Vodafone Takes Top Spot at ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards

The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has revealed the seven organisations that have received awards or have been commended for their reports on the environmental, social and wider economic impacts of their activities at the UK Awards for Sustainability Reporting 2006. The most prestigious accolade was presented to The Vodafone Group who won the award for Best report.

The judges, selected for their diverse stakeholder representation, complimented Vodafone for its "engaging, readable and refreshing account of [its] approach to managing its impacts." The Group was praised for its efforts to explore the impacts of mobile phones on health, the economic value of technology and responsible content and use, in particular for children.

Amongst the other winners, Guardian Newspapers Ltd was commended for disclosure on product stewardship. The judges rewarded the Guardian for its transparent "warts and all" account of the impact of its products, including responsible advertising, accurate coverage of global news items as well as the more conventional issues such as paper use, recycling and access to information. The Guardian was one of the few entrants to explore the negative elements of products as well as the positive and this was highlighted as an encouraging move towards a more responsible business world.

Roger Adams, Executive Director, Technical at ACCA, said "It is very encouraging to see such a diverse range of organisations represented amongst this year's winners including two SMEs. The judges were particularly impressed by the more responsible approach to sustainability, giving a more balanced outline to the way in which each company conducts themselves, the pros and the cons. It is of paramount importance to us to highlight the necessity of sustainability to businesses and organisations, and this year's findings are yet another step towards achieving this."

Posted to the site on 2nd March 2007