Acorn
International
AcornNotes
C O N S U L T I N G - P A R T N E R I N G
Acorn
International
Issue No. 4 January 2007
At the start of 2006, Acorn International took a snapshot of industry’s stated sustainable development priorities
1
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Based on a limited survey, we saw an overwhelming recognition of climate change as an SD issue of primary
importance to industry. Many companies also identified human rights and water resources as priority issues, while
biodiversity was highlighted by only a minority of the oil and gas companies, and none of the other industries
reviewed. NGOs surveyed consistently identified climate change, human rights, and biodiversity as priorities.
Finally, the financial periodicals reviewed prioritized climate change, human rights, and social responsibility (implicit
in industry priorities), giving much more attention to sustainable development issues in 2005 than in 2000.
A year later, we return to ask what priorities are being communicated going into 2007, have these changed, and to
what extent are they aligned with those identified by a sample of NGOs and the business press. Sample methods
and sources are described below
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SD Priorities of Selected Industries
Climate change is again a clear priority issue shared by industry. Each of the selected oil and gas companies and
four of the five companies selected from other industries referenced climate change as a priority SD issue.
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Table 1 – SD Topics Most-Commonly Referenced – 2006 and 2005
Note: Percentages indicate the ratio of selected companies or NGOs listing a particular issue as a priority, in proportion to
all companies/NGOs selected for the sample (e.g., 100% of the oil and gas companies reviewed cited climate change as a priority.)
The results also indicate:
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Biodiversity was more commonly cited as a priority SD issue in 2006 than in 2005, both by oil and gas and other
industry companies reviewed.
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Human rights, water resources and community engagement (not listed in last year’s summary) continue to be
common priorities for industry as well.
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While difficult to tell from this small sample, the findings could indicate greater consistency across companies
regarding the issues listed as priorities in 2006 versus in 2005. If this is the case, it might indicate greater
industry dialogue or cooperation on SD issues or an influence of SD reporting guidelines such as those issued by
GRI and IPIECA. Note that the reverse may be true for the small sample of NGOs.
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The fact that none of the five NGOs reviewed listed human rights as a priority in 2006 while each did in 2007 is
noted, but could well be more a function of how issues were presented and interpreted rather than indicative of a
shift in focus by NGOs.
As noted in last year’s review, while social responsibility is not typically listed with SD priorities in the annual reports
and web sites, it appears in these accounts as an implicit element of the SD programs for all companies reviewed.
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