About This Report

This is the first time Access Engineering has presented an ‘integrated’ annual report. Unlike conventional reports, which describe company operations in a general way and quantify only financial results, an integrated report takes a stakeholder approach, describing how the Company’s operations benefit or affect the various groups which interact with it and quantifying these effects through the use of a variety of suitable indicators. Thus, an integrated report quantifies not only financial results, but also the social and environmental impacts of a company’s operations.

Integrated reporting recognizes that today’s businesses are judged and valued not only on how much money they make, but also on how well they meet the needs and respect the values of customers, suppliers, employees, the community, the state and the planet. The central concept enshrined by integrated reporting is that of sustainability: that in order to be truly successful, it is not enough for a company only to be profitable; its operations must also be sustainable. A business that makes optimal use of human and material resources that minimizes the environmental impacts of its operations and acts as a good corporate citizen, all the while delivering optimal returns to its shareholders: this is a sustainable business.

Stakeholder Engagement

A stakeholder approach to management acknowledges that the relationships with internal and external stakeholders are the basis of a sustainable business, and that their quality serves well as a ‘proxy indicator’ of sustainability.

The benefits of integrating stakeholder concerns at the strategic level include resource exchange, the identification of shared goals as well as of potential or actual conflicts of interest, a more inclusive planning process and, eventually, deeper and broader commitment from all parties involved in a particular project or programme.

The table available on the HTML web version of this Annual Report describes the nature, duration and scope of our interactions with various stakeholder groups identified as materially involved in or affected by the operations of Access Engineering during the course of the year.

Reporting Framework

The reporting framework followed herein is based on the concepts, principles and guidance given in the following:

Companies are encouraged to choose which protocols they use and which areas of activity to report on. This process is called ‘defining materiality’. A description available on the HTML web version broadly outlines the areas Access Engineering has defined as material for the purposes of this Report. The criteria of materiality were defined as follows:

  • Operational aspects with high economic, social and environmental impact
  • Operational aspects with high influence on stakeholder decisions

The Company has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) since 2011 and this Report serves as a Communication on Progress. It also reinforces our commitment to implement the 10 principles of the UNGC initiative.

Scope of the Report

This Annual Report covers the period 1st April 2013 - 31st March 2014, which corresponds to the Company’s financial year. It is published in both print and online HTML versions, of which the latter may be viewed or downloaded at http://accessengineering2013-14.annualreports.lk/. Its most recent predecessor was the Company’s Annual Report for the previous financial year, published in August 2013. It should be noted that this Annual Report also took a sustainability approach, although it was not a formally integrated report as in the present case.

Foreign operations of the Company and the operations of subsidiaries have been omitted for social and environmental reporting but are included in the Financial Statements. The operational scope of these subsidiaries is substantially different to those of AEL, and reporting aspects are not compatible. Also, these operations account only for a fraction of the Company’s top line and have a minimal impact on profitability and other results.

The sources of data found in the report are based on the Audited Financial Statements of the Company for the year under review and the internal records verified through periodic internal audits.

The information, scope, boundary and measurement methods used in this Report are similar to that of previous reports.

Aside from the statutory external audit referred to above, the Company has not attempted to obtain any independent verification of data reported in this Report. Current company policy is to carry out internal checks to verify that the report qualifies as a Level B report according to the GRI guidelines. It is hereby affirmed that this Report so qualifies.

Queries

Inquiries regarding this Report and associated matters should be directed to Mr. Rohana Fernando, Chief Operating Officer, Access Engineering PLC.
E-mail: rohana@accessengsl.com.

Preamble