Independent Assurance Report to BSkyB Limited

British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB) engaged Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM) to provide independent assurance on selected information presented in BSkyB's online Bigger Picture Review 2009 and on BSkyB’s carbon neutral web pages (all selected disclosures are referred to in this Assurance Report as “the report”).

Our brief

We were asked to provide independent assurance as to whether the following environmental performance data are appropriately reported in the Report:

1. Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO₂e): CO₂e (tonnes) for BSkyB’s scope 1, 2 and selected scope 3 activities as referred to in the WBCSD-WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol (revised edition March 2004), and as presented in the report on the data pages;
2. Water: water usage (m3 and m3/FTE) as presented in the report on the water data page;
3. Waste: hazardous / non hazardous waste recycled / re-used and sent to landfill (tonnes) as presented in the report on the waste data page; and
4. BSkyB’s declaration of carbon neutrality for its 2008-09 reporting period in relation to its scope 1, 2 and selected scope 3 CO₂e emissions from waste and business air travel as presented in the report on the operations page.

Our approach

Standards and criteria used

We delivered our work in accordance with ERM’s assurance methodology which is based on the international assurance and audit standards ISAE 3000, ISO 19011, ISO14064-3 and AA1000 AS.

BSkyB applies its own internal approach to managing and reporting the assurance topics outlined above. The KPIs and declaration of carbon neutrality, as defined above and within the report, have been used as the criteria for our assurance engagement.

We planned and performed our work to obtain all the information and explanations that we believe were necessary to provide a basis for our assurance conclusions as to whether the reported information set out in ‘Our Brief’ was appropriately reported (moderate assurance).  

If we had been asked to conclude on whether the reported subject matters were robust (high assurance), we would have needed to conduct more work at corporate and site levels and to gather further evidence to support our assurance opinion.

The reliability of the reported information and data is subject to inherent uncertainties, given the available methods for determining, calculating or estimating the underlying information. It is important to understand our assurance conclusions in this context.

Our work

A multi-disciplinary team of environmental, corporate responsibility and assurance specialists performed the engagement.

Our assurance activities included:

• Face-to-face interviews at corporate level to understand and test the processes in place for reporting environmental data and underlying data management system. This was followed up with a review of relevant documentation;
• Site visits to the main UK BSkyB operations (Osterley and Livingston, Easynet UK operations in Slough, Chancellor House, Brick Lane, and 365 Media) involved face-to-face interviews with the environmental data owners for the UK operations; testing on a sample basis the measurement, collection, aggregation and reporting processes in place;
• Site visits in Germany and the Netherlands involved face-to-face interviews with the environmental data owners for Easynet Germany and the Netherlands, and testing of the associated data system and documentation review;
• Reviewed BSkyB’s approach to defining their company’s carbon neutral status;
• Reviewed and sample tested BSkyB’s internal processes and controls to ensure that it has purchased sufficient and appropriate carbon credits;
• Face-to-face interviews with BSkyB’s carbon offset provider to sample test their systems and processes in place to source and retire appropriate carbon credits, and to review supporting offset project related documentation;
• Reported our assurance findings to management as they arose to provide them with the opportunity to correct them prior to finalisation of our work; and
• Reviewed the presentation of information relevant to the scope of our work in the Report to ensure consistency with our findings.

Respective responsibilities and ERM’s independence

BSkyB’s management is responsible for preparing the Report and for the collection and presentation of information within it. ERM’s responsibility is to express our assurance conclusions on the agreed brief.

During 2008-09, ERM has worked with BSkyB on other consulting engagements. ERM operates strict conflict checks and we have confirmed our independence to BSkyB for delivering our assurance engagement.

Our assurance conclusions

Based on our work undertaken as described above, we conclude that in all material respects, the above selected environmental performance data, and BSkyB's carbon neutral status for 2008/09 are appropriately reported within the Report.

Our key observations and recommendations

Based on our work set out above, and without affecting our conclusions, here are our key observations and recommendations for improvement.

Observations:

• Initiatives introduced during the year have contributed to BSkyB improving its environmental performance, including around reducing the total quantity of waste sent to landfill, and reducing the emissions from business air travel, as presented in the report on the operations page;
• We welcome BSkyB’s on-going efforts to include Scope 3 emissions (indirect impacts relating to the supply chain) within its Report. For example, carbon emissions associated with the construction of BSkyB’s new building in London (Harlequin 1) is reported on and included in the scope of our assurance this year.

Recommendations for improvement:

• Work further with subsidiary companies, in particular Easynet, to further strengthen their environmental data collection processes and fully implement the corporate environmental data management system;
• Continue to work with third party suppliers on their carbon emissions performance to drive further improvements, enable further reporting on BSkyB’s significant Scope 3 emissions, and consider gaining assurance over such data; and
• Recognising the on-going evolution of stakeholders’ expectations of what a carbon neutral company means (e.g. boundaries, emissions calculations, quality of offsets), we recommend that BSkyB continues to engage with its stakeholders on this topic to ensure that its approach is aligned with recommended good practice.

Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM)

London, UK, 4^th September 2009

ERM is the world’s leading provider of environmental, health and safety, risk and social consulting services. We deliver innovative solutions for business and government clients, assisting them in managing their environmental and related risks. We have 145 offices in 41 countries and employ over 3,500 staff.

Our assurance statement provides no assurance on the maintenance and integrity of the website, including controls used to achieve this, and in particular whether any changes may have occurred to the information since it was first published. These matters are the responsibility of BSkyB but no control procedures can provide absolute assurance in this area.