The integration of decision making and reporting

Drawing on a previously published case study (Unerman and O’Dwyer, 2010), this article explores some of the key processes underlying current sustainability reporting practices at BT (British Telecom) Group, the global telecommunications company. It examines how issues of business risk, commercial opportunities, and associated materiality have driven the evolution of ‘connected thinking’ at BT which underlies their sustainability reporting
practices. These ‘connected thinking’ processes seek to embed sustainability considerations into decisionmaking processes at all levels within BT by linking economic, social and environmental considerations through the articulation of a business case for
corporate responsibility. The article also illustrates how the business case needs to be nuanced to make it an eff ective sustainability embedding mechanism at different levels within BT; and how materiality issues central to the business case are used to help
determine the sustainability issues that are reported within BT’s annual sustainability and financial reports. The article concludes with a review of key aspects of BT’s approach to managing one of its key corporate responsibility risks - supply chain labour practices - through its Sourcing with Human Dignity initiative.