CSR and Sustainability Reporting: Frameworks and Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reporting, highlighting their significance in enhancing a corporation's image and reputation. It delves into the history of CSR and sustainability reporting, examines essential aspects, and elucidates the key differences and similarities between the two. The report also explores companies that actively engage in CSR and sustainability reporting, providing assurance for their initiatives. Furthermore, it outlines future developments anticipated in the field, including areas like climate change, human rights, wealth inequality, and the role of data and technology. Finally, the report discusses the guidelines and frameworks governing CSR and sustainability reporting, emphasizing the use of key performance indicators for understanding and reporting on social welfare measures. Desklib provides access to this document and many more solved assignments for students.

Running head: AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
Auditing and Assurance
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
Executive Summary
Corporate social responsibility involves undertaking activities on the part of a corporation
that are directed towards social welfare and the upliftment of society in general.
Sustainability reporting refers to reporting that is done by an organization on corporate social
initiatives that have been undertaken by the organization recently that is over the period of
the last one year or so. Both CSR and sustainability reporting are vital for boosting the image
and reputation of corporations. This report provides an overview of CSR and sustainability
reporting of corporations such as a history of CSR and sustainability reporting, essential
aspects of CSR and sustainability reporting, the key differences and similarities between CSR
and sustainability reporting, guidelines and frameworks associated with CSR and
sustainability reporting and future developments that are likely to occur in CSR and
sustainability reporting.

2AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
1. An Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting........2
2. Similarities and Differences between CSR and Sustainability Reporting..........................3
3. A Brief History of Sustainability Reporting and Assurance...............................................4
4. Companies that engage in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting
and Provide Assurance...............................................................................................................5
5. Future Developments in the Area of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
Reporting....................................................................................................................................6
6. Guidelines and Frameworks for CSR and Sustainability Reporting..................................7
7. Guidelines and Frameworks for Assurance Reporting.......................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7

3AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility is a business model which is self-regulating in
character and which enables a company or corporation to hold social accountabilities, that is,
to be socially accountable to the public, to stakeholders and to itself. By engaging in the
practice of corporate social responsibility, which is often referred to as corporate citizenship
at times, a company gets to realize or become conscious of the type of impact that it has to
various aspects of society, such as environmental, economic and social (Barkmeyer et al.,
2015). Through participation in the process of corporate social responsibility, a company
operates in a manner that seeks to enhance society as well as the environment rather than
making any negative contribution to them (Bradford et al., 2016). This report provides a brief
overview of what corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting entails, it offers
an explanation of the differences and similarities between CSR and sustainability reporting,
provides a short history of CSR and sustainability reporting, gives an account of companies
that engage in the practice of CSR and sustainability reporting and also states future
developments that are likely to take place in the area of corporate social responsibility and
sustainability reporting and assurance.
1. An Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility and
Sustainability Reporting
The term corporate social responsibility is quite a broad concept. Corporate social
responsibility is something that can take on many different forms, depending on the type of
company that is practicing CSR as well as the industry to which the company belongs.
Through the implementation of CSR programs, volunteer efforts as well as philanthropy,
corporations can provide society with many benefits while also boosting their own individual
brands at the same given time. (Epstein, 2018). Corporate social responsibility is very

4AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
important for the enhancement of community life and it is equally important for the image
that a company holds in society. The CSR activities can go quite a long way in developing a
strong bond between a corporation and its employees. CSR activities are capable of boosting
morale, and as such have a crucial role to play in getting employees as well as employers to
feel a lot more connected to the society in which they live, than they otherwise would have
(Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, 2017). Sustainability reporting entails the drawing up of a report
on the part of an organization or a company that provides information regarding
environmental, economic, governance and social performance. There are a number of
benefits that are associated with sustainability report that includes the mitigation of, or the
reversal of negative social, governance and environmental impacts, improvement of
reputation as well as brand loyalty, and the enabling of external stakeholders in understanding
the true value, intangible and tangible assets of a company (Bradford, 2016).
2. Similarities and Differences between CSR and Sustainability
Reporting
There are key differences between corporate social responsibility and sustainability
reporting in terms of vision. Corporate social responsibility tends to look in a backward
direction. It reports on all the business that has taken place usually over a period of one
year for the purpose of making a useful contribution to social life (Kaspereit & Lopatta,
2016). Sustainability reporting on the other hand looks in forward direction. It outlines all
the changes that need to be made by a company for securing its future such as through
assurance provided to supply chains, reduction of wastes, and the development of new
markets for the purpose of building its brand (Epstein, 2018). Important differences also
exist between corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting in terms of
targets. Corporate social responsibility aims at targeting opinion formers such as pressure
groups, politicians, and the media. Sustainability reporting targets the entire value chain

5AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
right from the suppliers to the operations and the partner’s right until the end to the
consumers. A third important difference between corporate social responsibility and
sustainability reporting is in the domain of management. Corporate social responsibility is
something that is managed by the communications team of a company while
sustainability reporting is managed by the operations and marketing division of a
company (Epstein, 2018).
When it comes to understanding the similarities between corporate social
responsibility and sustainability reporting, it is important to understand that both have the
upliftment of society as their focus. Both emphasize the important role that needs to be
played and is being played by a company in bringing about improvements in various
aspects of social living, such as environmental conservation and protection, poverty
reduction and alleviation and development of community life (Bradford et al., 2015).
3. A Brief History of Sustainability Reporting and Assurance
Sustainability reporting goes back to the time when environmental reports were
generated for the very first time by companies in the late 1980’s, that were operating in
the chemical industry and which had very serious problems pertaining to their image The
(Khan et al., 2016). A group of reporters comprised of committed medium and small
sized business houses that made use of highly advanced environmental systems to carry
out their operations. The tobacco industry also took recourse to sustainability reporting
much before the remainder of the corporate world did. It did so with the sole purpose of
attracting investors, during a period when the notion of ethical testing was acquiring
increasing popularity (Kozlowski et al., 2015). It needs to be reported that sustainability
reporting as a trend is something that is quite recent and it has grown and developed
considerably over the last two decades. Companies today tend to produce annual

6AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
sustainability reports, and there are many types of standards and ratings that apply to such
reports. Additionally, there are quite a few important reasons why companies decide to
come up with sustainability reports in the first place. At the core, such reports are
intended as vessels of accountability and transparency of a company but in truth, they are
aimed at improving internal processes and in both attracting as well as persuading
stakeholders to invest in a particular company for the long term (Mass et al., 2015). Thus,
there are vested interests and intentions that are associated with sustainability reporting,
through on the surface it is not meant to be so at all.
4. Companies that engage in Corporate Social Responsibility and
Sustainability Reporting and Provide Assurance
Some of the companies that engage in corporate social responsibility and
sustainability reporting and which provide assurance include Burt’s Bees, Microsoft and
Reynolds. Burt’s Bees is a company that aims at being as socially responsible as possible
through efforts that are undertaken by the company both domestically as well as
internationally (Siew, 2015). It holds educational sessions on a regular basis for its
employees and makes a contribution to different types of non-profit initiatives that are
well aligned with the beliefs and the vision of the company. Burt’s Bees has entered into
a partnership with the NGO, Habitat for Humanity with the purpose of boosting local
community living. Microsoft is a company that engages in the practice of corporate
social responsibility and sustainability reporting for gaining the trust of customers, for
empowering people and also for aiming to use the planet is a more responsible fashion.
Endeavors include making use of clean energy infrastructure, and the execution of
projects such as Lagos Solar Project and Microsoft Youth-SparkT(Siew, 2015). The latter
was created to generate employment, educational as well as entrepreneurial opportunities,
with as many as three hundred million of the youth around the world having benefitted

7AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
from this. Lagos Solar Project was started by the company in Nigeria with the intention of
providing electricity in schools that are situated in very remote communities. The
corporate culture of Reynolds is one that revolves around the commitment of the
company to social and community responsibility. Efforts are demonstrated through the
partnerships that the company has entered into recently with Pinnacle Health System,
with the Brethren Housing Association as well as local contractors for a project that is
known as Hummel Street Project, as well as continued support offered by the company
for the United Way of the Capital Region (Bradford, 2016).
5. Future Developments in the Area of Corporate Social Responsibility
and Sustainability Reporting
Some of the future development that are likely to take place in the domain of
corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting are in areas such as climate
change, human rights, wealth inequality and data and technology. There are huge
debates raging worldwide as to whether businesses are capable of and whether they
should at all crack down on the matter of climate change and how fast it is that they can
deliver some positive results with regard to this (Epstein, 2018). Companies are always
regarded as solution providers and it is expected that they form a part of the new solutions
that are offered for combating the problem of climate change such as through the
initiation of new energy models and by ensuring efficiency with regard to production as
well as distribution of goods. Key issues pertaining to human rights are also those that are
set to receive much more focus from companies than they used to in the past such as,
labor rights and the issues that are linked to the use and the exploitation of natural
resources. Challenges pertaining to wealth inequality can be addressed by companies by
ensuring a radical increase in the share value of workers as well as small scale producers
(Epstein, 2016). With regard to data and technology, sufficient internal buy-in’s need to

8AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
be secured on the part of companies and promotion must be done to encourage adequate
use of internal systems which deliver comparable and high quality data while also
creating awareness concerning the need for acquiring analytical tools that help in
understanding data a lot better than usual and the absence of sensitive and confidential
data (Khan et al., 2016).
6. Guidelines and Frameworks for CSR and Sustainability Reporting
The guidelines and frameworks for CSR and sustainability reporting are those that
entail the use of key performance indicators for reporting on and understanding social
welfare measures. Some of the performance indicators that are put to use in performing
corporate social responsibility initiates and for sustainability reporting include economic,
environmental and social factors, labor practices as well as decent work standards, human
rights, social issues, and product responsibility. The latter alludes to the positive impact
that a product is likely to have on the society in which it is marketed and distributed
(Kowsloski et al., 2015).
7. Guidelines and Frameworks for Assurance Reporting
A few of the guidelines and the frameworks that are deployed at the time of assurance
reporting on the part of companies including disclosing of all types of product
information that customers have the right to have access to, quality assurance, indicating
that the product which is being circulated in the market is of a high standard and of course
product safety assurance. The last is by far the most important of all guidelines associated
with assurance reporting. It serves as a guarantee of the fact that the product being
marketed is safe for use or consumption by customers and that there are no ill effects
associated with it (Barkmayer et al., 2015).

9AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
Conclusion
Thus, there are quite a few incredible aspects that are associated with corporate social
responsibility and sustainability reporting. Both are processes that require the corporations in
major cities and towns of the world to be socially accountable, to take cognizance of the type
of impact they have on the surrounding environment, both natural; as well as social, and what
they can do best to address the challenges that their society is faced with. Corporations cannot
think about profit alone if they are to survive in the market for the long term. It imperative for
corporations to take social responsibility and to engage in activities that are directed towards
the welfare and development of society if such corporations are to enjoy a good image in the
society in which they carry out their operations in the first place. There are many varied
aspects to CSR and sustainability reporting and there are many avenues for exploration and
growth where CSR and sustainability reporting is concerned. Special attention needs to be
paid to the matter of human rights, given that human resource form the most vital part of a
corporation’s resources, traditionally as well as today.

10AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
References
Barkemeyer, R., Preuss, L., & Lee, L. (2015). On the effectiveness of private transnational
governance regimes—Evaluating corporate sustainability reporting according to the
Global Reporting Initiative. Journal of World Business, 50(2), 312-325
Bradford, M., Earp, J. B., Showalter, D. S., & Williams, P. F. (2016). Corporate sustainability
reporting and stakeholder concerns: Is there a disconnect?. Accounting
Horizons, 31(1), 83-102.
Epstein, M. J. (2018). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and
measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. Routledge
Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2017). The consequences of mandatory corporate sustainability
reporting. Harvard Business School research working paper, (11-100).
Kaspereit, T., & Lopatta, K. (2016). The value relevance of SAM's corporate sustainability
ranking and GRI sustainability reporting in the E uropean stock markets. Business
Ethics: A European Review, 25(1), 1-24
Khan, M., Serafeim, G., & Yoon, A. (2016). Corporate sustainability: First evidence on
materiality. The accounting review, 91(6), 1697-1724
Kozlowski, A., Searcy, C., & Bardecki, M. (2015). Corporate sustainability reporting in the
apparel industry: an analysis of indicators disclosed. International Journal of
Productivity and Performance Management, 64(3), 377-397
Maas, K., Schaltegger, S., & Crutzen, N. (2016). Advancing the integration of corporate
sustainability measurement, management and reporting. Journal of cleaner
production, 133, 859-862

11AUDITING AND ASSURANCE
Siew, R. Y. (2015). A review of corporate sustainability reporting tools (SRTs). Journal of
environmental management, 164, 180-195
Stacchezzini, R., Melloni, G., & Lai, A. (2016). Sustainability management and reporting: the
role of integrated reporting for communicating corporate sustainability
management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 136, 102-110.