Reporting scope
The AkzoNobel Report 2011 combines our financial and sustainability reporting and is addressed to readers interested in both areas. In particular, we seek ways of linking sustainability performance to business results in areas such as carbon emission reduction and eco-premium solutions. Alongside the publication of this report, more sustainability information, including an index of all Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators, will be made available online.
The information in this report also offers an update on our implementation of the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. The Global Compact Index on the website gives an overview of all the topics.
The topics covered in this report were selected on the basis of the GRI guidelines, the sustainability aspects of our strategy and input from various external stakeholders. These include our engagement with organizations such as Forum for the Future, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and third party questionnaires, notably the SAM assessment – the rating agency for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices – and the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Reporting policies
Materiality
We have used the principle of materiality to assess the topics to include in the report, which are current and important for the company and key stakeholders.
Reporting boundaries
The AkzoNobel Report 2011 integrates sustainability aspects of our processes and business operations in each section, in particular the Strategy, Business performance and Governance and compliance sections.
This Sustainability facts and figures section summarizes the global, cross-business elements of the sustainability agenda and company performance. Specifically, it includes quantitative and qualitative information relating to the calendar year 2011 and comparative data for 2010, 2009 and 2008, which is based on the AkzoNobel portfolio, including the former ICI at the end of 2008. We report on consolidated data from entities where AkzoNobel is the majority shareholder (more than 50 percent) and joint ventures where we have management control, but exclude all data from entities where we have minority ownership, or no management control. Former ICI business Chemicals Pakistan has its own management board. The requirement to report on specific AkzoNobel sustainability indicators has been limited to HSE and compliance issues.
Comparability
Previously, our policy was to report new acquisitions within one calendar year. From 2010, we report from the date of purchase, recognizing that there may be reporting improvements required at these facilities. A significant change reflected in 2011 data is the acquisition of Schramm Holding AG its and related SSCP business.
We introduced a revised set of HSE KPIs with detailed reporting guidance as of 2009. There are a number of definition, calculation and reporting differences which impacted the comparability of data with 2008: Total reportable rate, energy, CO2, NOx and SOx emissions. We identify these in the text and footnotes.
In 2010, we changed our employee survey to Gallup Q12. The Gallup GrandMean scores are not comparable with the previous survey’s percent favorable score.
Reporting process and assurance
The reporting period is 2011. Data has mainly been obtained from our financial management reporting systems, corporate HR information management systems, corporate compliance information reporting systems and the AkzoNobel corporate reporting systems for Health, Safety and Environment performance indicators, which have associated approval and verification processes. Data collection for the newer value chain reporting aspects is carried out using standard templates and procedures. More details are available on our corporate website.
We are confident in the overall reliability of the data reported, but recognize that some of the information is subject to a certain degree of uncertainty, inherent to limitations associated with measuring and calculating data. Senior managers approved the content and the quantitative data used in the Sustainability facts and figures section relating to their respective areas of responsibility.
The integration of sustainability in day-to-day business is part of our routine internal audit process. The Sustainability facts and figures section has been reviewed by independent, external auditors. The assurance report, including the scope of the audit, can be found in the Independent assurance report section.
