4.4.3 Environmental reporting obligations

In the opinion of the author, the Dutch legislator did not act very bravely nor accurately, by referring to environmental reports. In fact, such an environmental report is only required from companies that have a large industrial production facility in the Netherlands which is potentially harmful to the local environment

(presently approximately 330 facilities).1 The reporting requirement only concerns the environmental issues of the Dutch facility. Consequently, the environmental aspects of operations abroad do not have to be reported on. Also, there is no link between the environmental report and the annual accounts of a company, which makes it difficult for analysts and banks to really value such information. In addition, the obligation was first to make two environmental reports: one for the public and one, with more technical details, for the governmental institution that provides the production licence, usually the provincial authorities. Recently, in 2005, the requirement to compile a public report has been rescinded with a view to reducing the administrative burden for companies.2 Consequently, the environmental report produced pursuant to the Environmental Management Act to which the Dutch legislator referred can, in the opinion of the author, not be compared to the new EU wide requirement for companies to include information on environmental matters related to their worldwide operations in their annual report. It would have been more accurate if the Dutch legislator were to have pointed to (i) the importance of CSR, (ii) the call for sustainability reporting (see also section 4.5.6 below on the GRI), and (iii) specifically the EP resolutions requesting the Commission and the Council to adopt legislation on CSR and to assure transparency on the worldwide behaviour of EU companies as regards environmental, social and ethical standards.3