Images of grey, bean counting accountants may not seem to mesh with the more colourful world of sustainable business. But the number-crunchers could be crucial to the way the latter is reported – and how seriously the information is received. Investors and the media are often sceptical of companies’ claims to be anything more socially responsible than a profit generator. But as wider social concerns take centre stage, accountants argue that by using their ”hard” number and analytical skills, this seemingly ”soft” side of corporate reporting can be read as more than PR.

Anita Skipper, head of corporate governance at Morley Fund Management, is blunt: ”If you don’t measure it, people who read it don’t really believe it.”