Implats Platinum Our sustainability reporting started out as a compliance exercise. it wasn’t something we gave much thought to – we just did what we had to do. I N T E G R AT E D A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 0 Then in 2007 we began following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and we realised that mere box ticking and mandatory disclosure was totally insufficient. So we decided to engage more fully in the reporting process. Moving towards integrated reporting has really helped us understand the link between good practice and productivity – that is, the fundamental link between corporate responsibility and company stability. For example, industrial action or workplace accidents can have major impacts on our operations. So addressing these issues and fulfilling our responsibilities is not only good for society and the environment – it’s good for our business. Seeing how central sustainability is to the Company has helped us to manage everything better. We now understand that engaging with sustainability is no longer a compliance issue or a side issue or a ‘nice to do’ – it’s an absolute corporate imperative. We also see that these values need to be driven from the top – that leadership commitment to sustainability is critical for a coherent Company strategy. So, it’s a journey we’re on – but so far we’re making good progress. There’s still a way to go before we reach our destination, but our new reporting approach is a reflection of ‘where we’re at’. Next year, this approach will evolve even further as we look to embrace integrated reporting. Our aim is to produce a report which addresses issues which are material not only to our business but to wider stakeholders, encompassing a whole range of sustainability topics. In turn, this evolution may lead to a revolution in the way we do things throughout the company. Fibria in the long-term, investors share the same concern: prosperity for the future. Integrated reporting opens diverse perspectives, but has a common link in assessing the Company’s performance. It represents a comparative advantage, because it gives a more complete picture of the Company and its business strategies, as well as having internal advantages, helping improve the quality of its management processes. In our view, integrated reporting can be beneficial to all our stakeholders. However, there are a few challenges in integrating financial and non-financial reporting that must be considered: 1. To ensure familiarity with the Company’s context, knowledge of who its stakeholders are and what they expect from the Company. 2. To build solid, stable relationships with stakeholders: to have a means for evaluating how the Company’s decisions and practices link to stakeholders’ expectations and needs, to better understand the causes and effects. 3. To strive to communicate not only important indicators, but the measurable impact that these have or might have on external as well as internal stakeholders. Independent assessments and stakeholders’ views and voices can contribute tremendously to this end. 4. To have buy-in at the highest levels of governance and to integrate the principles of integrated reporting within the Company. Sustainability Report www.blacksunplc.com © Black Sun Plc 2011 55
