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'A Measure of Progress' - Guidelines on measuring environmental performanceIn any organisation, performance measurement helps to demonstrate that the business is moving in the right direction and is achieving improvement. Performance measures can help to identify the changes that need to occur in order to achieve desired future goals.
A Measure of Progress is a practical guide for businesses on measuring and reporting corporate environmental performance, developed by Business in the Environment and Ernst & Young, the guide was published in February 2001. The guide advocates that environmental performance should be integrated into existing management and measurement practices so as to meet both core business needs and wider stakeholder expectations.
'A Measure Of Progress' promotes the involvement of key business stakeholders in defining the most important indicators of performance; the need to make sure that internal management structures allow reliable information to form the basis of performance indicators; and the importance of reporting on performance to internal and external audiences.
Environmental performance, like other aspects of business management, needs to be measured for three main, interlinked reasons:
- Key external stakeholders (including regulators, consumers and communities) have increasingly high expectations of a company's environmental performance and up to date accurate and reliable information is needed to provide assurance
- These expectations create an incentive to improve performance. Internal managers therefore need to be aware of the trends in order to correct deterioration in performance and identify where further operational efficiencies could lead to improvements.
- Environmental information must increasingly feature in key strategic business decisions and investment if step changes in improvement are to be achieved (e.g. through clean technology, product design, supplier selection), beyond these associated with operational efficiencies.
Many leading companies are now integrating key environmental considerations into mainstream business management, measurement and reporting processes. 'A Measure of Progress' helps companies to start and improve their systems for measuring and reporting their environmental performance. BiE's recent City survey - 'Investing in the Future' - reveals that a company that emphasises its environmental and social performance indicates a company which is view by the City as forward-looking and actively managing its reputation.
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The full report can be purchased for £50, us for more details.
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Digby Jones, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) sees a clear link between environmental performance measurement and the success of business:
'Socially inclusive wealth creation is about business being a good neighbor as well as creating jobs and profits. For a company to be truly competitive it needs to deliver improvements in performance across all areas of the business. Improving environmental performance is one of the key challenges that businesses face. Performance measurement, environmental and otherwise, will play an increasing role in the ongoing success of UK plc.'
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