By Jamie Lee

A NEW set of guidelines on sustainability was introduced yesterday to urge Singapore companies to report their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.

While this is not a 'political must-do', said Claire Chiang, president of Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility, it is a step towards benchmarking such efforts by Singapore businesses.

The move was part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties, Singapore Compact for CSR and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), who would work on organising workshops, conference and research activities on the topic.

The guidelines, which were set out in a handbook, outlined the key components of a sustainability report.

Besides providing a corporate profile akin to an annual report, a sustainability report must also include the economic, environmental and social performance of the company, or otherwise known as the 'triple bottom line'.

'The issue is reaching a stage of maturity,' said chief executive of ACCA, Allen Blewitt.

'It's high on business agendas,' for countries such as Australia, which has substantial energy and mining operations, he said.

'ACCA is not in a position to mandate corporate social responsibility but that doesn't mean we cannot pressure the governments in this part of the region,' he added.

Countries have seen varied successes in pushing the CSR movement. Malaysia legislated last year that all listed companies on Bursa Malaysia must report its CSR efforts, such as the impact of their operations on the environment.

On the other hand, the United Kingdom recently withdrew a first draft of a revision on the Companies Act that would have made it mandatory for companies to report their CSR work and their levels of carbon emissions.

Legislation aside, Mr Blewitt said Singaporeans are becoming more conscious of environmental issues based on his anecdotal 'taxi driver test' with Singapore cabbies.

This article was first published in The Business Times on 12 July 2008.