Environmental sustainability reporting can help organizations measure, understand, and communicate their economic, environmental, social, and governance performance, and then set goals, and manage change more effectively. The value of the sustainability reporting process is that it ensures organizations consider their impacts on sustainability issues globally, especially as it impacts the supply chain of an organization. While the corporate office may comply with all EHS regulations, companies with which the corporation does business and which supply parts or services may come from companies in other countries where the environmental impact may be significant.
On the other hand, many companies really struggle with the multitude of regulatory requirements from EPA, to begin with, let alone going above and beyond.
Doing your own research on stewardship, sustainability, and sustainability reporting, should companies go above and beyond regulatory compliance and pursue more global sustainable practices? Why or why not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? Is just complying with environmental law sufficient to control environmental hazards? Is there a return on investment for going beyond regulatory compliance, from a financial, legal liability, or public relations point of view? What are the benefits of corporate sustainability reporting?
