Compiler’s Note :
Sustainability Reporting is a global development which is fast gaining importance and momentum in India. Infosys Technologies Ltd. has published its first Sustainability Report for 2007-08 which presents an account of economic performance, innovations in solutions, services and products, environmental initiatives, people engagement, and social responsibility in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. An Assurance Statement on the same was also obtained by the company. The same is reproduced below. (Names of the firm/s giving the report have been omitted).
Introduction
XYZ has been commissioned by the management of Infosys Technologies Limited (‘Infosys’) to carry out an assurance engagement on the Infosys Sustainability Report, 2007-08 (‘the Report’).
Infosys is responsible for the collection, analysis, aggregation and presentation of information within the Report. Our responsibility in performing this work is to the management of Infosys only and in accordance with terms of reference agreed with the Company. XYZ disclaims any liability or responsibility to a third party for decisions, whether investment or otherwise, based upon this assurance statement.
Scope of Assurance :
The scope of work agreed upon with Infosys includes the following :
- The full Report as well as references made in the Report to the annual report and corporate website;
- Review of the Report against Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, 2006 and confirmation of the application level;
- Reporting boundary as set out in the Report;
- Visits to the Infosys head-office in Bangalore and two development centres in India.
The verification was carried out between April and July 2008.
Independence
XYZ did not provide any services to Infosys during 2007-08 that could conflict with the independence of our work. XYZ was not involved in the preparation of any statements or data included in the Report except for this Assurance Statement.
Verification Methodology
Our assurance engagement was planned and carried out in accordance with the XYZ Protocol for Verification of Sustainability Reporting, which is based both on the GRI Guidelines and the AA1000 Assurance Standard. XYZ took a risk-based approach throughout the assurance engagement, concentrating on the issues that we believe are most material for both Infosys and its stakeholders.
As part of the verification we have :
- Challenged the sustainability-related statements and claims made in the Report and assessed the robustness of the data management system, information flow and controls;
- Examined and reviewed documents, data and other information made available to XYZ by Infosys;
- Visited the head-office and two development centres located in Banagalore and Chennai;
- Conducted interview with 42 representatives (including data owners and decision-makers from different divisions and functions) of Infosys;
- Performed sample-based audits of the mechanisms for implementing the Company’s own sustainability-related policies, as described in the Report;
- Performed sample-based review of processes for determining material issues to be included in the Report.
- Performed sample-based audits of the processes for generating, gathering and managing the quantitative and qualitative data included in the Report;
- Reviewed the process of acquiring information and economic/financial data from the company’s 2007-08 certified consolidated Balance Sheet.
Conclusions
In XYZ’s opinion, the Infosys Sustainability Report 2007-08 provides a fair representation of the Company’s policies, strategies, management systems, initiatives and projects. The Report meets the general content and quality requirements of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, 2006, and XYZ confirms that the GRI requirements for application Level ‘A+’ have been met.
Materiality : Infosys has demonstrated a formal approach to assessing material aspects and indicators for reporting. XYZ recommends that Infosys identifies more indicators, other than GRI indicators, representing material issues for the Information Technology (IT) sector, and that they are incorporated in the future sustainability strategy.
Completeness : Within the reporting boundary defined by Infosys, we do not believe that the Report omits relevant information that would influence stakeholder assessments of decisions or that reflect significant economic, environmental and social impacts.
Accuracy : XYZ has not found material inaccuracies in the data verified or instances where data is presented in a way which significantly affects the comparability of data.
Neutrality : XYZ considers that the information contained in the Report is balanced. The emphasis on various topics in the Report is proportionate to their relative materiality.
Comparability : XYZ recognises that this is the first Sustainability Report published by Infosys, and we commend the Company for its commitment to reporting accurate and comparable data. The Report clearly states that for many indicators, especially the Environment Health and Safety (EHS) indicators, the reported information will be the baseline.
Responsiveness : Infosys demonstrates an active commitment to dialogue on sustainability issues with stakeholders. The expectations expressed by stakeholders through different engagement channels have generally been addressed in the Report.
Opportunities for Improvement
The following is an excerpt from the observations and opportunities reported back to the management of Infosys. However, these do not affect our conclusions on the Report, and they are indeed generally consistent with the management objectives already in place.
(b) An internal verification mechanism should be developed to further improve the reliability of data as well as help improve internal communication on sustainability reporting.
(b) Systems and processes should be strengthened to better facilitate reporting on global operations.
(b) The materiality assessment approach should be further developed and refined to identify appropriate indicators for all material issued identified.
