Analyzing a company is generally carried out on the basis of information disclosed by the company itself. Now while in the case of financial information, Articles 662-670 of the Swiss Code of Obligations makes the publication of an annual report mandatory for companies, the publication of environmental and social reports, on the contrary, is done on an entirely voluntary basis.
Thus, 11 of the 26 companies in the Swiss Stock Exchange blue chip SMI index publish sustainability reports, comprising information on the company’s environmental impact as well as on the state of its relations with all of the stakeholders. Over 60% of those companies publish at least an environmental report. We should particularly mention Nestle and CS Group here: they are publishing reports on sustainable development for the first time this year.
Unlike international accounting standards, there are as yet no standards for reports on sustainable development. However, the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) guidelines serve as a reference in this field. The 2002 version was published during the Johannesburg Earth Summit. A sustainability report must cover all the major issues specific to the industry of the company concerned. It must give information on the company’s strategy, objectives and management systems as well as on the results achieved, through a series of environmental and social performance indicators.
