April 8, 2009 - GE Corporation has earned the 2009 Best Sustainability Report award from the Ceres investor coalition and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Now in its eighth year, the Ceres/ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards highlight best practices in reporting on sustainability issues by North American organizations.

GE's 2007-08 sustainability report (PDF) earned the nod because it "provides a complete picture of how the company's sustainability priorities are aligned with the company's strategic business priorities," according to Ceres-ACCA, which notes that the report also put its sustainability priorities in the context of emerging global challenges such as climate change, human rights, and water scarcity.

Seventh Generation took home the Best SME Report award for sharing its 2007 sustainability report via a web-based e-book that incorporated video, blogs, and hyperlinks to the company's website.

Ball Corporation and Symantec shared the prize for Best First-Time Report.

"In this time of economic duress, it is of utmost importance for companies to both understand and mitigate financial risks, including environmental and social impacts," says Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. "The Ceres-ACCA reporting awards recognize those companies which not only document their performance, both positive and negative, but also set clear targets for future progress."

Nineteen of 97 organizations were short-listed for this year's awards, including Starbucks, Kinross Gold Corporation, and Vancity. The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges based on completeness, credibility, and effectiveness of communication.