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Unilever links with other global business leaders in the International Integrated Reporting Council’s Pilot Programme

Posted 10 September, 2012

London (September 6th) – The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) today announces that global business leader Unilever has joined its Pilot Programme.  The IIRC’s Pilot Programme, comprising of over 75 businesses and 25 investors from around the globe, is designed to test the principles, content, and practical application of Integrated Reporting <IR> and develop the International <IR> Framework. The Pilot Programme is the IIRC’s innovation hub, encouraging and facilitating an evolution in corporate reporting that will lead to businesses adopting <IR>, supported by institutional investors, regulators and standard setters.

Unilever’s involvement demonstrates pivotal business support for <IR> as the IIRC prepares to release a Consultation Draft of the Framework in mid-2013, and publishing “version 1.0” of the final Framework in late 2013.

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, made a name for himself by integrating more than financial factors into the Unilever business model while keeping an eye on the bottom line.  He says that “business has to decide what role it wants to play. Does it sit on the side-lines waiting for governments to take action or does it get on the pitch and start addressing these issues? In Unilever we believe that business must be part of the solution.”

In an interview with Harvard Business Review’s Adi Ignatius, Polman said of Unilever’s strategy, “To provide new products and services in that (connected) world, (there is) the need to continue to guarantee a stream of resources, thinking a little differently about the use of scarce resources in itself. All these things add up to a very valid business model. I think for me, it’s very difficult to think that the absence of doing this would actually be a sound business model.”

Paul Druckman, CEO of the IIRC says, “The first year of the Pilot Programme has demonstrated that <IR> works across a wide range of industry sectors. Unilever is yet another large, global business forging and galvanising this change in corporate reporting to <IR>, and ultimately better decision-making.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:

  • The IIRC’s mission is to create the globally accepted Integrated Reporting <IR> Framework that elicits from businesses information about their strategy, governance, performance, and prospects in a clear, concise and comparable format. The International <IR> Framework will underpin and accelerate the evolution of corporate reporting, reflecting developments in financial, governance, social, and sustainability reporting.
  • Our vision is for <IR> to be accepted globally as the corporate reporting norm, benefiting organisations, their investors and other stakeholders by enabling informed decision-making that leads to efficient capital allocation and the creation and preservation of value. By encouraging a different way of thinking, <IR> will contribute towards the advancement of a more sustainable global economy.
  • The Framework will accelerate the global evolution of corporate reporting because organisations will be able to:
      o Share information across departments, contributing to the report – adding strategic focus and creating value for the organisation;
      o Embed the Framework within the company’s own strategy.

For more detailed information about participants in the Pilot Programme, and the IIRC’s activities, please consult the website: https://integratedreporting.ifrs.org.
Contact Kate Turner in the Communications team at: [email protected]