Dr Warren Parker.
Our sustainability aims
Sustainability is about corporate social responsibility (CSR), and is more than just visible programmes of good citizenship. It is a reflection of values and philosophies that are embedded in an organisation and evidenced in day-to-day activities. In this context, ‘social’ encompasses the full range of stakeholders, local communities including indigenous peoples, the environment, and economic considerations beyond financial statements. CSR is responsibility to society for our actions and is fundamental to sustainable development.
Landcare Research published its first CSR report (also called sustainability or triple bottom line reports) in 1999. Since 2001, we have published a fully integrated, printed annual report covering all dimensions of our performance. We monitor, set targets for, and report on key aspects of our economic, social, and environmental performance, including the direct impacts of our business (e.g. resource use) and indirect impacts through the application of our science. Our approach and our reporting continues to evolve.
Our approach to CSR and sustainability goes beyond the focus on our business (science for sustainable outcomes) to how we do business, how we engage with our stakeholders, and how we add value to society and the natural environment. We use the GRI framework to guide our reporting, and on our website, report in detail against the G3 guidelines plus additional indicators that are material to our Landcare Research’s activities.
In this section of our website we outline our strategic priorities to be a resilient, productive organisation. The information presented complements our printed annual report.
While our numerous achievements are documented, we are ever mindful that our work will never be complete. Like any organisation, we face conflicting demands for our limited resources. We need to balance our primary investment in science discovery with the application of this new knowledge to provide a sound evidence base for policy, improved management practice, more skilled people, and the delivery of products and services that will improve environmental performance. This includes the way we operate. For example, our Auckland building illustrates some of the potential of low-impact urban design, we are investing to reduce electricity and water use, and we strive to minimise our carbon footprint and offset all unavoidable emissions.
We are committed to balanced, transparent reporting of material issues across all our activities. We have robust internal processes to ensure our data are accurate and comparable between years, and put in place internal quality processes to support evidence-based reporting.
Warren Parker
Chief Executive
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Strategy & Performance
Our stakeholders
Commitment to external initiatives
Last updated: 2/10/2009