BABC001

Academic and Business

Communication
Assignment 3: Report
Chinese and English

Shertin

Name:

14124008

Student number:

B4

Class number:

13122669566

Contact number:

Giles Whittard

Tutors name:
Assignment due date:

Week 10 Day 2

To be completed by the student upon

submission:
WORD COUNT (excluding TOC, Executive Summary
and reference list):
1203.
Turnitin percentage:

...

26 May

Table of contents
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................i
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................1
2 The definition and main purpose of integrated reporting...................................................1
2.1 Definition of IR.......................................................................................................1
2.2 Main purpose of IR.................................................................................................1
3 Two related guiding principles in transportation industry.................................................2
3.1 Strategic focus and future orientation.....................................................................2
3.2 Stakeholder relationships........................................................................................2
4 Evaluation of DHLs annual report....................................................................................3
4.1 DHLs Strategic focus and future orientation..........................................................3
4.2 DHLs Stakeholder relationships.............................................................................3
5 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................4
6 References..........................................................................................................................5

Executive Summary
This paper has the purpose to state the definition and purpose of integrated reporting (IR).
It analyzes the transportation industry and evaluates the 2015 annual report of Deutsche
Post DHL (DHL) based on two relevant guiding principles of IR that are put forward by
International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). It analyzes how DHL illustrate the
value creation process. Two principles are set as the standard to determine whether the
annual report is integrated or not. The sources of this paper are from academic and reliable
journals and professional magazines. Under the principles, the report shows the
sustainability purpose and concerns for the interests of key stakeholders. In terms of the
annual report in communicating long-term value, DHL is found to have been doing well in
connecting the strategy with future strategy. The industry applies the strategy focusing on
sustainability but it lacks the integrated thinking in illustrating the relationship with
stakeholders. In general, the report completely and accurately presents the companys
sustainability development nevertheless it requires adding some information in
stakeholders relationship concisely.

1 Introduction
Based on the requirement of communicating with stakeholders, organizations used to issue
various corporate reports that provide their financial and narrative performance separately.
Due to the complexity of current corporate reporting, organizations have advocated the
need to combine all aspects of financial reporting and sustainability reporting into a single,
new form of corporate reporting recently, which is often known as integrated report. As
the channel for corporation to communicate effectively and transparently with
stakeholders, an integrated report would eliminate the overwhelming load of information
while presenting valuable information that concerning various stakeholders. In 2011, IIRC
established the guidance of integrated reporting framework and issued the International IR
Framework in which it introduced seven guiding principles for IR. The beneficial factor of
integrated reporting is that it leads to integrated thinking for the corporation, which is
valuable in evaluating a companys long-term sustainability. This report will define the
integrated report and its main objective and then select two guiding principles that are
related to the transportation industry from the International IR Framework, which are
strategic focus and future orientation and stakeholder relationship. On the basis of
principles selected, the following discussion will explore the transportation industry and
evaluate DHLs annual report in 2015.
2 The definition and main purpose of integrated reporting
2.1 Definition of IR
IIRC (2013, p.7) describes its vision of integrated reporting as a concise information
intermediary delivering how an organization deals with external environment and achieves
value creation in the long run. Magarey (2012, p.34) notes that an integrated report
combines the information material about a companys finance, strategy, governance and
prospects that currently reported in separate reporting in a coherent way. The audience of
IR is the companys stakeholders, such as customers and employees.
2.2 Main purpose of IR
The purpose of IR mainly concentrates on two aspects, extended value creation and more
efficient communication. The major objective of IR is to explain how the company creates
value for investors over time (IIRC 2013, p.7). It contains both financial and other
relevant information and puts more emphasis on the long-term value created for
1

stakeholders instead of the short-term value. Integrated thinking in IR can provide

audience with more valuable and concise information.
3 Two related guiding principles in transportation industry
In the logistics and transportation industry, multiple firms position themselves to better
facilitate the movement of goods. This paper is based on two relevant principles proposed
in the International IR Framework, strategic focus and future orientation and stakeholder
relationships, which can help to explain how company create value in the short, medium
and long time.
3.1 Strategic focus and future orientation
The first related principle is strategic focus and future orientation. It concentrates on the
industrys strategy and how it affects the capital value over time. Transportation industry
applies the strategy more future-orientated, highlighting virtual risks and opportunities
according to this principle (IIRC 2013, p, 16). Transport sector face challenges in reducing
environment effect, requiring transportation companies to adjust strategy so as to satisfy
current transport needs without compromising the capacity of future generations (Beiler
2016, p.30). The trend that products are moved further is forecast to continue, which
indicates that consumption of energy and emission in freight transportation is increasing
(Evangelista 2014, p.1). Research shows that in 2005 the transportation sector alone takes
up 24.1% of worldwide CO2 emissions (Kassens 2009, p.7). Future orientation is a more
important criterion for companies when they determine strategies. In the United States,
transportation enjoyed the highest growth rate in GHG emissions and energy consumption
among all end use departments during past three decades (Climate and Energy Solutions
2011, p.8). Therefore, the development of energy-efficient technologies and improvement
of vehicle and system efficiency is an urgent. On the other hand, the industry also meets
the opportunity of the booming online market. It provides logistics companies with more
motivation and demand of building a better distribution network.
3.2 Stakeholder relationships
The stakeholder relationship is another chosen principle that pays attention to the
relationship between companies in transportation industry with key stakeholders. What the
industry strategies underpin is the creation of sustainable value to stakeholders, so
companies should involve stakeholders in the ordinary course of business (IIRC 2013, p,
2

