Document CSR Performance With GRI G3 Guidelines
Sustainability Reporting Framework from Global Reporting Initiative
Oct 20, 2009
Companies including Volkswagen, Dell, Merck & Co, Dow Chemical and British American Tobacco use the GRI G3 Guidelines framework to report sustainability initiatives to stakeholders,. The United Nations Global Compact recommends using the GRI G3 Framework when creating a Communication on Progress.
The GRI G3 Guidelines provide tools for companies to determine measure and report progress towards sustainability goals and include measures of economic impact, human rights impact and environmental impact. Companies can self-assess their progress or have the report audited by an independent auditor and verified by the Global Reporting Initiative.
GRI G3 Framework – Determining Report Content, Quality and Boundaries
In order to undertake a sustainability review and complete a GRI G3 Guideline sustainability report requires the company to determine the report content, quality and boundaries.
The sustainability report should cover those areas of economic, societal and environmental impact that the company’s operations have a major bearing on. For example, a mining company should report the environmental impacts its operations have in terms of any water, air or soil pollution.
Issues that are addressed in the sustainability report must have the considerations of the company’s stakeholders in mind and answer reasonable questions that the stakeholders may have about the impacts of the company’s operations.
GRI Application Levels- Disclosing the Comprehensiveness of the Sustainability Report
Companies utilising the GRI G3 Guidelines to report sustainability initiatives are required to disclose the application level of the GRI G3 Guidelines used. The application level ranges from A to C with a plus available for each classification. The more comprehensive a sustainability report is, the higher the application level; with A+ reflecting a sustainability report that has encompassed all the core and elective requirements under the GRI G3 Guidelines.
Environmental Indicators – Emissions, Energy and Biodiversity
Core environmental indicators to be reported in a sustainability report using the GRI G3 Guidelines framework include:-
- carbon emissions;
- energy consumption;
- water usage;
- waste emitted including discharges into water courses and the atmosphere; and
- details of the biodiversity of the land owned by the company.
In order to achieve a higher application level rating, a company can choose to disclose additional environmental information including:
- details of greenhouse gas reduction plans and projects;
- biodiversity protection strategies; and
- the environmental impact of transporting goods and supplies.
Economic Indicators –Performance, Presence and Indirect Economic Impacts
Six core performance indicators are listed in the Economic Indicators of the GRI G3 Guidelines. The core performance indicators require disclosures in relation to economic performance, market presence and indirect economic impacts. Specifically, companies are required to report in relation to:
- financial accounts including revenues, operating costs, employee remuneration packages and assistance received from government sources
- monetary implications of climate change
- hiring policies with particular reference to the local community and supplier choice
- projects undertaken solely for community benefit
Additional indicators under this section include:
- ratio based comparison of wages paid by the organisation to minimum wage for the region
- other significant economic impacts including skilling programs, access for low income earners and productivity gains.
Human Rights Performance Indicators – People in a Triple Bottom Line Report
The impact of company operations on human beings is required to be reported under the GRI G3 Guidelines. As with economic and environmental indicators, there are both core and additional performance indicators.
Core indicators for human rights performance include:
- the inclusion of human rights clauses in company agreements and screening of suppliers and contractors
- details in relation to discrimination claims
- plans to check and eliminate child and forced labour.
Additional indicators in human rights performance detail the human rights training programs that staff have been exposed to, the percentage of security personnel that have received human rights training and details of any situations where the rights of indigenous people may have been violated.
The GRI G3 Guidelines are a comprehensive framework for companies wishing to report details of corporate social responsibility programs to stakeholders. The framework ensures that companies report the significant environmental, economic and human impacts of operations. Application levels allow for companies to tailor the report and provide an opportunity for stakeholders to understand the comprehensiveness of the report.
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