The social accountability reporting project at Elettra

Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA, an Italian research company operating the synchrotron radiation laboratory Elettra has recently launched a social accountability reporting project. This article introduces social accountability reporting as a framework for the stakeholder interaction in corporate social responsibility models and extends it to R&D institutions, as a potential managerial tool and a capable instrument for impact analysis going beyond the economic benefits. First results from the development of a reporting methodology for Elettra are presented, including reflections on stakeholders, mission and values, reporting areas and institutional indicators. In particular, the three conventional reporting areas — economy, society and environment — have been completed by a fourth R&D-related one. The choice of indicators depends on institutional frame conditions. Besides statistical data, qualitative indicators and information retrieval by means of surveys will also be required. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.