Sustainability Indicators

Group Assignment #3 (due 5/14)

4/22/2020
Compare the EN indicators of your and another CSR reports. Answer the following questions
addressed from the following papers (A, D).

A. Roca, L. C. and Searcy, C. (2012). “An analysis of indicators disclosed in corporate

sustainability reports,” Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 20, pp.103-118.

1. Compare the amounts of qualitative and quantitative EIs in the two CSR reports (p.3).
2. The commonly disclosed EIs are energy and water consumption, carbon dioxide emissions,
internal initiatives to improve energy efficiency, etc. (p.5), as well as those in the Table on
p. 9 and 10. Please compare the EN indicators in the two CSR reports with the above.
3. Did the company use a high number of indicators (p.13)? Do you think the company is in
an industry with high (low) impact so discloses more (less) information (p.20)? Compare
with two other companies.

B. Environmental management- Environmental performance evaluation-

ISO 14031 Guidelines

For the CSR report your group chose:

1. Identify the environmental aspects of the company. (p.4)
2. Suggest MPIs, OPIs, and ECIs the company should select. (p. 6~10)
3. Explain the possible sources that the EN indicator data were collected. (p.11~12)

C. Jasch, C. (2000). “Environmental performance evaluation and indicators,” Journal

of Cleaner Production, Vol. 8, pp.79-88.

1. What are the purposes that the disclosed EIs can achieve, or after a combination of EIs
with economic and/or social indicators (p.5)?
2. The type of environmental performance indicators (EPIs) includes MPIs, OPIs, and ECIs
(p.11). Please categorize the EPIs in the CSR report accordingly. If the EPIs don’t contain
all three types of indicators, please read the management approaches or other parts of the
CSR report or make calculations with OPIs to find MPIs and/or ECIs.
3. Please make a framework of accounts for the company you chose (p.15). Place back the
amounts or quantities from the 32 EN indicators and other sources to know the amounts
of materials and energy used as inputs as well as the quantities of products, wastes and
emissions as outputs (p.13).
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D. Olsthoorn et al. (2001). “Environmental indicators for business: a review of the
literature and standardization methods,” Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 9,
pp.453-463.

1. “Choice and use of EIs (environmental indicators) by companies depend on the type of
firm, sector, size…” (p.3 on the PPT). In your and another CSR reports, please justify the
EIs based on the type of firm, sector, size...
2. There are three generations of EIs (p.6). Please classify the EIs in the three reports
accordingly.
3. For one of the two companies, use two EI examples to explain the process from data,
normalization, standardization, aggregation, to EIs (p.11), or through the 4 steps of
developing indicators (p.20).
4. For one of the two companies, link physical and impact indicators with business
information in ratios (p.15). Please analyze the environmental and economic indicators to
derive some linked indicators.

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 Guidance to the Assignment #3 (Shorten your answers)

A1.
Table 表 3.13 EN 30 項指標衡量類型 (GRI 3.1 Version)
衡量 量化指標 質化指標
GRI Aspect/indicators 面向/指標 尺度 Quantitati. Qualitative
材料
EN1 材料總使用重量或體積 3 ✔
EN2 回收材料使用百分比 4 ✔ ✔
能源
EN3 直接能源消耗量 3 ✔
EN4 間接能源消耗量 3 ✔
EN5 因節約或效率改善的節能量 3 ✔
EN6 產品/服務使用高效率與再生能源的措施及其節能量 1~4 ✔ ✔
EN7 減少間接能源使用措施及其節能量 1~4 ✔ ✔
水
EN8 總用水量 3 ✔
EN9 因用水而嚴重影響的水源 1~4 ✔ ✔
EN10 回收與再利用水量比率及體積 3、4 ✔ ✔
生物多樣性
EN11 座落或鄰近保護區土地之潛在影響 1~3 ✔ ✔
EN12 重大影響的活動、產品及服務 1~4 ✔ ✔
EN13 棲地保護或復育 1~3 ✔ ✔
EN14 管理影響生物多樣性之行動計畫 1、2 ✔
EN15 受經營活動影響的物種數目及風險 1~3 ✔ ✔
氣體排放量、污水排放量及廢棄物
EN16 直接與間接 GHG 排放總重量 3 ✔
EN17 其他相關之間接 GHG 排放重量 3 ✔
EN18 減少 GHG 排放之措施與減少量 1~3 ✔ ✔
EN19 消耗臭氧層物質的排放重量 3 ✔
EN20 SOX、NOX 及重大氣體排放種類與重量 1、3 ✔ ✔
EN21 排放水質及目的地之廢汙水量 1、3 ✔ ✔
EN22 依種類及處理法區分之廢物總重量 1、3 ✔ ✔
EN23 化學品等液體溢漏的總次數及體積 1、3 ✔ ✔
EN24 有害廢棄物運送與處理重量 3 ✔
EN25 水域及棲息地受廢污水及逕流嚴重影響情況 1~3 ✔ ✔
產品與服務
EN26 減輕產品與服務對環境影響的措施及減輕程度 1~4 ✔ ✔
EN27 售出產品及其包裝材料回收之比例 4 ✔ ✔
法令
EN28 違反環保法令之罰款及處罰次數 1、3 ✔ ✔
交通運輸
EN29 營運運輸產品、材料及員工的重大環境衝擊 1~3 ✔ ✔
整體
EN30 環保支出/投資類別與總金額 1、3 ✔ ✔
合計 29 21

