University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

642
One of the key questions in assessing the credibility of the data supplied by the
companies is the trust placed in it by the special interest groups. This credibility
relates to two factors: the involvement of the special interest groups in how
information is collected, and deciding on the needs and intervention of an
independent expert to ensure that the data reflects reality (Adams 2004; Adams et al.
2007). Given the poor involvement of stakeholders in the process (Larrinaga et al.
2002), the weight of credibility rests primarily on the verification by third parties.
The trust that can be placed in the companies is closely bound to the reliability of the
information on offer. Efforts made in verification are displayed in the table 3, in
2007; all the companies are at A+ level, although only two have been checked by a
third party.
Table 3. Verification of the sustainable report
2007 2006 2005
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Acciona
G
3
GRI-
A+
checked
G
3
A+
GRIchecked
G
2
Content
Index only
Third-
G
3
GRI-
A+
checked
G
3
A+
GRIchecked
G
3
C
partychecke
Endesa
d
Gamesa
G
3
GRI-
A+
checked
G
2
In
Accordanc
e
GRIchecked
G
2
In
Accordanc
e
GRIchecke
d
Gas
Natural
G
3
GRI-
A+
checked
G
3
A+
GRIchecked
G
2
In
Accordanc
e
GRIchecke
d
Hidrocantábric
o
G
3 A+
Thirdpartychecked
G
3
A+
Thirdpartychecked
G
2
In
Accordanc
e
GRIchecke
d
Iberdrola
G
3 A+
Thirdpartychecked
G
3
A+
Thirdpartychecked
G
2
In
Accordanc
e
Selfdeclare
d
Unión
Fenosa
G
3
GRI-
A+
checked
G
3
A+
GRIchecked
G
2
In
Accordanc
e
GRIchecke
d
1 = Guideline; 2 = Adherence level; 3 = Declared as; + = Report Externally Assured
Stakeholders Considered
Several empirical works show a clear relationship between working with different
special interest groups and efficient management of finances (Greenley et al. 1997;
(Freeman et al. 2004).
After checking the information provided by these companies and according to the
indicators revealed, almost all companies meet the requirements of GRI about
identification of different interest groups, without significant changes over the period