It’s that time of year again. The time when 100s of pages of pdfs are hoisted off the printer, the time when CEOs are interviewed and investors are alerted. That’s right, it’s annual report season.

But for some, it’s not simply business as usual as annual reports are being adapted to suit the needs and realities of modern businesses. At Black Sun’s “Demystifying Integrated Reporting” seminar last week, those in the know documented the sea change occurring in corporate reporting.

Integrated reporting, the new panacea for annual reports, sees sustainability reporting fused cohesively with traditional financial reporting to create an all-encompassing view of the business. Sally Jones, PR manager at Johnson Matthey says sustainability has been a core business strategy for years and the manufacturing company’s 2012 annual report reflected that for the first time.

She says, “It’s not just about financial performance, it’s about all the other factors that influence our business.”

Jens Rupp, sustainability manager at Coca-Cola Hellenic, says sustainability is no longer simply a buzzword, but an inherent function of modern business. He points to Hellenic’s works in water conservation around the world and the realisation that business operates not alongside the environment, but within it.

“The reporting process helped to make the company more integrated,” Rupp says, adding that integrated reporting takes time to achieve. “You don’t need to be perfect all the time, but you need to have a plan, you need to be showing that you are improving.”