Praise for Traidcraft’s social accounting

In a debate about corporate governance and accountability, Baroness Sherlock, a Labour peer for Durham, praised Traidcraft for being open and transparent about its practices.

She said: “There is good practice out there. I discovered recently that the first plc in Britain to produce an audited social report was not a corporate giant but Traidcraft, a medium-sized company founded in Durham in 1979 to fight poverty through trade.

“In 1993, Traidcraft published an audited social report, and I hope that the Minister has had the opportunity to look at its social accounts. I found them fascinating. They told me more about the impact of that company not just on its customers, members and supporters but on its supply chain right the way through to its staff and the lives of the very farmers out in developing countries. That is a true social report. I encourage the Minister to comment on it and to share some of the methodology with larger companies.”*

*Source: Lords Hansard text for 5 July 2011