Call for Submissions to the Ceres-ACCA 2008 North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting

Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release

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9.04.2008 - 02:44pm ET

News from: Ceres

Call for Submissions to the Ceres-ACCA 2008 North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting

(CSRwire) - September 4, 2008 - The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Ceres, a U.S. coalition of environmental and investor groups, today called for submissions to the seventh-annual Ceres-ACCA North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting.

The purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports.

The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 12 expert judges includes North American leaders representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds in the nonprofit, corporate and investment worlds. The deadline for submissions is October 24, 2008.

This year's awards will also feature a water risk theme. The panel of judges will analyze how companies are reporting on the risks and opportunities related to water and highlight examples of best practices.

Last year, Ford Motor Company and the Timberland Company both received the top award for Best Sustainability Report, while Suncor Energy, Inc. was recognized for its climate change disclosure and Dell, Inc. for the company’s excellent reporting on product stewardship. Both ACCA and Ceres expect the number of applicants to increase this year.

Lynn Beauregard, Administrative Head of ACCA Canada said, "The quality of reports has improved greatly during the eight years of these awards. We are anticipating that trend to continue this year and hope to see more submissions from first time reporters."

Any Canadian, American or Mexican company, institution or organization can submit a report to the awards program. An organization not based in these countries can submit a report if it is solely focused on a site or subsidiary based in Canada, the United States or Mexico. Companies may apply on their own behalf or be nominated by others.

"Reporting environmental and social performance is essential for companies to both understand and mitigate financial risk and their environmental and social impact," said Mindy, S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a national coalition of investors, companies and public interest groups. "The Ceres-ACCA Awards recognize innovation, leadership, and best practices in such corporate reporting."

To apply
For more information about the 2008 awards please read the Applicants' Info Flyer and visit www.ceres.org/reportingawards.

To submit your report you can download the application form or complete the online application by visiting www.ceres.org/ACCAreportingawardsapplication.

The deadline for submissions is October 24, 2008

About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of over 100 investment funds, environmental organizations, labor unions and other public interest groups working to increase corporate responsibility. Formed in 1989, Ceres created the Ceres Principles, a pioneering 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct that led to widespread adoption of environmental principles by corporations worldwide. In 1997, Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance. GRI is now an independent institution, with over 1300 companies using the guidelines.

About ACCA
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world’s largest international accountancy body with 325,000 students and 122,000 members in 170 countries. ACCA has promoted transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development since 1991. ACCA is involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries across the world and participates in a number of influential organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In recognition of their UK social and environmental issues program, ACCA has been awarded a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.