The guidance is aimed at those preparing, auditing and using annual financial statements. Written in a question and answer style, they have included examples of good practice from existing annual reports and accounts to assist readers.
Whilst changes to company law have made the situation on reporting environmental performance clearer for large and listed companies, this guide seeks to help all organisations in reporting these issues.
Some key areas in the guidance include:
- EU Environmental Directives, their implementation in UK law, and their importance and significance to business.
- Accounting standards, interpretations and exposure drafts with UK significance and their environmental implications.
- Clear examples of existing good practice from recent annual reports and accounts.
- Specific sections for report preparers and auditors to address their separate needs.
Individuals, investors and other stakeholders are increasingly focussing on the environmental performance of organisations. With this report, the ICAEW and Environment Agency are aiming to help companies address this need for greater transparency in their mainstream statutory annual financial reporting.
The ICAEW and Environment Agency state in the report that they believe that measuring, managing and reporting on the impacts a company has on the environment will help to drive internal change and improvement, delivering real benefits to the organisation itself, to the environment and in turn to wider society.
