Print   |   Bookmark   |   Enlarge text    |   Reduce text   |   Corporate data

Assurance statement

 
INDEPENDENT ASSURANCE STATEMENT
To the board and stakeholders of Allied Electronics Corporation Limited (Altron)

Sustainabilityservices.co.za (SS) was commissioned by Altron to provide independent third party assurance (ITPA) over the sustainability content within the Corporate Responsibility section of their 2010 integrated annual report (the/this report, covering the period 1 January 2009 to 31 March 2010). The assurance team comprised primarily Michael H. Rea, our principal sustainability assurance practitioner, with 11 years’ experience in environmental and social performance measurement, including sustainability reporting and assurance.

AccountAbility AA1000AS (revised, 2008)
To the best of our ability and significant experience in sustainability report assurance, this engagement has been managed in accordance with AccountAbility’s AA1000AS (2008) assurance standard, where the format of the engagement was structured to meet the AA1000AS Type I (Moderate) requirements.
 
Independence
SS was not responsible for the preparation of any part of this report and has not undertaken any prior commissions for Altron. Responsibility for producing this report was the responsibility of Altron and it advisors. Thus SS is, and remains, an independent assurer over the content and processes pertaining to this report.
 
Assurance objectives
The objective of the assurance process was to provide Altron’s stakeholders an independent ‘moderate level assurance’ opinion on whether the sustainability content within the corporate responsibility section of Altron’s integrated annual report, in its printed format, meets the AA1000AS (2008) principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness, as well as to assess the degree to which the report has met the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 guidelines Application Level B reporting requirements.
 
Assurance approach and limitations
The process used in arriving at this assurance statement is based on AccountAbility’s AA1000AS (2008) guidance, the GRI’s G3 Application Level requirements, as well as other best practices in sustainability reporting assurance. Our approach to assurance included the following:
  • A review of sustainability measurement and reporting procedures at Altron’s head offices to determine the context and content of sustainability management by the company;
  • A review of the information and/or data collection, collation and reporting procedures undertaken by Altron, and the report’s authors, to define the content of the report by looking at materiality of issues included in the report, stakeholder engagement responses to issues identified, determination of sustainability context and coverage of material issues;
  • A review of the approach of management to addressing topics discussed in the report;
  • A review of drafts of the report for any significant errors and/ or anomalies; and
  • A confirmation that the requisite number of GRI G3 performance indicators had been covered in the report.

The process was limited to the content and assertions made within the corporate responsibility section of Altron’s printed report for the period under review, and did not extend to a comprehensive analysis of the accuracy, reliability, completeness and/or consistency of the data presented by Altron. Rather, sustainability data presented within the Report was subjected to a series of reasonability tests during final proof editing. The process was further limited to reviewing policies and procedures for stakeholder engagements, and did not extend to the physical engagement of any stakeholders to arrive at our assurance opinion.

Findings
Based on our review of the report, as well as the processes employed to collect and collate information reported herein, it is our assertion that:
  • Altron adequately adheres to the Accountability AA1000APS principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness, although room for improvement exists with respect to both proactive stakeholder engagement (i.e., ‘inclusivity’) and feedback on stakeholder-specific concerns (i.e., ‘responsiveness’)
  • The report adequately meets the GRI G3’s requirements for Application Level B (responses to all required indicators, as well as no fewer than 20 Core indicators, with at least one from each of economic, environment, human rights, labour, society and product responsibility). However, it was found that the reporting of performance against some GRI G3 indicators continues to require either data quality improvements, or further detail in disclosure.
  • Due to the relative youth of Altron’s GRI-based sustainability reporting practices, awareness of definitions and/or reporting expectations within the group may differ between Altech, Bytes and Powertech, leading to possible inconsistencies in the data presented for key sustainability indicators within the report (e.g., safety data).
Conclusions and recommendations
Based on the information reviewed, sustainabilityservices.co.za is confident that this report provides a comprehensive and balanced account of Altron’s environmental, safety and social performance for the period under review. The data presented is based on a systematic process and we are satisfied that the reported performance data accurately represents Altron’s current environmental, safety and social performance, while meeting the AA1000AS (2008) principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness. Moreover, and although the quality or quantity of data of some GRI G3 indicators can be improved, this report appears to meet the GRI’s G3 requirements for Application Level B (B+ with this assurance engagement).

However, the following recommendations have been identified:
  • With respect to adherence to AccountAbility’s AA1000APS principle of inclusivity, Altron should ensure that stakeholder engagement continues to progress towards the active inclusion of all significant stakeholders, and that a regular review of stakeholders tests for completeness and relevance. With specific reference to sustainability matters, Altron should ensure that the proactive engagement of stakeholders occurs to confirm or refute group assumptions regarding the materiality of key sustainability issues.
  • With respect to adherence to AccountAbility’s AA1000APS principle of responsiveness, Altron should ensure that feedback to stakeholders on sustainability matters occurs in line with King III’s recommendations for ‘integrated reporting’, such that all presentations of results – including interim results – include a reasonable discourse regarding Altron’s most material sustainability issues.
  • Altron should ensure that stakeholder engagement procedures include an assessment of whether or not this report, and all future reports, adequately reflects the reporting requirements of key stakeholders.
  • Based on issues identified with respect to possible data inconsistencies between divisions of the group, Altron should consider extending its reporting cycle to accommodate for assurance over interim (i.e., quarters 1 through 3) and year-end data, in line with the expectations of Accountability’s AA1000AS (Type II) assurance model, ultimately seeking Type II (High) levels of assurance in future reports.
  • Having addressed the requirements of GRI G3 Application Level B, it is our recommendation that Altron review the process followed in compiling the report and, while making further improvements on the quality of data required for Application Level B, begin addressing the requirements of Application Level A.

For more information about the assurance process employed to assess the corporate responsibility section within Altron’s 2010 integrated annual report, email michael@sustainabilityservices.co.za.


Sustainabilityservices.co.za

1 June 2010
Johannesburg