Direct links to referenced documents
About the data
Why is this important?
To prevent confusion or misinterpretation, companies should include direct links to all documents they reference in their disclosures.
Context:
Companies often refer to policies or codes of conduct within their non-financial reports that outline their approach and commitment to social and environmental issues. These documents often contain essential information and should be easily accessible, via direct links, to provide a complete and accurate understanding of the company’s performance.
This accessibility best practice saves time and guarantees data accuracy: viewers do not need to conduct additional document searches and know they are viewing the correct version. Furthermore, providing direct links enables large scale analysis via machine-processing, allowing researchers to assess company impacts across entire sectors – not just among a top 100 or 1000.
Methodology
Simply by searching for commonly reference documents you will be able to determine if the company provides a direct link to them.
Use keyword searches, such as:
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policy
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code of conduct
If the search returns too many hits, try adding additional details like 'human rights policy' or 'supplier code of conduct'.
When finding direct links specify in the comments what document they are referencing and on what page the direct link can be found.
Note: Two or three direct links to referenced documents is sufficient for the ‘Yes’ answer (establishing a systematic approach). You do not need to check if all referenced documents come with direct links.
Note: Direct links to other sections within the same report are NOT considered sufficient for a 'Yes’ answer.