Beyond Reporting: Creating Business Value and Accountability

This report is about breaking the deadlock. It explores how leading companies are beginning to unlock value by taking a broader view of what they are accountable for, and using that knowledge to rebuild trust and strengthen their ability to respond to investors’ perennial question: “What are you going to do when something happens that you didn’t expect?” In discussions with more than 60 WBCSD member companies, numerous accountability specialists and investors, one simple truth has emerged: there is no magic bullet to make sense of these codes, no simple way to restore trust. But, the report says, successful companies are finding that they can use accountability codes, standards and other instruments to help understand the complex relationship between accountability, sustainable development and their core business strategies.