| Abstract [eng] |
In the context of the recently adopted Directive 2014/95/ES which made corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting compulsory for certain large undertakings, the paper analyses the possibilities of adjusting environmental CSR indicators to the new Lithuanian National Environmental Protection Strategy goals. The aim of the Master Thesis is to identify which environmental indicators should be reported by Lithuanian companies, to assess the current reporting situation and to produce recommendations. The analysis has been based on the Global reporting initiative (GRI) guidelines, the most widely used and well known CSR reporting methodology. Also, it has been evaluated that GRI 4 environmental indicators are sufficient to cover the various areas of the National Environmental Strategy. After evaluating CSR reports of the members of the Lithuanian Responsible Business Association (LRBA), it has been concluded that companies report much more qualitative than quantitative information. Also, there are almost no possibilities to compare several periods’ data and just 2 companies explain the reasons for reporting on the specific environmental issues. Also the focus group discussion revealed that there is no common understanding of Lithuanian environmental issues among the representatives of the LRMA members. The proposal to continue promoting Global Compact in relation to GRI methodology in Lithuania is made. Moreover, it is advised to apply the ecological scarcity method (life cycle method, distance to target group) and to calculate aggregated annual corporate environmental impact as well as aggregated yearly improvements. This would help to assess the importance of the different environmental indicators and to compare various entities data. Also, this would enable the development of the clear and simple reporting requirements facilitating the disclosure of the most material environmental issues and contribution to the achievements of the goals of the National Environmental Strategy at the same time. The ecological scarcity method is applied to the case study of a Lithuanian logistics company. The Thesis is concluded with the proposals for future studies. |
