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page 155 chapter IV
André Habisch was rather more sceptical regarding the
feasibility of enforcing uniform reporting standards
across all industries and all sizes of company. The subject
of sustainability was too complex, he said. “And the
‘Global Reporting Initiative’, which wanted to define
worldwide reporting standards, also failed to fulfil
expectations. Only few companies report entirely in accordance
with these standards, most just pick out individual
elements.” Reports would mainly be effective if
investors, shareholders and other groups actually relied
on them. Volker Weber saw the matter differently: “An
obligation to report on sustainability would be good,
because a company would then have to tackle the issue
intensively.” Susanne Bergius shared this view: “Many
companies have told me that sustainability reports primarily
have a strong impact within the organisation, because
departments have to communicate with each
other and cooperate with each other in order to obtain
information. Reports were like looking in a mirror, gave
management and staff many new insights, and were often
the starting point for serious efforts to achieve better
ecological or social performance.”
To conclude the Forum, moderator Susanne Bergius
reported about a sustainability strategy that is pursued
in Japan, in particular: the “top-runner regulation”.
Under this system, the ecologically best product
in a sector becomes the standard within a few years,
the example that all companies are obliged to model
themselves on. This politically developed tool promotes
competition, boosts the will to innovate, benefits
consumers and spares the environment. The EU is
working on a similar, but more differentiated strategy,
although it has not yet been implemented.