Good to Know – Arctic Values

The truths and myths of sustainbaility- & non-financial reporting

by Adrian Braun

Do you need non-financial reporting in a business? What does it even mean, non-financial reporting? Is managing a business not complicated enough with accounting, taxation, banking, annual reports and shareholder announcements? Now, diverse people with different positions and backgrounds claim that you need a sustainability report, highlighting your efforts and performances in non-monetary perspectives. Ok fair enough, sustainability is good, it is popular, it is on government’s agendas, and it is protecting the environment. However, is it not rather something for the big global players in business, the big polluters and the companies that have the pocket money to invest into these efforts outside the core business?.

by Adrian Braun

The concept of CSR has definitely relations to the notions of sustainability and the triple-bottom-line. Both terms comprise the three dimensions environment, society and economy. In practice, this is linked to profitable organisations and to what extent these business actors consider the three dimensions. In a simplified portrayal an organisation should try to minimise all negative ecological impacts caused by their activities and allow or possibly improve the social performance (e.g. better protection and working conditions for workforces, fair salaries or wages). Furthermore, by considering environmental and social aspects, it is simultaneously essential to find a balance of the named three dimensions, remain profitable, competitive, and achieve persistence on the market.

by Adrian Braun

A frequently neglected question in running a business is: Who are my stakeholders? Many managers think they are aware of their stakeholder universe and that good relations with everybody linked to the business had been established and go smoothly. By considering the stakeholder universe, it is initially essential to know; who a stakeholder is and what the notion in fact means. A very simple definition describes a stakeholder as anybody, who can affect or is affected by your business or organisation. This does not mean that the effects have to be exclusively positive or exclusively negative. Both sides of the coin are of relevance.

by Adrian Braun

We all have heard about climate change! More than a decade ago, the notion of climate change has left academia and specific niches in political discussions. It has entered the daily discourse of numerous mass media channels and thus reached a wide audience. The topic is still controversial and while many actors argue if a warming climate is man-made or a natural phenomenon that happens every few thousand years, it is essential to simply accept that climate change is real and that action is required, either to mitigate or to adapt.