Table of contents:
Q1: What is sustainability reporting? What is covered in a sustainability report?
Sustainability reporting is a process for publicly disclosing an organization's economic, environmental, and social performance. Such reporting satisfies the needs of shareholders, customers, communities, and other stakeholders for information about overall organizational performance.
The term "sustainability reporting" is synonymous with triple bottom line (TBL) reporting, citizenship reporting, social reporting, and other terms that encompass the economic, environmental, and social aspects of an organization's performance.
As corporate reporting on environmental, social responsibility and economic performance has evolved and gained wider acceptance, the types of reports discussed above are increasingly being described as sustainability reports. These reports cover matters typically required by a sustainability framework, such as the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines on environmental, social and economic performance.
Q2: What is the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework?
The Reporting Framework is made up of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The components contain reporting principles, guidance, and standard disclosures that are generally applicable to all businesses, non-profits, public agencies, and other organizations large and small, across all geographies and regions.
GRI is an Amsterdam-based organization that utilizes an international multi-stakeholders process for creating and reviewing a set of sustainability reporting performance indictors. Today the GRI sustainability reporting guideline is recognized to be the most widely-accepted and referenced standard for preparing and publishing sustainability reports.
Q3: What are the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines?
The Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are the core elements of the Reporting Framework. They outline content that is broadly relevant to all organizations regardless of size, sector, or location. All organizations seeking to report using the GRI framework should start with the Guidelines.
Q4: What are the reporting levels of GRI?
By using the GRI Applications Level system. Upon completion of your report check it against the GRI Applications Level criteria. There are three levels in the GRI Applications Level system, C, B, and A. Plus (+) level status is available at each level (C+, B+, A+) and indicates that external assurance was utilized for the report. Criteria for each level reflects wider coverage of the GRI Reporting Framework (Guidelines and Supplements).
|
