Friday 6 May 2011

Majority of UK companies fall foul of correct environmental procedure

Only a small minority of UK businesses are making information about their environmental procedures available in line with governmental guidance.

In a study conducted by the Environment Agency, it was revealed that although more companies were disclosing some information about their environmental performance on an annual basis, the majority of it did not fulfil correct procedure.

Paul Leinster, Chief Executive at the Environment Agency said:"More businesses are being open about their environmental risks, but it is a concern that there is still a wide variation inthe quality of reporting and that less than one in three businesses surveyed provided data in line with Defra guidance."

The report, Environmental Disclosures, found that 99% of companies in fact made reference to an environmental issue in their 2009-2010 reports and accounts.

The report concludes that further progress could be made towards transparent environmental reporting ifmore companies followed Government guidelines.

The 2008 Climate Change Act requires the Government to make regulations through the Companies Act 2006 that will require a directors' report to contain information on green-house gas emissions by 6 April 2012, or explain why such regulations have not been made.