Ceres and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) today called for submissions to the Ceres-ACCA North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting 2006. The deadline for submissions is October 27, 2006.

The purpose of the awards program is to acknowledge and publicize best practice in reporting on sustainability, environmental and social performance by corporations and organizations and to provide leadership to those companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability reports. The awards will be given for reports published in 2006 for year 2005 performance.

The awards are not intended to endorse or reward company performance in any of the three areas, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities. The judging criteria address completeness, credibility and quality of communication. The panel of 15 judges includes North American leaders and experts representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.

Last year, reporting award applications were received from 87 companies. Hewlett-Packard and Nike were co-winners of the top sustainability reporting award overall. (More details can be found at http://www.ceres.org/sustreporting,) Both ACCA and Ceres expect that the number of applicants will increase this year.

Any Canadian, American or Mexican company, institution or organization can submit a report to the Ceres-ACCA North American Awards for Sustainability Reporting 2006. An organization not based in Canada, the United States, or Mexico can submit a report if it is solely focused on a site or subsidiary based in Canada, the United States, or Mexico. Companies may apply on their own behalf or be nominated by others.

"A growing number of North American companies are trying to increase accountability to stakeholders by investing serious time and energy into reports disclosing their social and environmental impacts and performance," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres. "We think it is important to recognize innovation and leadership in such corporate reporting.”

"Sustainability reporting is a key driver of corporate social responsibility behaviors," said Lynn Beauregard, administrative director of ACCA Canada. "It plays a vital role in improving not only communication, but also credibility and trust between organizations and their stakeholders. It also provides a clear framework for all stakeholders to compare companies on their environmental performance."

Ceres, a U.S. coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations, launched and led the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with the United Nations Environment Program, until it became an independent, international standard-setting organization in 2002. The number of companies around the world that follow the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines is now nearly 1,000. ACCA has been promoting greater transparency in corporate reporting of social and environmental impacts for over a decade and is involved in similar reporting awards throughout Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region.

To apply
To apply for the 2006 awards, please read the Applicants’ Info Flyer and complete the Application Form. The deadline for submissions is October 27, 2006.

For further information, please contact:
Nigel Hall
Senior Advisor Communications, ACCA Canada
416-483-4328 or nigel.hall@ca.accaglobal.com

Brooke Barton
Program Associate, Ceres
617-216-7215 or barton@ceres.org