COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT - Reporting & Actions

4.3.2 Reporting & Actions:
Community impacts

Does the company disclose actual or potential negative impacts on children in communities, beyond the scope of operations?

Scoring options

  • 10 = Yes, the company discloses actual or potential negative impacts on children in the local communities, beyond the scope of operations.
  • 5 = The company discloses actual or potential negative impacts on local communities but does not report on children specifically.
  • 0 = No, the company does not disclose actual or potential negative impacts on local communities, or this reporting is not publicly available.

Why is this important?

This indicator follow up on indicator 4.1.2 “Is the company committed to reducing their negative community impacts and increasing their positive contribution to the local community?”. It’s important to recognize that much of the impact a company has on children’s lives in the communities surrounding its operations, or in the community at large, is potentially harmful in a variety of ways, i.e. increased traffic, lack of safe spaces to play due to land use, waste management, increase in sexual exploitation in relation to e.g. mega projects, etc.

A company that reports on its actual or potential negative community impacts shows a clear commitment to the community and demonstrates an understanding of its wider impacts and responsibilities.

About the scoring

A score of 10 is given if there is publicly available information with specific reference to children on, e.g.:

  • Identified risks for or incidents related to increased traffic
  • Lack of safe spaces to play or risks of accidents as a result of land use
  • Increase in sexual exploitation in relation to mega infrastructure projects
  • Risks of sexual or gender-based violence to (women and) girls in the community as a result of migration or of social insecurity
  • Migrant children’s (and left-behind children) access to birth certificates, education and healthcare

A score of 5 is given if there is reporting on community impacts, but children are not specifically reported on.

N.B. Risks of child labour are not considered here; they are addressed under indicator 2.3.1. Reporting on no findings of actual or potential impact also counts for a score. Disclosure of positive impact is considered under 4.3.3.

Indicator reference

Children’s Rights and Business Principles:

  • All business should meet their responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit to supporting the human rights of children (Principle 1)
  • All business should respect and support children’s rights in relation to the environment and to land acquisition and use (Principle 7)

The GRI standards:

  • Reference  413-2

OECD MNE Guidelines:

  • Part 1, Chapter 2, p. 14, A1
  • Part 1, Chapter 6, p. 33, 1d

ESRS Indicators: SBM-3, S3-4

Methodology

Corporate Sector & Children’s Rights
Benchmark Series

To methodology overview