A Note to User Group Members on the Future of Standards and Governance Dear members, We know you are all

keen to secure the best future for the AA1000 standards. We are conscious that much has taken place over the last two months, and believe many of you may be feeling confused or uncertain. The timing over the northern summer period has complicated matters, but we hope that by this note we can bring some clarity to the situation. When we formed the User Group close to two years ago, we undertook a members survey to identify what you felt were your top priorities with regards to our groups activities and mission. Your top priority by some considerable distance was to secure credible, independent governance for the AA1000 standards. Progress? During the ensuing 20 months, we have aimed to act as a conduit bringing your views into AccountAbilitys deliberations and we have specifically avoided pushing or leading you, the members, to embrace a particular stance or way forward. Without wishing to rehash the debate that has taken place on these pages in recent weeks, we feel it is important to note: Ownership of the intellectual property (IP) in the AA1000 standards remains with the AccountAbility Management Team (AMT) The board that governs the Community Interest Corporation (CIC) set up to house the standards is majority controlled by AMT There has been intense disagreement among members of the ISB, all of whom were appointed by an independent nominating committee for the purpose of ensuring a positive outcome for the standards, and who carry the imprimatur of stakeholders. It is not possible or helpful to discuss where the fault for this failure to collaborate may lie, but the responsibility for the outcomes rest with AMT as the secretariat for the standards. AMT has not convened any outreach forums, events or processes to try to discern stakeholder views at any stage during the last 20 months, and senior leadership notably Chief Executive Sunny Misser and Head of Standards Kurt Ramin are entirely absent from any exchange or engagement with stakeholders. While AMT did organize two outreach calls in early August to discuss proposals in the governance white paper, the lateness and lack of clarity in their organization meant that only two people attended these calls. We are very concerned that the basic principles on which AccountAbility and the standards rest have not been upheld over the course of this endeavour. In light of the many months stakeholders and ISB members have worked without success, the repeated requests for basic information and clear answers to clear questions that

have not been fulfilled, and the failure to establish even a basic rapport with stakeholders over this period, we find we have little confidence in AMT going forward to uphold the interests of the standards and their primary users. We would very much hope to be persuaded otherwise so many people have invested so much time and energy into the creation and improvement of the standards over the years, standards that are very much needed in the marketplace, that it would be a great loss to walk away now. Going forward There is an enormous need for a positive, inclusive effort on a variety of sustainability standards, and we would like to find out from you what that might consist of. In the coming weeks, well be developing and sending around a new survey to test priorities and options that may go beyond the current AccountAbility arrangements. Wed like to hear from you if you have any ideas that should be put to the rest of the membership in respect of these issues. Following the members survey, well share your top priorities and suggest some ways forward that may help members as individuals, or as entrepreneurial initiatives to take action and regain lost ground. We are also very conscious that we, as an interim executive, have been in this post longer than anyone expected, and longer than may be healthy and useful. Wed like to hear your thoughts about what should become of the LinkedIn group, and what would be a better channel for your energies in the future. We look forward to finding the opportunity to create a positive & constructive dialogue about the future. Best regards, User Group Interim Executive Mark Line, Maria Sillanpaa, Judy Kuszewski, Richard Boele