Bloomberg & Dow Chemical ranked highest for sustainability reporting

A new research report conducted by BPA Worldwide, the global audit organisation, and Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS) has ranked Dow Chemical highest among Fortune 100 companies when it comes to applying the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting. Bloomberg topped the list of media sector companies.

The research report – “Applying GRI Guidelines for Effective Reporting: A Review of Global Media Companies' CR Reports” -- is an analysis of top international companies’ annual reports to identify key corporate responsibility reporting trends. The study focuses on global media sector companies that issue CR reports, and compares the level of reporting in the media sector against the larger universe of Fortune 100 companies issuing CR reports, as well as companies in South Africa where sustainability reporting is mandated.

The list of Top 10 Media sector companies include: Bloomberg (US), Grupo Antena 3 (Spain), Publicis Group (France), Axel Springer (Germany), Mediaset (Spain), Media Prima (Malaysia), TC Transcontinental (Canada), Reed Elsevier (UK) and Lagardiere (France).

The Top 10 Fortune 100 companies in GRI compliance include: Dow Chemical, Johnson Controls, UPS, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, IBM, Hess, Dupont and Dell, all headquartered in the US.

Although the number of companies issuing CR reports continues to grow, and along with it the number of companies using GRI Guidelines, the research also reveals that nearly 26% of companies in the survey who issued CR reports did not include any of the GRI environmental reporting indicators. And more than 50% did not report any human rights indicators.