November 2017

Give credit
to credit
One of the biggest companies of its type has chosen
to join the global movement to change the way
companies report, to shift to long-term thinking and to
connection between the business and the wider world in
which it operates.
The business is a co-operative, it is one of France’s
top three banks and that global movement is ‘integrated
reporting’ or .
Grown from an initial 150 pilot companies
across the world to now 1,500 businesses who
produce integrated reports, the movement has
perhaps understandably been associated with big
household name multinationals such as BASF, HSBC,
Hitachi, Marks & Spencer, Merck, PepsiCo
and Unilever.
However, the latest move underlines how really
isn’t the preserve of any one section of the economy,
but the future of corporate reporting for companies large
and small, public and private – and now undeniably
for co-operatives and mutual, too.
Sometimes called the “Green Bank” because of
its history as a co-operative bank for local farmers in
the different regions of France, Crédit Agricole has
gone on its own journey which now sees it listed
among the top 40 firms on the French Stock
Exchange and where its employees form a minority
of its shareholders.
That ‘journey’ is now extended to the adoption of
integrated reporting, proving that the investor focus
of is entirely compatible for a company with
an enhanced obligation towards the interest of its
own employees.
Not only does this clearly demonstrate that good
stakeholder relations are of benefit to the long-term
success of the company, but Crédit Agricole told me
that its own employees had found the new clarity of
the ‘story’ in its first integrated report had helped them
to better understand their own contribution to the
bank’s success.
At just 42 pages, the document clearly demonstrates
how the conciseness of an integrated report can tell a
much fuller story than the 300 page-plus ‘telephone
directory’ reports which it replaces.
Indeed, the fact that it merges the former separate
annual and sustainability reports demonstrates that
the approach can both cut cost while improving
the materiality of the reporting.
To allay any fears from those who put environmental
concerns first, the report clearly addresses how
the bank finances the transition to a low carbon
economy and how it contributes to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals.
But true to the philosophy of integrated reporting,
it demonstrates the sincerity of its commitment, by
showing how it is part of its core business strategy and
drives value creation for the business itself.
Crédit Agricole is not the first co-operative bank to
adopt integrated reporting. Vancity in Canada, Cassa
Rurale Treviglio in Italy, Sweden’s Ekobanken, Bank
Australia and Spain’s Banco de Credito Cooperativo
have all gone before it. One in seven of all co-operative
banks undertake integrated reporting, according
to a University of Valencia study.
But this month’s launch is the most prominent
co-operative business to become part of the
global coalition, not just with its 27 million customers
in France, but representing Europe’s largest asset
manager and has a presence in no less than 52
countries worldwide.
It is an invitation to every co-operative and mutual
business across the world – big and small – to consider
making their own journey towards integrated reporting.
As a co-operative, Crédit Agricole is proud to
claim the value it creates is shared fairly and sustainably
with customers, members, shareholders,
employees and partners.
Its adoption of integrated reporting is a key
to ensuring even greater value to be shared by all.
INTERGRATED REPORTING
BY RICHARD HOWITT
Richard Howitt is
chief executive of the
International Integrated
Reporting Council
NOVEMBER 2017 | 41