This paper describes a key area of the Centre's work over the past 4 years, namely the development of an approach for integrated appraisal. This approach has been developed jointly by EIA specialists, economists, a social psychologist and an expert in technology assessment. There have been several opportunities for developing tools and techniques for internal use and the Agency has also been able to advise and inform others, particularly central and regional Government. This paper aims to summarise some of these case studies for the benefit of a wider audience. Significant challenges remain, not least because there are few role models to follow and relatively little published literature on the subject of integrated appraisal.
Challenges are methodological, procedural and institutional.
The GRI, thanks to its open structure and diversity of inputs, has piloted and updated the first draft of the Guidelines launched in March 1999 leading to the June 2000 first edition of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Work continues, within various working groups and subgroups and a second edition is now underway, to be released in September 2002. Toward a common framework for sustainability reporting was held in London at Imperial College, on March 4-5, 1999. They should be developed not for the sake of measurement, but as a means to track, compare and benchmark business environmental and social performance AND communicate about it. There is a general agreement that stakeholders are important and that some such as the financial community, slowly but surely awakening to the field- could be extremely powerful drivers.