The CRRA – Judging Categories

The overarching theme of the CR Reporting Awards is transparency in organisational responsibility. All successful reports will need to reflect this theme. The awards are based on the report content and communication, and are not a reflection of organisational performance, profile, our users’ perception of the sector or any other such consideration. More general information on the Awards here.

All these awards should be judged according to whether you feel the report is the ‘best’ from among the shortlisted ten. As a Corporate Register user we assume you will have views on what makes a good report, so we aren’t going to give you a long list of do’s and don’ts and tell you how you should vote. Below you will find short descriptions of each category. Over to you!

The Reporting Awards are divided into two groups of categories:

Group 1: Type of Report & Organisation
Best Report	Voters will have their own definitions of what constitutes the best report; we feel the best reports can generally be judged according to five essential elements: content, communication, credibility, commitment, and comparability. You may have your own views on what makes a report outstanding.
Best 1st Time Report	The category is open to any organisation who had produced their very first CR report. We define a first-time CR report as an organisation's first-ever non-financial report. If this is the first report following a name change, it may not qualify if we feel this is not an organisation's first report.
Best Integrated Report	We define an integrated report as one in which a company combines non-financial aspects into their Annual Report & Accounts (AR&As). The best of these reports integrate the financial and non-financial aspects throughout, they do not just include a section on non-financial aspects. Which report best illustrates the interplay of financial and non-financial issues on organisational performance?
Best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report	This category is for stand-alone reports dealing specifically with 'Environmental, Social and Governance' (ESG) issues, and which have this phrase as part of the title, and / or use ESG for the report framework. This is a new and exciting field for non-financial reporting. The winning reports need not follow a specific reporting framework or format, but will give investors and other stakeholders a clear idea of the material environmental, social and governamce issues facing the company and include data which is easily compared against similar data from other reporters.

Group 2: Aspects of Transparency
Best Carbon Disclosure Report	Which report gives the best disclosure of the organisation’s carbon emissions, the implications for climate change, and the mitigation measures taken? Check for policy, quantified data, targets.
Creativity in Communications	Which report is a real pleasure to read, because the authors have given thought to both the content and the reader? Do you find the report engaging and informative, or boring and unimaginative? This award is for the report which best succeeds in getting its message across, using creativity as a defining factor.
Innovation in Reporting	CR reporting evolves continuously. Some reports consist of mini-sites which incorporate new features of web technology. Others demonstrate new ways of approaching a reporting issue, of interacting with stakeholders, of presenting an overall picture. Which report demonstrates an innovation which may be adopted by other organisations, and which may help reporting evolve?
Relevance & Materiality	How many times have we seen reports which are long on length but short on relevant content? Which don’t tell us about the non-financial issues which impact organisational performance, but lay down a smokescreen of non-essential information? This award is for the report which cuts to the chase and tells us about the material issues (those that are specific to the company performance and sector, the risks and opportunities), clearly and succinctly. A short report which gives us the relevant information should win over a blockbuster of several hundred pages.
Openness & Honesty	It’s sometimes difficult to tell the whole truth. It’s easy to highlight the good news and ignore the bad. Whether performance is poor or excellent is less relevant for this award. This award is for the report which ‘comes clean’, tells both the good and the bad news, and which convinces us that this is a balanced picture.
Credibility Through Assurance	Many of the best reports include a section on external assurance – the organisation engages an independent third party to verify aspects of the report, and publishes its methodology, conclusions and recommendations. This award is for the assurance statement which adds the most credibility to the overall report.