Responding to a heightened level of public concern about the environment, outsourcing, human rights, and corruption, an increasing number of corporations publish Corporate Social Responsibility - Sustainability (CSR-S) reports.

In a first-of-its-kind research project, the Sethi CSR Monitor© has analyzed reports by 514 companies selected from a worldwide  database of 1,300 companies. "Our analysis shows a wide range of differences in the content and quality of these reports," says Professor S. Prakash Sethi, the principal researcher and founder of the analytical tool, the Sethi CSR Monitor.

Along with the top scoring companies, leaders from other parts of the world include: BHP Billiton Ltd. (Australia), Infosys Technologies (India) and Hyundai Motor (South  Korea). These and other findings are offered in a just-released study, Making Sense of CSR 2010, published by the Sethi International Center for Corporate Accountability (SICCA).

In general, companies in Europe have better quality reports than their counterparts in the United States, although overall more U.S. companies have been publishing CSR-S reports.

Many assume Europe's tradition of liberal social welfare has prompted companies to accept corporate social responsibility, while the U.S.-based companies are steeped in the culture of competitive markets, viewed as hostile to assuming "extra legal" social obligations.

"High scoring companies, however, do not equate with higher CSR-S performing companies," Sethi cautions. The analysis does not evaluate the quality and accuracy of these reports against independent external standards. Instead, it compares the content and quality of individual reports against their peers in the industry, country and region. This approach allows companies and their stakeholders to compare information content on similar issues both within and between groups. Poorly performing companies invite adverse public reaction and are encouraged to improve their performance and enhance public trust in the quality of corporate CSR reporting. This would engender public trust and enhance corporate reputation.

A vast majority of CSR-S reports discuss the issue of Environment and Sustainability. However, companies with significant environmental concerns have performed poorly when it comes to providing meaningful CSR-S related information. For example, in the area of Environment and Sustainability, companies in the Oil and Gas, Mining and Extractive industries, have generally scored poorly (e.g. Sunoco, Sinopec, Husky Energy, Alcoa Inc., and Barrick Gold). On the issue of Bribery and Corruption, among the lowest scoring companies are Sunoco, Adobe  Systems, and Aetna Inc. Corporate governance reporting does not do well in companies like Hyundai Motor, Unilever, Samsung,BMW, Lufthansa, and Goldman Sachs Group have failed to provide sufficient information.

Companies also continue to emphasize philanthropic activities in their CSR-S reports. These activities include support of environment, education, health, disaster relief, poverty, etc.

The most important shortfall in the CSR-S reports is the reluctance of the companies to provide independent external assurance as to the integrity of the factual data provided in their reports.

"In one sense, there is significant progress over the previous years as to the number of reports being published and the quality of content," Sethi observes. However, there is considerable room for greater clarity and specificity of information content. The report expresses the hope that peer pressure and heightened public expectations will spur more companies to take the challenge.

About SICCA
Sethi International Center for Corporate Accountability (SICCA) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to analyzing the impact of global business activities for investors and other stakeholders at international, national and local levels. SICCA understands the evolving issues of corporate behavior in an interconnected global economy and strives to develop conceptual and practical ways for companies to adhere to higher standards of ethical and professional conduct.

For more information about this report:
Please contact Ms. Ashita Singhvi at 646-312-2230 or ashita.singhvi@baruch.cuny.edu

To obtain copies of the full report, please visit our website
www.sicca-ca.org/scsr_monitor.php

Sethi International Center for Corporate Accountability, Inc.

Sethi International Center for Corporate Accountability, Inc.

SICCA is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to making the impact of global business as positive as it can be for shareholders and stakeholders at international, national and local levels. SICCA understands the evolving issues of corporate behavior in an interconnected global economy and strives to develop conceptual and practical ways for companies to adhere to high standards of ethical and professional conduct. Based at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College of The City University of New York, SICCA engages in public policy research and assists multinational corporations and other organizations to enhance voluntary conduct, accountability and transparency in all areas of their operations.

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