OREANDA-NEWS. On 20 March 2009 was announced, that a B2B (Business to Business) meeting took place in the conference hall of Opera Hotel (Kiev) on 12 March 2009. It was organized by members of UN Global Compact in Ukraine System Capital Management and Coca-Cola.

The event devoted to social reporting was focused on improving transparency of business and confirms its care for the society and all stakeholders. The developed social reports of businesses in Ukraine were discussed at the meeting.

Amongst the many dramatic changes that have taken place in the Ukrainian business since the 1990s, the change of the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is certainly one of the most noteworthy. Many companies today have to come to terms and project with corporate social responsibility. However the concept of CSR reporting remains confusing. There is still a gap between companies’ actions in CSR and their approach to reporting. Support of the UN Global Compact gives its signers the structure and the focus for collective action as well as possibility to learn the best examples on reporting from the leading companies working around the world as well as in Ukraine.

During her welcoming remarks, Yuliya Shcherbinina, Public-Private Partnership Officer at the United Nations in Ukraine, noted: “One of the explicit commitments that a company makes when it joins the UN Global Compact is to produce an annual Communication on Progress (COP). The COP is an important demonstration of a participant's commitment not only to the UN Global Compact and its principles, but its commitment towards sustainability, accountability and transparency in general. It also contributes to the development of a repository of best corporate practices. GC Secretariat is especially pleased that it is in this spirit of peer exchange the two GC members will share their first-hand experience in social reporting and provide illustrative and inspirational examples of CoPs during the B2B meeting today”.

The meeting was organized by CSR specialists representing System Capital Management and Coca-Cola. They shared expertise in developing non-financial reports, spoke about applied methods and approaches and discussed the challenges and results.

Olesya Zhulynska, Public Affairs and Communications manager at Coca-Cola Company said: Coca-Cola in Ukraine has a coherent sustainable strategy that covers the whole business and beyond the community. This strategy focuses on improving the role and impact of the Coca-Cola system in four key areas: workplace, marketplace, environment and community. We use this strategy to guide our approach to covering sustainability issues and reports about our progress. Reporting is a real opportunity as our stakeholders would have the proof of our openness and commitment. We are a Ukrainian company, which tries to bring international experience from the world practices to share with local partners. We believe that our social position will make the customers think and treat differently the company if it is socially responsible".

"Social report for us is, firstly, a tool of a dialog with stakeholders, which should answer the main question: how does business, in the course of its development, take into account the interests of the society? We are glad that SCM is one of the first businesses in Ukraine to have made a sustainability report according to the international standards. The report gives answers to many questions important for the society", said Jock Mendoza–Wilson, the leader of SCM Group sustainability report development process and Director of International and Investor Relations of SCM.

"CSR for us is not about keeping up with fashion; it is a part of our business strategy and a fundamental principle for SCM Group. Being the biggest national investor we realize that sustainable operation of our company has a significant impact on the sustainability in the regions where a part of and the country on the whole", he added.

Business and public worlds need practical tools and approaches to manage successfully the whole range of social, environmental and economic issues. In this case CSR reporting principles and sharing best practices are crucial and help understand that financial health of a firm is dependent upon the environmental and social health of our planet.

First SCM GRI Report: Results and Lessons Learnt - Presentation by Jock Mendoza-Wilson and Alexandra Zayarnaya, CSR Manager for SCM, at the Global Compact Network B2B Meeting.