There have been at least three interesting developments over the past month in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting by companies based in developing countries, or so-called “emerging markets”.

In late January, the Social Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN) and KLD launched a report on the state of CSR reporting in these countries, entitled “Sustainability Reporting In Emerging Markets”.

The report, which focused on companies in three sectors in seven countries, was meant not only as a benchmark for the level of corporate disclosure on ESG factors. It was also intended to “create an advocacy campaign to encourage further improvements in sustainability reporting”.

In February, the Argentine NGO Center for Human Rights and Environment reported that the city of Buenos Aires had passed a law requiring companies with over 300 employees to publish annual sustainability reports, using indicators from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3, the AccountAbility 1000 standard for reporting, and Brazil’s Instituto Ethos. Companies with fewer than 300 employees may report on a voluntary basis.

Also in February, four small Chilean fruit and wine companies, with advice from GRI, published an “aggregated” sustainability report, describing the companies’ environmental and social impact (Ethical Performance, February 2008, volume 9, issue 9).

Ethical Performance noted that the report was the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and that it was “being cited as the way forward for small and medium-sized enterprises”, which often have trouble publishing reports on their own. Ethical Performance also reported that GRI was pressing for more such aggregated reporting, particularly in emerging markets.

These developments are only first steps, and as the SIRAN/KLD report notes, “sustainability reporting has yet to become a common practice in emerging markets”. However, rising investor interest in these regions underscores the importance of both benchmarking and advocacy efforts around corporate transparency.