The Value of Comprehensive Reporting and Stakeholder Engagement

1. The Value of Comprehensive Reporting and Stakeholder Engagement Results from the Facility Reporting Project National Environmental Partnership Summit May 8, 2007 Beth Ginsberg - www.ceres.org

2. What is the Facility Reporting Project (FRP)? The FRP is multi-stakeholder initiative to develop a generally-accepted, consistent, comparable and credible sustainabilityreporting framework. The FRP’s main product is a standardized guidance for companies and other organizations to report on the environmental and social performance of manufacturing and other facilities.

3. FRP Supports: • Performance-focused regulatory and voluntary programs including: • Performance Track program • State and federal environmental leadership programs • Environmental management systems • Government agencies looking to advance best practice and sustainability leadership with corporate partners • Have partnered with EPA National Center for Environmental Innovation and state programs including WA Ecology, GA P2AD program, Colorado DPHE, Michigan DEQ • Facility awareness of external effects • Global Reporting Initiative

4. Global Reporting Initiative • a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution • Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for voluntary reporting on the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of activities, products • 1000+ companies reporting worldwide • GRI “G3” guidelines recently released- refined indicators, reporting process and more tools, electronic report format

5. Why standardize reporting? Companies receive diverse information requests Stakeholders receive incomplete information A generally-accepted reporting framework developed through a multi-stakeholder process Source: GRI

6. The Corporation Multiple information requests from a range of stakeholders To the Facility Investors NGOs Climate change Governance Human rights Toxics Labor unions Communities Labor policy Health & safety Air pollution Economic impact

7. Why facilities produce sustainability reports FRP can provide a format for a facility to communicate its comprehensive environmental impacts responsibly, credibly, and in understandable formats FRP presents opportunity to create valuable dialogue, resulting in facilities: • Putting better information into reports • Identifying priority issues together with stakeholders • Having a mechanism to respond to stakeholder concerns • Creating new strategies to engage communities and employees Facilities commit to getting started and getting better over time

8. Value of FRP for stakeholders • For NGOs: Builds accountability between facilities and the communities they impact, and supports community right to know. • For Investors: Provides a basis for assessing local-level sustainability risks and performance within and between companies. • For Government authorities: Allows agencies to coordinate various programs, to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives, and to drive more cohesion/efficiency among their efforts.

9. FRP pilot test participants • La-Z-Boy Utah • Timberland - Santiago, Dominican Republic • Northside Foods- Cumming, GA • National Renewable Energy Laboratory- Golden, CO • Ford Motor Company - Dearborn, MI • Louisiana Pacific- Wilmington, NC • Qimonda- Richmond, VA • New Hampshire Ball Bearings- Peterborough, NH • Rockwell Collins- Dallas, TX • Harwood Products- Branscomb, CA • YSI, Inc.- Yellow Springs, OH • Louisville & Jefferson County, KY • Lockheed Martin- Mannassas, VA • New York Organic Fertilizer Company- South Bronx, NY

10. The Reporting ProcessA Cycle of Continuous Improvement Commit to reporting Solicit Stakeholder Feedback Identify & Engage Stakeholders Publish Report Select Indicators Review Draft w/ Stakeholders Draft Report

11. FRP reporting curriculum • Suggested sustainability indicatorsfor reporting environmental, social and economic performance; • Guidanceto assist in the reporting process; • Complementary tools to aid stakeholder engagement and identification of performance indicators

12. 6 key parts of the FRP Reporting Guidance • Reporting principles • How to prepare a report • Facility overview • Economic indicators • Environmental indicators • Social indicators Contents of the Facility Report

13. Steps to create a facility report • Become familiar with FRP Guidance • Match FRP metrics to already collected and reported data • Identify and engage stakeholders (ongoing throughout) • Draft facility profile • Select key indicators to report • Collect and add context to data • Draft report and hold report review • Report completion Solicit stakeholder feedback throughout!

14. FRP pilot test successes • Improved level of dialogue, enhanced trust with key stakeholder groups • More efficient management of data collection systems • Format applicable for comprehensive sustainability reporting and footprint analysis

15. FRP pilot test successes • Opportunity to enhance environmental performance commitments • Increased employee understanding and participation • Stakeholders can ensure environmental data collection and reporting creates real improvements • Target setting and public accountability helps drive tangible performance changes “By publishing our commitments and sharing it with a broader audience, [the report] ensures we put our money where our mouth is. If we tell our employees that we’re going to reduce energy by 10%, you can be sure they will hold us to it.” - Calvin Overcash, Group Environmental Manager, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation

16. FRP pilot test challenges • Time necessary for comprehensive reporting • Resources associated with producing a report • Reporting on multiple indicators consistently • Normalization and trend data • Targets and forward-looking goals • Transparency of calculations • Satisfying multiple report audiences • Willingness to engage stakeholders

17. The business case for FRP “Effectively managing the FRP indicators and working to reduce or increase the impacts of those indicators saved us money. That alone is a good driver for using the FRP as a business management tool.” -Patti Carrier,Environmental Manager, New Hampshire Ball Bearings “Our report presents information about how energy conservation efforts over the past two years have saved $600,000. Publicly reporting these benefits helps us show internally that these programs are paying for themselves and contributing to the bottom line.” - Norm Davis, Facility Engineer, La-Z-Boy Utah

18. Thank you! For more information: Contact Beth Ginsberg at Ceres 617-247-0700 x21 or ginsberg@ceres.org For more information about the FRP visit: www.ceres.org/sustreporting/frp.php