The results of a research project at the University of Leeds indicate that many of the organisations making bold claims about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) achievements are using incorrect and irrelevant data.
The research, carried out by the University’s Sustainability Research Institute, analysed over 4,000 CSR reports and found unsubstantiated claims, gaps in data and inaccurate figures. This was particularly noticeable in sustainability reporting – one company stated that its carbon emissions were equivalent to four times the total carbon emissions of the planet!
This research certainly reinforces our experience of working with many leading public and private sector organisations to help them produce accurate and meaningful sustainability data.
The fact is that this is a far more complex process than many people realise, because in the real world the necessary data doesn’t sit conveniently in a database waiting to be analysed. You have to hunt it down across your own organisation and, often, through the supply chain. Then you need to convert it to a common format before you can even begin to start producing reports. And by the time the report is ready the data may well be out-of-date.
As the project leader Dr Ralf Barkemeyer commented:
“Companies get points for knowing where they want to go. But nobody seems to check whether this is where they are heading. Aspiration replaces performance. We need to change the way in which we process quantitative corporate sustainability information.”
Causeway Sustainability iQ has been developed to do just that. Sustainability iQ is a powerful, fully web-enabled carbon and sustainability management system that collates environmental and other sustainability data from a wide range of sources and turns what used to be months of work into just minutes.
Crucially, it incorporates advanced auditing functions so that all data can be verified to the highest standards, helping to ensure that CSR reports are based on meaningful data.