18). Because goods distribution has impacts on the surroundings in freight transportation,
different perspectives and objectives of major stakeholders ought to be taken into account
(Busco 2013, p.40). Only through communicating with stakeholders, like employees,
government and customers, can organization identify how to create value better. Thus the
industry pays more attention to safety and health of employees as well as their
environmental impact.
4 Evaluation of DHLs annual report
DHL is a typical transport company that provides an innovative and tailored portfolio of
logistics and communications services. After the evaluation on the basis of two guiding
principles, the 2015 annual report is clear and accurate, but not informative in
communicating with stakeholders.
4.1 DHLs Strategic focus and future orientation
DHLs 2015 annual report focuses on social and environmental information that creates
sustainable value over time. DHL does well in combining strategy with sustainability.
Facing the challenge of sustainability purpose, DHL reduces the dependency of fossil fuel,
improves the efficiency of fuels and lower costs through the GoGreen environmental
protection programme (DHL 2015, p.76). Moreover, DHL also make strategy in long-term
value creation process to open up new business opportunities for the company. With the
booming online marketplace especially B2C market in digital retail trade, the demand for
delivering goods and documents has a substantial increase. Because transportation
companies remain part of the Post-eCommerce-Parcel division, DHL improves its cost
structures, expands its parcel network and creates more value in the years to come (DHL
2015, p.102).
4.2 DHLs Stakeholder relationships
DHL would regard the stakeholders needs and interests but the report did not reveal a
channel in which stakeholders provide insights matters to them, consequently the
company cannot determine whether matters are valuable or not. DHL mentions its concern
for employees and customers to some extent. To sustain and improve the well-being and
health of employees, potential dangers in delivering and workplace accidents are under
prevention (DHL 2015, p.75). DHL requires a solid foundation for productive and longterm working relationships with employees, so training and occupational safety measures
3

are of great importance (DHL 2015, p.75). Responding to the challenges of structural
change caused by digital business, customer requirements of flexible and reliable delivery
with new delivery models is stimulated. In order to have sustainable development, DHL
has to invest in additional parcel center and increase their sorting capacity.
5 Conclusion
This report evaluates how DHLs 2015 annual report communicates information on two
principles, strategic focus and future orientation and stakeholder relationship. Through
analysis, the report was complete and clear but not integrated enough. The report
communicates information efficiently concerning the future orientation, but its
relationships with stakeholder could be improved. DHL faces the challenges of climate
effects and takes the opportunities of ecommerce. The report lacks the basis of
presentation, which makes it a little overwhelming. Suggestion is that DHL could adopt
the application of IR to better deliver both financial and nonfinancial information. This
form can improve the integrated thinking of DHL about the relationship with stakeholders
while sustaining the future-orientated strategic.

6 References
Beiler, M.O. 2016, Organizational sustainability in transportation planning: Evaluation of
multi-jurisdictional agency collaboration, Journal of Transport Geography, April,
pp. 29-37.
Busco, C., Frigo, M.L., Quattrone, P., & Riccaboni, A. 2013, Redefining Corporate
Accountability through Integrated Reporting, Strategy Finance, August,

pp. 67-

76.
Deutsche Post DHL Group 2015, Annual Report 2015.
Evangelista, P. 2014, Environmental sustainability practices in the transport and logistics
service

industry: An exploratory case study investigation,

Research in

Transportation Business & Management, October, pp. 6372.

Greene, D.L. & Plotkin, S.E. 2011, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S.
Transportation, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, viewed 13 May 2016,
<http://www.c2es.org/>.
International Integrated Reporting Council 2013, The International <IR> Framework,
IIRC.
Kassens, E. 2009, Sustainable Transportation: An international perspective MIT Journal
of Planning, vol. 9.
Magarey G. 2012, Is integrated reporting achievable, Keeping good companies, May, pp.
198-202.