More Australian companies are producing sustainability or CSR reports, according to a new study by the Department of the Environment and Heritage and others. Of 509 companies surveyed, 116 has a publicly available report.
The survey, ‘The State of Sustainability Reporting in Australia’, found that the manufacturing sector had produced the most reports, at just over 35 percent. Only a minority had their reports externally verified.

The majority of companies said that concern for their reputation was driving them to create such reports.

The trend was criticised by the Australian Shareholders Association, which said that companies must avoid taking on responsibilities that were the proper business of governments.