FAQs

Here are some of the questions we receive most often. If you have other questions please contact us at susan@solsticeworks.ca and we'll be pleased to discuss them with you.

I've heard about CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). How do we get started?
Whether you call it CSR, Sustainability or something else, it all starts with the recognition that successful businesses depend on, and contribute to, healthy ecosystems and social systems. Industry Canada has produced a useful guide to getting started with CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility: an Implementation Guide for Canadian Business. Solstice can help you every step of the way.

How will sustainability reporting benefit my organization?
Many organizations approach sustainability reporting in anticipation of the external benefits - improved trust with stakeholders, enhanced reputation for transparency and accountability, recognition and rewards for sustainability performance. However, the internal benefits, especially of integrated sustainability reporting, are even more compelling. Sustainability reports are a great way to inform and inspire employees - both the readers and preparers. One manager said that the preparation of their report required getting to know every aspect of the business and was the best management training she'd ever had. Developing the systems to support sustainability reporting brings together, often for the first time, a holistic view of organizational performance - essential to sound decision-making and strategic planning.

Which standard should we use - AA1000, ISAE3000 or the GRI?
They each have their uses and can be complementary. The GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) updated their Sustainability Reporting Guidelines in 2006 and they are now more accessible to new reporters. The 2006 G3 set of guidelines is most helpful in deciding what to report and how to measure and present it.

The AA1000 family of standards, developed by AccountAbility, includes the original AA1000 framework, an approach to reporting that is both rigorous and stakeholder inclusive, the AA1000 Assurance Standard and the Stakeholder Engagement Standard. The AA1000 Assurance Standard is the most used of the three and provides core principles - stakeholder inclusivity, completeness, materiality and responsiveness - against which sustainability reports can be assessed.

The ISAE3000 (International Standard for Assurance Engagements 3000) is the generally applicable standard that professional accountants are required to follow for any assurance engagement other than audits of financial statements. While it is not specific to sustainability reports, it ensures that professional rigour and ethics are applied in the engagement. It is becoming increasingly common for accountants to use both ISAE 3000 and AA1000 on sustainability assurance engagements.