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August 12, 2003
Ford's Latest CSR Report Increases Transparency by Using GRI Guidelines
by William Baue
Ford's decision to base its 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
guidelines will help analysts get a fuller picture of the company's performance (part one of a
two-part article).
SocialFunds.com --
Last month, Ford Motor Company (ticker: F) released its 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report , which uses Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines to disclose
social and environmental performance. GRI is an effort of the private sector, investors, analysts,
nonprofit organizations and other corporate stakeholders to improve the relevance and reliability
of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting.
 "This report is a quantum leap from what we
have seen from Ford in past years," said Pierre Trevet, an analyst with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors who has been following
Ford since 1995. Innovest, a firm that researches the link between sustainability performance and
financial performance, is in the final stages of updating its ratings of 15 of the largest
automobile manufacturers in the world.
"This is the first time Ford has managed to
structure and consolidate its sustainability data and reporting for all of its facilities
worldwide," Mr. Trevet told SocialFunds.com. "Ford has been using the GRI platform since 2000, but
they didn't have the management capacity in-house to collect all the data and to report on
everything."
Andrew Brengle, an analyst with KLD Research & Analytics, a socially responsible investment (SRI)
research firm, agrees about the report's comprehensive employment of GRI.
"It is a
beautiful report in its presentation and Ford makes effective use of the GRI format," Mr. Brengle
told SocialFunds.com. "I found all the issues I was looking for, and actually got more than I
expected in the 'product' and 'environment' sections."
However, the report does not
address all GRI indicators completely.
"In terms of environmental and social cost
accounting, the report is actually quite weak," Mr. Trevet points out.
Such lapses may
be more apparent when companies use GRI reporting guidelines because the guidelines discourage
attempts to sweep issues under the rug. To help readers of its 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report,
Ford created an index of GRI indicators that the company does and does not report on.
"We also created a third category, 'partially reported,' for those indicators which we have
some information and data available and intend to broaden our coverage," said Rob Frederick of
Ford's corporate responsibility department. Mr. Frederick considers the index "one of the real
innovations of this year's report."
"Where we haven't reported, we tried to be clear in
our reasons why," Mr. Frederick told SocialFunds.com.
Mr. Trevet applauds the report for
being transparent, even when it comes to nondisclosure.
"The report has a very strong
sense of transparency, which is certainly improved by the GRI platform," said Mr. Trevet.
Reporting on corporate social responsibility is largely a voluntary effort. As such, some
senior corporate managers fail to see the benefit of providing data on issues such as diversity,
environment, workplace practices, product performance, and corporate governance.
"The
companies offering lots of information could open themselves up to criticism for the unfavorable
data they provide, while those hiding in the weeds escape detection," said Mr. Brengle. Neither
DaimlerChrysler (DCX) nor Honda (HMC) uses the GRI platform, he points
out, making it difficult to compare relative degrees of disclosure, while GM does use GRI.
"There is always an element of liability in being transparent," Mr. Trevet agrees. "However,
there are also strong liabilities in not being transparent--in our ratings, we really
sanction companies that are not transparent."
"Being transparent can be a short-term
liability, but long-term I think it will pay off, because the company will have stronger
stakeholder capital," Mr Trevet added.
The business case for CSR transparency holds that
full disclosure ultimately creates competitive advantage and shareowner value.
"The
competitive advantage comes not just from the reporting itself, but our ability to improve
performance and meet the rising expectations of investors, customers, business partners and
others," said Mr. Frederick. "Reporting enhances our ability to identify and respond to
opportunities and risks facing the business, which in turn enhances our competitive position."
Part two of this article will address the limitations and shortcomings of Ford's GRI-based
report.
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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