CIPFA – Public Sector Reporting Standards to be Launched

The first comprehensive framework for UK public sector organisations to report on their contribution to sustainable development, will be launched at the CIPFA Annual Conference in Harrogate on Thursday 15 June 2006.

The Sustainability Reporting Framework has been developed by CIPFA, the expert public services institute, and Forum for the Future, the UK's leading charity for sustainable development.

The step-by-step guidance in the framework allows public sector organisations to identify and report the sustainability issues that are priorities for them and their local communities in a flexible and robust way. It marks a significant step forward for public sector reporting, often seen as lagging behind the private sector on reporting sustainable developments.

Essentially, the framework is aimed at helping public sector organisations deliver their sustainable development objectives through improved transparency and performance management.

CIPFA chief executive Steve Freer said: "Many public sector organisations are already pursuing a sustainable development agenda, and are implementing initiatives that enable them to make a contribution to a more sustainable world. But in many instances the public sector has not gone as far as its private sector counterparts in communicating their schemes and successes. In many respects, this new reporting framework is the first step to enabling the public services to think through its sustainable developments and think about how it could be reporting the achievements to its stakeholders."

Forum for the Future chief executive Peter Madden said: "In our experience, good reporting is the first step to taking sustainable development seriously. This new tool will help public sector organisations be much more effective in delivering public services and saving the planet."

The Sustainability Reporting Framework will be launched at 12.30pm in the Queen's Suite Foyer of the Harrogate International Centre on 15 June 2006.