Country statistics Europe continued UK (13 companies): Companies from the UK represented the largest part of the sample, making up almost a quarter of the group. In general, there is a mature corporate reporting environment and the reports stand out for demonstrating links between various elements of the report and offering a holistic picture of the company. These reports tend to provide strategic discussions which inform the reader of the long-term objectives of the company and, often, there is reference to the company’s sustainability approach within the strategy section. The majority of companies identify principal non-financial risks as well as risk identification and management processes to manage the potential risks. However, only a few reports are successfully demonstrating the link between these risks and group strategy. Similarly, many companies provide detailed performance reporting and there is an increasing number of companies who also demonstrate a direct link to strategy. • A number of companies have strategic objectives for nonfinancial issues. • The majority of companies report non-financial performance indicators. • Most companies include information on people, society, and environmental policies and performance. France (8 companies): The core document in French corporate reporting is the registration document, which takes the form of a prospectus in terms of the level of disclosure demanding comprehensive statements on risk and market trends, among other items. Most of these are primarily compliance driven with little attempt to communicate or help with accessibility. Many companies do, however, produce an additional document, which is most often referred to as the ‘Activity and Sustainable Development Report’. True to its title this report provides greater focus on operations and particularly issues of corporate responsibility and sustainability. France is the European country, which has the most standardised approach to integrated financial and nonfinancial reporting and more good examples are being seen. • French reports closely link the performance of the business to corporate governance. • The majority of reports provide at least one of their management statements in Q&A format, which also gives the impression of real engagement with key issues. • Widespread reporting on issues such as: human resources; research & development; and sustainability. Germany (5 companies): The German reports tend to provide a long-term commitment to sustainability and, in many cases, this goes beyond simply looking at the company, focusing on global sustainability issues. Many of the reports, as a result, focus on global issues when discussing their trends and influences, reinforcing the global size and scale of some of these organisations. A big, bold vision is stated at the front of many of the reports, regardless of sector, and often the reports feature outlooks and forecast statements for the company and the global economy. • Many provide a long-term commitment to sustainability. But, despite this, there is little integration of information on employees, society and the environment. • Risk reporting is very developed, making strong links between outlook and risks. Switzerland (5 companies): The Swiss reports are very much results focused with lots of content but often falling down slightly in terms of presentation. However, they do follow a rather rigorous, structured approach to reporting and the majority of the reports present separate non-financial issues such as human resources, employee and sustainability sections. In terms of the integration of reporting within this sample group, there is limited information to take from these as many of the companies seem to be at the beginning of the reporting journey. 10 Towards Global Sustainability A country by country review of the international integrated reporting landscape