Ceres and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) today announced the shortlist of candidate reports for the Ceres-ACCA North American Sustainability Reporting Awards for 2007. Of the 87 sustainability reports received, 21 were selected for further consideration by the judges’ panel that meets next month. The final winners will be announced at the Ceres Annual Conference at the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel in Boston on April 29, and also at an awards ceremony in Vancouver on May 14.

Now in its seventh year, the awards program is designed to highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American organizations, and to provide guidance to other groups and companies that are publishing or intend to publish sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports. This year’s awards are sponsored by Planet 2050, Weber Shandwick’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability practice.

"The Ceres-ACCA awards recognize companies and organizations that report sustainability information in the most complete and credible way,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres. “We are looking for organizations which document their key impacts and clearly explain changes in performance, positive or negative, and set a vision and targets for future progress.”

"ACCA is encouraged to see a wide range of sectors represented in the shortlist this year, including mining, autos, and apparel,” said Lynn Beauregard, administrative director and head of ACCA Canada. “Recognition of the importance and benefits of sustainability reporting continue to increase and the leadership of these select organizations provide an example for others to emulate.”

The awards are not intended to endorse or reward corporate sustainability performance, 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 13 judges includes North American leaders and experts representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.

Short-Listed Reports

• 3M
• Alcan
• Alcoa
• Baxter International
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Dell
• Duke Energy
• Ford Motor Company
• Gap, Inc.
• Hewlett-Packard
• New Hampshire Ball Bearings (Facility Report)
• Nexen
• Nike
• PotashCorp
• Starbucks
• Suncor Energy
• Teck Cominco
• The World Bank
• Timberland
• Weyerhaeuser
• Xerox

For 15 years, ACCA has held annual awards — first in the UK and now in more than 20 countries — to promote transparency in reporting the impact of business activities on sustainable development. Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has become the internationally established standard for corporate reporting on the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental performance.