The document discusses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for sustainability reporting. It provides the following key details:
- GRI is an international independent standards organization that helps organizations report on their economic, environmental, and social impacts. Over 7,500 organizations use GRI guidelines for sustainability reports.
- The GRI framework provides a holistic approach to address broad social, environmental, and economic performance. It includes standard disclosures and indicators to measure and benchmark organizational impacts.
- Major Indian companies like Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, and others have adopted the GRI framework to report on their sustainability performance and impacts in areas like reducing environmental footprint, resource efficiency, and social initiatives.
2. GRI
Global Reporting Initiative (NGO) - International independent
standards organization founded in 1997, USA.
Helps organizations to report on the economic, environmental, and
social dimensions of their activities, products, and services.
Affiliations - OECD, UNEP, United Nations Global Compact, ISO and
so on.
Governance of the GRI
Sustainability reporting is a more recent concept that encourages
businesses and institutions to report on their environmental
performance.
As of 2015, 7,500 organizations used GRI Guidelines for the
sustainability reports.
3. GRI IN INDIA
Regional reach: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
Located in New Delhi.
Supporters: Corporate Leaders, project based support from
local partners and hosted by BSI India Group (Head office) and
TCS (Satellite office).
Focus: Mainstreaming sustainability and transparency alongside
rapid economic growth
4. GRI FRAMEWORK
Provide a holistic framework that addresses broad
performance in social, environmental and economic.
Guides an organization's approach to ‘proving’ its impact
Internationally accepted flexible reporting framework.
To help measure and benchmark performance, both
against their own targets and externally.
GRI indicators to encourage employees to understand
and contribute to progressively better performance.
The Guidelines support and integrate other tools such as
Social Accounting and the AA1000 Series.
6. FOUR KEY ELEMENTS IN THE
FRAMEWORK
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING GUIDELINES
Consists of Principles for defining report content
Ensuring the quality of reported information
Standard Disclosures made up of performance indicators
INDICATOR PROTOCOLS
Protocols provide definitions, compilation guidance etc…
Assist report preparers
Ensure consistency in the interpretation of the performance
indicators
Users of the Guidelines should also use the Indicator Protocols.
7. SECTOR SUPPLEMENTS
Guidance on how to apply them in a given sector
Sector-specific performance indicators
Applicable sector supplements should be used in
addition
TECHNICAL PROTOCOLS
Provide guidance on issues in reporting
Sector supplements and cover issues that most
organizations face during the reporting process
8. GRI INITIVATIVES
Climate risk and opportunity
A catalyst to move beyond reports
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS - To use creativity and innovation to address
development challenges and recognize the need for governments to encourage
sustainability reporting
INTEGRATED REPORTING - To bridge the gap between the value of integrated
thinking for executives and the reality of sustainability and financial reporting
practice for organizations
FRIENDS OF PARAGRAPH 47 - Leading governments join together to commit to
corporate sustainability reporting
RIO+20 - The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
REPORTING 2025 - The main issues which would be affecting companies agendas,
and consequently their public reports, by 2025. Leaders in various fields would be
interviewed on subjects ranging from data technology to society and business
development scenarios, and videos and analytical papers would be produced
throughout the year to promote an international discussion.
9. GRI REPORTING OVER THE YEARS
www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Reports-
List-1999-2012.zip)
13. G4: NEXT GENERATION OF
REPORTING
G4 : Fourth generation of the Guidelines
Launched in May 2013
Culmination of two years of extensive stakeholder consultation and dialogue with
hundreds of experts from across the world from a wide variety of sectors
Structure - Two separate documents – 1) Reporting Principles and Standard Disclosures
2) Implementation Manual
Objectives
To help reporters prepare sustainability reports and to make robust and purposeful
sustainability reporting standard practice
Be user friendly for beginners and experienced reporters
Improve technical quality with clearer definitions
Align with other international reporting references
Offer guidance on how to link sustainability and integrated reporting
Improve data access
14. RESOURCES NEEDED FOR GRI
REPORTING
Leadership
Proficiency
skills
Staff Time
Courses,
Support &
Information
15. INTERNAL BENEFITS OF GRI
REPORTING
Increased understanding of risks and opportunities
Emphasizing the link between financial and non-financial performance
Influencing long term management strategy and policy, and business plans
Streamlining processes, reducing costs and improving efficiency
Benchmarking and assessing sustainability performance with respect to laws,
norms, codes, performance standards, and voluntary initiatives
Avoiding being implicated in publicized environmental, social and governance
failures
Comparing performance internally, and between organizations and sectors
16. EXTERNAL BENEFITS OF GRI
REPORTING
Mitigating – or reversing – negative environmental,
social and governance impacts
Improving reputation and brand loyalty
Enabling external stakeholders to understand the
organization’s true value, and tangible and intangible
assets
Demonstrating how the organization influences, and is
influenced by, expectations about sustainable
development
17. DISTINCTIVE ELEMENTS OF THE
GRI STANDARDS
Multi-stakeholder input : Universally applicable reporting
guidance that meets the needs of all report makers and
users
A record of use and endorsement : Of the world’s
largest 250 corporations, 93% report on their sustainability
performance and 82% of these use GRI’s Standards to do
so
Governmental references and activities : 27 countries
use GRI in their sustainability policies and look to us for
guidance as the world’s most widely used sustainability
reporting standards
Independence : Funding approach ,degree of self-
sufficiency
18. POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS
Adhering to the Guidelines can be labour intensive and full
reporting may represent a challenge for smaller organizations.
Use in the third sector is limited and some of the language and
approaches are more familiar and appropriate for multinational
corporations.
They provide guidance, but not accreditation, a mark or
external evaluation unless combined with other tools, such as
an assurance standard.
Their main focus is ‘sustainability’, e.g. reporting external
impact but not necessarily focusing on positive outcomes or
impacts.
21. GRI FRAMEWORK- MARUTI SUZUKI
Maruti’s focus and action in social, environment and economic spheres in making a positive
and meaningful difference in stakeholders lives.
6th Sustainability report highlights initiatives to reduce stress on natural resources.
Energy costs are down by over 5% after installation of a 1MW Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant
at Manesar plant.
Maruti manufacturing sites have zero waste water status. About 48% of water requirement
at a facility is met through re-cycled water.
Since 2010, Maruti sends hazardous waste to the cement industry for co-processing,
eliminating the need for landfills.
Has adopted GRI G4 reporting framework, though it is applicable only from 2015. Beginning
early allows Maruti to widen its reporting structure.
The framework includes Economic, Environment, Labour Practices, Human Rights, Society
and Product Responsibility.
22. GRI FRAMEWORK - WIPRO
IT firm Wipro said that Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
has chosen the Indian outsourcing major as its member.
"At Wipro, sustainability is an integral part of its strategy and
organization ethic.
Inclusion in the DJSI is a clear and strong testimony to its
commitment to sustainability and its key dimensions of
ecology, transparency, good governance and active corporate
citizenship.