Corporate sustainability reporting is quickly becoming a staple in how companies do business, and one of the most popular frameworks for reporting corporate sustainability is about to undergo some significant changes. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is seeking feedback on the fourth generation of its guidelines (known as G4) and will host a free workshop at Burns & McDonnell’s world headquarters in Kansas City on Aug. 22.
GRI is a nonprofit organization based in Amsterdam that has developed an internationally recognized framework for sustainability reporting. This framework allows a consistent comparison across companies’ economic, social and environmental activities. Currently, 80 percent of the world’s 250 largest companies use the GRI framework for sustainability reporting.
This workshop will provide users an opportunity to speak candidly with GRI — Mike Wallace, Marjella Alma and Anna Nefedova — about improvements they’d like to see in the reporting framework.
Earlier this year, Mike Wallace spoke at our Sustainability Summit about the importance of GRI and described what reporting of the future will look like, saying the new G4 guidelines are a step toward integrated reporting. Integrated reporting combines a company’s annual report with its environmental and social responsibility reporting for a comprehensive triple bottom line approach — profit, planet and people.
So who should attend this free workshop? Anyone who is currently using — or considering using — GRI as a reporting framework. This is an advanced level course, so a general understanding of the GRI framework is recommended.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, you can register for the Aug. 22 workshop here. If you can’t make this one, find another workshop in your area or submit your comments online through Sept. 25. Now is your chance to get involved and help shape the new guidelines that will launch in May 2013.
