30.11.2011

Kyiv, Ukraine

Workshop “Non-financial report as a new source of information for journalists”

Workshop “Non-financial report as a new source of information for journalists” and award ceremony of the winners of the contest for journalists

On November 30, 2011 “Non-financial report as a new source of information for journalists” workshop was held for Ukrainian mass-media in the UN House. Sustainable development and nonfinancial reporting audit experts were the speakers of the event.

Presentation called “Social reports: to read or not to read?” was given by Ms. Olena Makarenko, head of Corporate and Sustainable development department at KPMG Ukraine. During the presentation basic sustainable development and social reporting concepts were outlined. Strong emphasis was made on the key role of journalists in public awareness of sustainable development and feedback exchange with stakeholders.

Mr. Henning Dragger, Chief Sustainability Officer at BDO LLC Ukraine, pointed out the following issues: why there exists a need for a greater corporate reporting worldwide, what role  a social report can play for journalists and what to look for when studying social reports. According to Mr. Henning Dragger social report is a valuable source of information about the corporate performance. It is possible for mass media representatives to find there necessary information about interaction between company and its stakeholders. However there are cases when some companies do not disclose complete information in their social report. Subsequently, journalists should also have their own consideration about how social and environmental wellbeing can be affected by the corporate performance.

Finally, Mr. Viktor Kovalenko, Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader at Ernst & Young Ukraine touched upon the extent one can trust a social report. Audit was defined as the main tool to measure reliability of information disclosed in the non-financial reports. From journalists’ perspective, audited social report could serve a reliable source of information for the articles.

Award ceremony of the winners of the contest on the best analytical material regarding sustainable development and role of business, organized for journalists by Global Compact Network Ukraine on February-April 2011 made a festive conclusion on the event. Besides the 1-st prize winner Mr.Igor Groshovskyy (Investgazeta) there were other participants whose work was recognized  by the “Green dossier” and telecommunications company life:). Those included Ms. Olena Gladskyh (Delo), Ms. Oksana Mykolyuk (Den), and Ms. Angela Hachaturova (Corporate magazine of the company Kyivstar).