October 27, 2009 - Lundquist, an Italian communications company, has found that the majority of companies on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index are failing to utilize the opportunities in CSR reporting and brand communication provided by social media.

The company researched 91 members of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) in their utilization of corporate websites as a platform for CSR communication; each company was examined against 76 criteria. Lundquist found that despite the opportunities for 2-way communication and brand building that social media presents, many internationally recognized companies are stuck in a one-way communications model, where information is conveyed through web pages and press releases with no opportunity for interaction.

Some of the reports positive findings included:

• 78% of companies have an archive of at least 4 years
• 89% present a code of ethics on their website
• 63% publish environmental data and compare this to past performance

And areas that need improvement:

• 55% of companies do not give forward looking CSR goals or targets
• 40% do not make any link between CSR and corporate governance
• 35% provide no contact information whatsoever

Overall, the respondents to the survey (who were doing the site evaluation) felt the companies were over-promoting the good news and being very quiet about the bad. Many left comments calling for more honesty in the communications and warned of companies "greenwashing" or being "incomplete" in information disclosure. While the report is scathing, it does offer a clear view that there is plenty of advantage to be gained by leveraging social media use in sustainability reporting.

Read the original release here.