independent,
comprehensive overview of the field. The report outlines who uses assurance, who provides
assurance and what methods are used. Assure View is a reference point for all stakeholders,
from reporting companies and assurance providers to consumers who wish to find out more
about companies’ social and environmental impacts.

In 2008 some 3,000 companies are expected to publish a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
report to document their policies and performance on key issues, including environmental and
social activities. Of these, around 750 will include a third-party assurance statement addressing
the report’s credibility and completeness.

While CSR reporting has become a basic business expectation, the majority of CSR reports
aren’t independently assured. This casts serious doubts on the role, meaning and reliability of
these non-assured CSR reports. Of those reports which do include an assurance statement,
Assure View comes to the following conclusions:

In the absence of a ‘common language’ there’s confusion as to which of the many assurance
approaches provides the most credibility and certainty. Some standards and guidelines are
emerging, but are far from being accepted across the board.

There are hundreds of assurance providers active in this field with just three major types
dominating the market. Assure View outlines key differences in the approaches of each of
these provider types.

From an examination of leading assurance statements and commonly referenced initiatives,
together with its own experience in this field, CorporateRegister.com identifies the Key
Elements which lead to meaningful assurance statements.

“In our experience, these Key Elements make for a solid and meaningful assurance
statement. It is certainly the process we follow as we provide independent assurance
of corporate responsibility reports for our customers” commented Rebecca Bowens, Global Sustainability Report Assurance Product Manager, SGS.

Assure View has been sponsored by four of the world’s leading assurors active in this field: SGS,
KPMG, LRQA and The Reassurance Network. Guest commentaries by AccountAbility, The
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the International Auditing and
Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) welcome Assure View’s independent perspective on an
important but fragmented field.

“This is the first time the field of CSR report assurance has been examined in such
breadth and depth. Assure View examines the concepts behind CSR assurance and
identifies the Key Elements which constitute best practice”, said Paul Scott, Managing Director of CorporateRegister.com.

To get the full picture on CSR report assurance, download your free copy of Assure View now
from www.corporateregister.com

-Ends -

For further information contact Paul Scott, Managing Director, CorporateRegister.com Ltd.
G18 Clerkenwell Workshops, 31 Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AT, UK
Tel.: +44 (0)20 7014 33 66. Email: info@corporateregister.com

Notes to Editors

About CorporateRegister.com
CorporateRegister.com was founded in 1998 as a website dedicated to providing global CSR
resources. By mid 2008 over 22,000 registered users benefited from free access to over 17,000
CSR reports together with a range of additional services – news, events, service providers.

The Assure View sponsors:
Gold Sponsor: SGS is the global leader and innovator in inspection, verification, testing and
certification services. With over 53,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,000 offices and laboratories around the world.
Contact: Rebecca Bowens, Global Manager Sustainability Report Assurance, rebecca.bowens@sgs.com

Silver Sponsor: KPMG’s assurance experience in the UK and internationally over reporting in
CSR, Sustainability and Carbon performance is second to none.
Contact: Lynton Richmond, Partner, lynton.richmond@kpmg.co.uk

Silver Sponsor: LRQA is a member of the Lloyd’s Register Group and a leading provider of
business assurance services, with clients including over half of the world’s top 200 corporations.
Contact: Deborah Evans, Head of CSR Reporting & Assurance debbie.evans@lrqa.com

Silver Sponsor: The Reassurance Network provides a range of assurance services that look in
depth at how organisations define, manage and communicate responsible business practices.
Contact: Malcolm Guy, Director mguy@re-assurance.co.uk

Leave a comment