How an environmental report can help a company ‘learn’ about its own environmental performance

Abstract

In the design of most environmental management systems (EMSs), the environmental report is the most important vehicle used by companies to discharge their duties of disclosure to their stakeholders; however, the environmental report can be an important two-way communications tool that the company can use as an effective and efficient means to determine not only how well the company is communicating its environmental performance but also how well it is performing environmentally. This article discusses an evaluation process that Amoco Canada undertook after the publication of its first Environment and Safety Report to determine the readers’ assessment of the company’s environmental and safety performance after reading the report. The results of the evaluation provided the company with information as to how it could improve its communication and how it could improve its performance. It is recommended that other companies undertake a similar process in order to improve the return on the investment in their environmental reports. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.