ethics etc... is an independent assurance provider for social responsibility and sustainability reports.

By ‘assurance' we mean a statement, to be published with the report, about whether the information and claims made in the report are: trustworthy; whether they provide a complete and balanced account of the organisation and its activities; and whether it has taken adequate account of stakeholders' concerns and interests.

This assurance statement, or opinion, is addressed primarily to stakeholders of the organisation and other interested parties. Without an assurance statement they would otherwise have to rely on the managers and directors to recognise and understand the organisation's impacts and its stakeholders' point of view and experience and to be transparent and honest in reporting.

In order to make an assurance statement we require unrestricted access to the organisation's accounts, its directors and managers, its sites and outlets and to representatives of its various stakeholders. The statement is based on a systematic audit of the organisation's policies, activities, management systems and accounts, environmental performance and relations with its stakeholders.

Assurance engagements are carried out using AccountAbility's AA1000 Assurance Standard.

To view an example of an assurance statement right click on the image above to download a PDF of ethics etc... statement from the multi-award winning 2006 social, ethical and environmental audit of The Guardian newspaper group, Living Our Values.