Sustainability Reporting Increasing in China

One-third of  companies surveyed  in China share their sustainability initiatives with the outside world, illustrating some progress in the country to promote non-financial reporting, according to a report released by The Conference Board.

Potential regulatory changes requiring the presentation of certain sustainability metrics and a movement among companies towards greater transparency will likely drive disclosures rates upward, The Conference Board said.

 
The Conference Board’s Sustainability Matters 2013 report is a collection of previously published director notes centered around sustainability communication. The report, which summarizes findings from the Conference Board’s benchmarking report, also features new content, including an emerging trend among shareholders during proxy season and data on sustainability reporting in China.

While there has been a rise in sustainability reports in China, a general lack of experience and awareness of reporting standards still lingers, The Conference Board said. For example, only 5 percent of the sustainability or CSR reports issued in China in 2011 and filed in consulting company SynTao’s database had been audited by an independent third party.

The Conference Board report also found increasing shareholder requests over the past several proxy seasons for companies to publish sustainability reports. In 2008, there were nine proposals asking companies to develop a sustainability report, accounting for 5,1 percent of shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues. By 2012, the number of proposals had jumped to 14, representing 8.8 percent of resolutions on environmental and social issues.

The Proxy Preview 2013 report released last week found investors have filed 365 shareholder resolutions this year on environmental and social issues, with 38 percent of the proposals focusing on climate change, energy and corporate sustainability strategies. While political spending resolutions continue to dominate the agenda, totaling one-third of all proposals filed so far, climate and energy, other environmental issues and sustainable governance combined make up the next biggest chunk of the total.           Original Report

Mining companies asked to be partners in building sustainable society

MANILA, Philippines - An official of De La Salle University (DLSU) has challenged mining companies “to show that the industry can be a partner toward building a sustainable society for Filipinos.”

“They should call our attention to the fact that they can be our co-workers as we all help in giving quality life for Filipinos,” DLSU Liberal Arts dean Dominador Bombongan Jr. said.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) and representatives of mining companies recently met with DLSU political science students in a forum which COMP president Philip Romualdez described as a meeting with an academic community that “has not arbitrarily and totally closed its mind on responsible mining.”

“Mining companies who practice and advocate responsible mining should also demonstrate to us that they are not contributing further to the destruction of our already fragile environment,” Bombongan said.

“We are happy to dialogue with an academic community which is open-minded and willing to listen” Romualdez said.

Romualdez said the COMP is willing to show people how large-scale responsible mining operations are done and to educate the public about how small-scale mining activities are conducted.

“We can show any willing and open-minded person or group how our member-companies are practicing responsible and sustainable mining,” he said.

Among the companies in the dialogue with the students was Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), government contractor for the proposed $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold mining project in South Cotabato.

Recently, SMI supported the call of an international industry watchdog, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), for the Philippine government “to ensure that resource-rich communities feel the fruits of the extraction of mineral resources.”

SMI general manager Mark Williams said the company “supports the Aquino administration’s willingness to ensure transparency of revenue payments from the mining industry.”

EITI said the government should be transparent and “show that the local governments hosting mining projects get their fair share of the mining revenues.”

EITI also said that transparency will ensure the prudent use of the country’s mineral resources and make the mining industry a real engine of economic growth.    Philstar