The state of global environmental reporting: Lessons from the global 100

Global economic corporations have global environmental responsibilities that include reporting that extends to their entire global operation. The 1999 Benchmark Survey of The State of Global Environmental Reporting surveys and compares the global reporting practices of the largest one hundred corporations in the world. Global environmental reporting is increasing and is now standard among firms in the electronics, automobile manufacturing, and chemicals sectors. From the 1998 survey to the present, the number of global environmental reporters rose from thiry-nine to forty-four firms. If one discounts the minimal reporting among financial services firms, sixty percent of the Global 100 produced a global environmental report (GER). The quality of reporting also increased dramatically in key areas as Global environmental management system (EMS) standards and specifications and global use of Design for Environment (DfE) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tools increased.