A Global Pharmaceutical Company – Website sustainability reporting

Client challenge

The sustainability website was seen as an important tool in the communication of policy and strategy to a number of key stakeholder groups. It was therefore vitally important that the communication objectives of these stakeholders were both being monitored, and met. Having defined the communication objectives of key stakeholder groups who had an interest in using the sustainability website, the client wanted to externally verify that these objectives were indeed being delivered and where gaps in communication of sustainability issues existed.

What did we do?

Using publicly available information on the website, Article 13 analysed three ‘tiers’ of the sustainability website, based on the three click principle, whereby the most important information on a website should be located no more than three clicks away from the home page.

By defining stakeholder sustainability interests through the use of sustainability reporting guidelines such as the Global Reporting Initiative, Association of British Insurers and Pharma Shareowners Group (PSG), we were able to match observed communication of sustainability issues on the website, to the desired communications as defined by these organisations (and thus by proxy, stakeholders).

To remove subjectivity, standard accounting procedures were adapted and applied in a non financial reporting context, focusing our analysis on ‘relevance’ of the information (relative to the stakeholders), ‘evidence’ of the information (examples, rather than rhetoric) and ‘understandibility’ (coherence, readability and softer communication issues). Gaps in communication against each criteria were noted thus building a comprehensive gap analysis of ‘missing issues’. With gaps highlighted against communication objectives, we were able to measure whether the client was indeed meeting the communication expectations of its key stakeholder groups.

The implications of these gaps were also analysed, and presented in a report for consideration by the board and the investor / stakeholder relations team.

How did we break the cycle?

Communication gaps were identified in a number of areas and to a number of stakeholder groups. The findings produced by Article 13 stimulated immediate action to review website content, and its alignment with communication objectives to stakeholder expectations about reporting.

© Article 13 2005