Reporting on Environmental Performance.

• Author: Bachand, Robert

Reviewed by Robert Bachand, director of finance and treasurer for the City of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and member of GFOA's Executive Board.

Organizations of all types and sizes, including local governments, crown corporations, and all other types of public-sector organizations, are facing increasing pressures to publicly account for and report on their environmental performance. Reporting on environmental performance is, however, still in its infancy. The objective of this publication is to provide guidance on what organizations should take into consideration in deciding on the target audiences, the information to be reported, and how best to report it.

Chapters 1 and 2 highlight the need for integrating environmental considerations with business strategies. Organizations must be able to demonstrate that their practices and performance are not harmful to the environment. Four strategic levels are identified. The first two levels, fixing problems if and when they occur and compliance with laws and regulations, are normally considered a prerequisite to conducting business and may not result in a formal environmental policy. The third level, comprehensive environmental management, enables an organization to respond to potential threats before they can have a negative impact on its performance. The fourth level, sustainable development, calls for economic considerations to be balanced with environmental and social considerations in all aspects of societal decision making. This represents a major shift in decision making and behavior for society in general and for organizations in particular.

Chapter 3 deals with environmental reporting decisions, particularly the need to identify to whom it will report and how the information will be reported. It discusses the different types of audiences and their needs and the types of communication vehicles that can be used, including a separate environmental performance report, the organization's annual report, community and employee newsletters, and press releases.

Chapter 4 presents a suggested environmental framework. The objective of the framework is to help organizations identify matters that may be relevant for their reports - relevance in meeting both the objectives of the report and the perceived information needs of the target audience. Four broad categories and two optional categories are...