Bottom lines are no longer black or red. Or black and white.
Today’s stakeholders care not only about an organization’s economic viability, but also about its environmental and social contributions. Investors are becoming more socially responsible. Employees want to feel good about the companies they work for. Everyone, including the general public, is assuming more environmental responsibility for the planet we all share.
These trends have dictated a triple bottom line. And in many ways, it’s this three-tiered benchmark of corporate performance that is driving the most recent changes in corporate reporting. Companies now must disclose sensitive and complex information about their sustainability performance. They must speak of their carbon footprints, health and safety standards, supply chain issues, product responsibility initiatives, corporate giving endeavors, and diversity policies, to name just a few topics of interest. And they must do so in credible and measurable ways that adhere to regulatory guidelines while assuaging the concerns of diverse audiences.
On the whole, the changes are positive. But as companies start to think differently about corporate reporting, they are faced with a new set of challenges.
