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| Sunday, 30 November 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Awards to recognise environmental reporting Sri Lanka's first awards scheme for environmental, social and sustainability reporting was launched by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) last week. The award will recognise organisations that report and disclose their social, environmental and sustainability information to stakeholders. The programme is endorsed by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Sri Lanka Standards Institution and the World Bank. It was globally launched by ACCA in 1991 though it is a new concept to our country, said President, ACCA Sri Lanka, Ajith Tudawe. He said that according to available information, 72 per cent of the top UK companies publish environment reports. This demonstrates the care and concern they have for the environment. Plans are underway to have the first awards ceremony within the next 18 months. Applications will be called around the end of 2004 while the ceremony will be held mid-2005. Executive Director, Technical, ACCA UK, Roger Adams, the chief guest at the launch, said ACCA's endeavour for greater transparency is not limited to awards. "Since 1990, we have been involved in promoting greater transparency in many ways," he said. Explaining the judging criteria, he said that all entries are judged on completeness, credibility and communication of environmental, social and sustainability issues. By emphasising on these factors, organisations can significantly improve the quality of information that is disclosed. In most countries, environmental and social reporting are purely voluntary, but this could provide tangible benefits in terms of competitive advantage, said Adams. Senior Environmental Engineer, World Bank, Sumith Pilapitiya said the programme should have started a few years back, but even now, is not too late and is most welcoming. He was of the view that though environment performance is not an issue at the moment, environment reporting is. He said ISO 14000 certification is not a regulatory requirement, but an industry requirement. "Therefore, the sooner you conform to it, the better off you will be as we are an export-oriented economy". Environment groups in the Western world are pressuring governments to bring in laws preventing goods not conforming to the ISO 14000 standards from entering their countries. "What environmentalists advocate today will become a way of life tomorrow. Therefore, start it now before it is too late. Cheating the Central Environmental Authority will benefit you in the short term, but not in the long term. Therefore, lay the foundation in this direction right now by conducting an environmental audit, which will be the best long-term decision you ever make," he opined. (SG) |
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