Accountability in the Value Chain: From Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to CSR Product Declaration

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance to external stakeholders is a key element of corporate and value chain accountability. This paper identifies gaps in existing value chain reporting practices and examines options for how a CSR product declaration can be developed to address these gaps. The characteristics of six state‐of‐the‐art accountability management, reporting, and certification approaches are identified and the pairwise correlations are assessed statistically. Findings show that the overall correlation is low; there is no low‐hanging fruit for combining existing elements. Missing allocation and aggregation methods are a particular challenge, especially concerning social aspects in the value chain. Three options for a CSR product declaration based on the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) are presented. Building on the strength of the EPD (transparency, quantification, and verification), a scientific consensus building approach is recommended. Indicator development becomes a balancing act between satisfying internal management requirements and keeping connected with the scientific development. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.