A2.
Are the EIs in the two CSR reports more related to energy and water consumption, carbon
dioxide emissions, internal initiatives to improve energy efficiency, etc. (p.5)? Show your
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comparisons also with those in the Table on p. 9 and 10. Do the EIs in the CSR reports have
similarity or difference? Making a table such as one in A1 helps the comparison.
A3.
The two tables in D1 can be used to explain whether the companies disclosed more or less
EIs. Please refer to p. 20 and 21 in the PPT. This question is relevant to D1.

B1.
Think of the 7 ways, and refer to the Input Output Process in C3, to identify possible
environmental aspects. Maybe some aspects identified from different ways are the same.
B2.
Relate to the aspects in B1. Select 1 or 2 ECIs, 3 or 4 OPIs, and 2 or 3 MPIs. See also p. 9.
B3.
The source “Regulatory reports” can be for ECIs. The sources such as “Financial and
accounting records” and “Purchasing records” can be for MPIs. The rest sources are mostly
for OPIs. Make a table of the 13 sources vs. EIs. Are there other sources?

C1.
Why can the 8 purposes be achieved? Which ones are easily achieved? Use a table and EIs to
explain. Some EIs can achieve but some cannot. Check the contents of the CSR reports.
C2.
Make a table as follows and explain… ECI examples: CO2 emissions/person, No. of
contaminated rivers/all rivers, garbage/day-person, water use/product, energy intensity,
wastewater treated ratio, electricity use/day-person, water use/day-person
MPIs OPIs ECIs
CSR 1 Mostly qualitative EI. EN1,… A few. Explain what ECIs can be obtained
From the contents in Most EN for this company. Refer to the Taiwan
the CSR report. Sustainability Indicators, as above.
CSR 2 … Some can be from the source in A3.
C3.
Draw the framework of accounts or Input Output Process. Try to put the 32 ENs into the
framework or process, and explain the effectiveness /efficiency of the company’s production.

D1.
Make tables

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 CSR report 1 CSR 2
1. Type Electronics Telecom
2. Sector Manufacturing Service
3. Size Large (No. of employees, or revenue) Small
4. Regulations Waste water discharge, limits of pollutants
5. …

CSR 1 CSR 2
Materials
EN1, EN2 EN1, … None
Energy
ENEN3~EN7 EN3, 4 EN6
Total 25 15

Then explain the findings with the above two tables.

D2. (The following are the numbers of G4 version.).

1. First generation: EN11, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 21
2. Second: EN1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29
3. Third: EN2, 10, 27, 28, 30 G4-EN5, EN18

D3.
For example, for EN1 Material weight for a (building) product:
1. Data: Collect weight data of various materials used at different departments (projects).
2. Normalization: Normalize weights from departments or components (m3 concrete, ton
steel) into kg. (Use conversion factors)
3. Standardization: Use standardization as denominator or normalizing factors, such as No.
of products, revenue… Use conversion factors, such as CO2/kg.
4. Aggregation: Aggregate weights of different products into single indicator, such as
kg/product, kg/m2. Please refer to the final unit.
If you cannot find enough data in the CSR reports, you should describe how to do that from
step 1 to step 4 for the chosen two indicators and the company.

D4.
Some results can be derived from A3, such as kg/product, CO2/$ revenue for materials.