SustainAbility has argued that the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development are increasingly intertwined. But we are acutely aware that these three dimensions of accounting, auditing and reporting are at very different stages of their evolution.

Financial reporting has a 500-year history, but still finds it hard to account for such things as financial derivatives. Environmental accounting, with decades of work under its belt, is evolving rapidly, albeit with a huge amount of work still ahead.

Thus, The Social Reporting Report gives an introduction to the field of corporate social reporting, especially for first time or would-be reporters. It aims to link the growing demands for social accountability with the wider sustainable development debate.