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18 Feb 2010 |
Grontmij assures MOD 2009 Sustainable Development Report
Leading European engineering consultancy Grontmij and project partners Two Tomorrows Europe Ltd have completed an independent assurance statement for the Ministry of Defence’s 2009 Sustainable Development Report.
Appointing third parties for assurance of sustainability reporting within departmental Annual Reports and Accounts is currently being considered by The Treasury as a means of promoting and monitoring the Government’s commitment to achieving improved sustainability performance within its own operations.
By publishing an independent assurance statement with the main sustainable development report, readers can have increased confidence that the report is unbiased and contains an accurate assessment of true performance. To ensure high standards were met the Grontmij team utilised the criteria provided by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 Quality of Information Principles to guide the assessment process.
Grontmij was appointed to assess the claims made within the Sustainable Development Report for 2009 and included interviews with selected directors, senior commanding officers and senior managers within MOD responsible for management of sustainability issues. This included the 2nd Permanent Under Secretary for Defence, members of the Safety, Sustainable Development & Continuity Division, RAF Air Command, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), Land Command, Permanent Joint Headquarters, Royal Navy Command and Defence Estates.
Grontmij project manager, Linsey Cottrell said: “Grontmij’s work on assurance across the MOD followed our solid reputation, including eight years of ongoing environmental work for the MOD and its agencies. The project was a fascinating insight into how a major government department is translating the concepts of sustainable development into day to day actions of its staff and managers.”
“Our report identified evidence of strong engagement within the parts of the MOD that take responsibility for key impact areas, such as Procurement and Estate Management, as well as good level of awareness and engagement among senior management and commanding officers.”
It is already common practice in the corporate sector to provide independent assurance of corporate social responsibility or sustainability reports to ensure that assessment of performance for shareholder and stakeholder groups is unbiased.
The MOD, in line with other Government departments, publishes annual reports, setting out progress in approaches to sustainable development, and in particular in meeting the Government’s mandated targets known as the Sustainable Objectives for the Government Estate (SOGE).
The MOD is one of the largest and most diverse of all the Government departments, so it plays an important role in achieving Government objectives, including reducing energy, waste and carbon emissions.
The full assurance report and the MOD sustainable development report and action plan are available on the MOD website at
http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/AC631688-5F34-4C54-955F-77EA2CE3D5A1/0/IndependentAssuranceStatement2009.pdf
The Defence Estates press release is at:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EstateAndEnvironment/ModsSustainableDevelopmentWorkPraised.htm