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

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  • Christofer Skaar
  • Annik Magerholm Fet

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Christofer Skaar & Annik Magerholm Fet, 2012. "Accountability in the Value Chain: From Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to CSR Product Declaration," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 228-239, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:19:y:2012:i:4:p:228-239
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.275
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    2. Annik Magerholm Fet & Haley Knudson, 2021. "An Approach to Sustainability Management across Systemic Levels: The Capacity-Building in Sustainability and Environmental Management Model (CapSEM-Model)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Mauro Sciarelli & Mario Tani & Giovanni Landi & Ornella Papaluca, 2019. "The Impact of Social Responsibility Disclosure on Corporate Financial Health: Evidences from Some Italian Public Companies," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(3), pages 109-122, March.
    4. Sartor, Marco & Orzes, Guido & Di Mauro, Carmela & Ebrahimpour, Maling & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2016. "The SA8000 social certification standard: Literature review and theory-based research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 164-181.
    5. Muhammad Salman Asif & Henry Lau & Dilupa Nakandala & Youqing Fan & Hilal Hurriyet, 2022. "Case study research of green life cycle model for the evaluation and reduction of scope 3 emissions in food supply chains," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1050-1066, July.

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