Mr Gradgrind, you remember him?
He was the miserable old git in Dickens’ Hard Times. He said: “In this life, we want nothing but Facts, sir, nothing but facts”
But is it true? Some companies clearly believe not. Companies like BT, Kingfisher and Shell commission expert panels as part of the assurance process. Thereby readers can see what those who are in the know think about company sustainability performance.
Some assurors won’t do anything more adventurous than issue a statement reading something like: “With regard to the data nothing has come to our attention that the data may be in error but don’t rely on this and please don’t sue us if you do”. Others (Corporate Citizenship included) do freely and fully express their own opinions in their assurance statements.
Like it or not (and some powerful vested interests clearly don’t like it one little bit) corporate responsibility/sustainability assurance is not just about facts.
Sorry Mr Gradgrind but there it is.