The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) last week announced that the next generation of its Sustainability Reporting Guidelines will be unveiled at its 2013 Global Conference on Sustainability Reporting in Amsterdam on May 22.
The guidelines enable companies and organizations to report on their economic, environmental, social and governance performance. The updated guidelines — known as G4 — have been significantly revised and enhanced to reflect current and future trends in the sustainability reporting landscape.
In addition to enhancing the relevance and quality of standalone sustainability reports, GRI says G4 will be a powerful tool for generating material sustainability information for inclusion in integrated reports.
Sustainability reporting is becoming the norm for large companies in many parts of the world. According to GRI, some 95 percent of the world’s largest 250 companies now produce a sustainability report, and four out of five of these choose to use the GRI guidelines.
“As this strong upward trend in reporting continues, we will see many more companies of all sizes and sectors embracing transparency and accountability,” said GRI Chief Executive Ernst Ligteringen. “Sustainability reporting will become a key enabler for an ever wider range of stakeholders, including investors, governments and market regulators.”
By placing an emphasis on the concept of materiality, GRI claims G4 will encourage organizations to provide only disclosures and indicators that are material to their business, on the basis of a dialogue with their stakeholders. This will allow reporting organizations and report users alike to concentrate on the economic, environmental and social impacts, resulting in reports that are more strategic, more focused and more credible, as well as easier for stakeholders to navigate.
Other notable enhancements in G4 include increased user-friendliness and greater accessibility to those new to reporting, and harmonization with other important global frameworks, including the OECD MNE Guidelines, the United Nations Global Compact Principles, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The GRI earlier this year topped the brand preference list among 250 heads of sustainability compiled from a survey conducted by independent analyst firm Verdantix.
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Founder, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Apr 25, 2013 2am EDT / 11pm PDT / 7am BST / 8am CEST