Denmark Introduces Mandatory CSR Reporting for Large Companies

On December 16th 2008, a law was adopted in Denmark requiring the 1100 largest companies in the country to report on their corporate responsibility efforts. The new bill, passed by a vast majority of the Danish parliament, makes it mandatory for publicly listed companies, state-owned companies and institutional investors to include information on CSR in their annual financial reports.

The reports must include information on:

• the company’s policies for CSR or socially responsible investments (SRI);
• how such policies are implemented in practice, and;
• the results obtained as well as managements’ expectations for the future with regard to CSR/SRI.

CSR/SRI is still voluntary and it is up to the companies themselves to decide how to engage, but if a company has no CSR policy this information must be stated explicitly.

Participants of the UN Global Compact or UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) can refer to their Communication on Progress in the annual reports - provided they fulfill their obligation towards the UN Global Compact and PRI in this respect. The aim of this provision is to give Danish companies and investors an incentive to join the Global Compact and PRI as well as to fulfill the obligation to communicate progress.

The new reporting requirement will take effect from 2010.

More: United Nations Global Compact