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6 July 2008
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CSR - Reporting and Auditing [Archived][fr][de] 

Published: Tuesday 17 August 2004    | Updated: Monday 20 March 2006   

The triple-bottom line approach to CSR reporting refers to the use of economic, environmental and social factors in the assessment of a company's performance. In reporting and auditing, the economic assessment is well addressed and, increasingly, so is the environmental. However, the social aspect has until recently been almost completely ignored. There are a number of national, European and international initiatives aimed at redressing this imbalance.

More on this topic:

Milestones:

The Commission will publish a communication on CSR expected by the end of 2005.  

Policy Summary Links

Issues:

Social and environmental reporting is made by companies mainly on a voluntary basis. However, this is starting to change. Denmark introduced a law on mandatory "Green Accounts" for large companies in 1995. France followed in February 2002 with a legal act that obliges listed companies to include social and environmental evaluations in their annual reports.

There is still no EU wide approach to social and environmental reporting. The Commission's Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility states that in this initital phase, reporting should remain as flexible as possible. However, the Commission recognises that a greater consensus on the type of information that should be included on social reporting might be needed in the future to allow for meaningful benchmarking. Therefore, the Commission invites the CSR multi-stakeholder Forum to develop commonly agreed guidelines and criteria for measurement, reporting and assurance by mid-2004.

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Agenda
  1. 7 - 8 July 2008
    Informal Justice and Home Affairs Meeting
  2. 8 July 2008
    Ecofin Council Meeting
  3. 15 July 2008
    AGRI Council Meeting
  4. 17 July 2008
    ECOFIN Council Meeting
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