Vodafone today took the prize for best report at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) sustainability reporting awards in London.

The mobile phone giant was singled out by the judges for the clarity and readability of its report, as well as for its efforts to disclose the impact of mobile phones on health, the economic value of technology and the responsible use of content.
Charlotte Grezo, director of corporate responsibility at Vodafone, said: "How we report performance is critical, because it is a driver of trust among opinion leaders."

Speaking at a seminar before the awards ceremony, she forecast that standards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting will change dramatically in the next few years.

As well as its group report, Vodafone produces country-specific reports, which focus on its impact on some of the countries in which it operates. This includes the first ever CSR reports in Albania and Malta, she added.

Co-operative Financial Services, which runs The Co-operative Bank in the UK, took the award for runner up.

UK telecom firm BT, meanwhile, received two commendations, for its disclosure on materiality and issues identification and use of electronic media in its reporting.

The trust behind The Guardian and The Observer newspapers in the UK was commended for its disclosure on product stewardship, and praised by the judges for its "warts and all" approach to reporting the impact of its products, including responsible advertising, accurate coverage of global news, paper use and recycling,

UK fair trade organisation Traidcraft was also recognised for its disclosure on stakeholder engagement, while Shared Interest, a co-operative which lends in the developing world, picked up a commendation for best first-time reporter.

Roger Adams, executive director, technical, at ACCA welcomed the inclusion of two smaller firms in the awards, adding: "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."

Judges on the panel included representatives from the FTSE Group, Ernst & Young, KPMG and the UK’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.