What is the underlying reason for choosing the particular environmental indicators that have been used in the study?
The selection of the seven environmental indicators that have been included into the ADVANCE assessment is based on both methodological and pragmatic reasons. First of all, the main goal has been to create an accurate and in-depth picture of the companies’ environmental performance. Therefore, we decided to take as many different environmental impacts into account as possible. However, an environmental impact can only be taken into account if it is quantifiable. As a consequence, environmental impacts that are of a qualitative nature (for example impacts on habitats and sensitive ecosystems), have not been assessed in ADVANCE. This does not mean that these impacts should be left out – rather, the Sustainable Value methodology can and should be complemented by an evaluation of a company’s qualitative impacts on the environment. In addition to that, the number of indicators assessed in ADVANCE is limited by the current practice of environmental reporting. The ADVANCE assessment is based
