Living their values?
Published on: May 12, 2009
A new kind of assurance is being pioneered by Two Tomorrows in work for Guardian News & Media (GNM), publishers of the Guardian and the Observer national newspapers and the Guardian Unlimited website.
As a leading multimedia company, GNM is moving most of its sustainability reporting online from this summer. It will still continue to produce its award-winning Living our values annual sustainability report and publish it in print and as an online PDF document. However, the report will be shorter than previously, and will link to more detailed and frequently updated information on a new interactive website.
Two Tomorrows has been appointed to act, for the first time, as ethical auditor of Living our values. In addition, we will provide rolling assurance of content added to the supporting website. We will also participate in the online dialogue among site users worldwide about GNM’s sustainability performance.
GNM head of sustainable development Jo Confino says: “We chose Two Tomorrows because of its strong track record and because it was prepared to think outside the box with us.
“We have already had a relationship with the team for a number of years and have always been impressed with their strong levels of engagement and strategic thinking as well as their technical expertise.”
Two Tomorrows executive chairman Mark Line says: “This is an intriguing prospect for us as assurors.
“So much sustainability reporting can feel like ancient history. Annual reports often appear in print nine or ten months after the close of the reporting period, and even at publication the content can easily be almost two years out of date. GNM’s approach – talking about their sustainability journey as it’s happening – is a bold one, and has the potential to make their reporting far more engaging. And because they’ll be providing a platform for live discussion among stakeholders, it could make their reporting activity central not just to their sustainability programme, but to their core business decision-making.
“We’re excited by the prospect of delivering rolling assurance, and taking part in an ongoing and transparent debate about GNM’s sustainability performance. Of course, it will present challenges – particularly in terms of turnaround times – and we will be learning as we go. But it could signal a whole new approach to the assurance of sustainability reporting.”
We will carry out our audit of GNM’s annual sustainability report using the latest version of the AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS). To enable a rapid response, our rolling online assurance will not use AA100AS, but will instead be based on core criteria agreed with GNM and made public on its website. This strand of work will be led by Two Tomorrows group director Jason Perks.
GNM’s focus on its sustainability performance fits with its wider editorial and commercial stance of being a leading source of news and information about environmental and other sustainability issues.
Two Tomorrows has worked with GNM before. In 2004, we carried out an environmental audit of its printing plants. And since 2005, we have been advising the company on its sourcing of paper, a role that has now been absorbed into our wider assurance work.
GNM’s online sustainability reporting is at www.guardian.co.uk/sustainability
