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GRI Underutilized by Canadian SMEs

April 27, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has indicated that although the the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a valuable tool, it is being underutilized by Canadian SMEs compared to large companies. The Government of Canada includes the Global Reporting Initiative in its CSR Strategy for the Extractive Sector and recommends that organization large and small do the same.
Georgina Wainwright-Kemdirim, an executive with Industry Canada’s Policy Coordination and Regulatory Affairs Branch, says that while the GRI’s Reporting Framework was designed to be applicable to companies and organizations of any size, in any sector, the uptake of sustainability reporting by small and medium enterprises remains fairly low compared to large companies.

“GRI is aiming to address SME involvement in sustainability reporting in the new G4 set of guidelines currently under development and which is slated to be launched in 2013, but there is still much for SMEs to use in the current GRI guidelines.” She also notes that Industry Canada’s SME Sustainability/CSR Roadmap provides practical guidance, tools and case studies to help SMEs transition to sustainability practices in their operations.

Wainwright-Kemdirim says that roughly 35% of Canadian companies currently use the GRI Guidelines in the preparation of their reports and that 80% of TSX-listed companies report on sustainability.

GRI and the Canadian Government

April 26, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada supports the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The Government of Canada includes the GRI in its CSR Strategy for the Extractive Sector and recommends it for Canadian businesses large and small.

GRI is the world’s standard for measuring and reporting a company’s sustainability performance. In the period between 2009 and 2010 GRI-type sustainability reporting increased 22 percent globally. In the same time frame there was a 30 percent increase in GRI reporting in the US. Most noticeably there was a 50 percent increase in Canada. Although many Canadian companies are getting involved others are reticent.

Those who opt to forgo sustainability reporting should at least know why. As explained by Georgina Wainwright-Kemdirim, an executive with Industry Canada’s Policy Coordination and Regulatory Affairs Branch said, “if a company decides not to report, then they could consider explaining why,” she says. “Let it be known that the company has considered reporting but for them it does not make business sense for some reason — for example, they may think it will impede competitiveness or give away proprietary information. Some of the big challenges for companies include understanding what is important for a company to report on— something GRI is working to define more clearly. Companies can also figure out what is important to report on through stakeholder engagement. Companies will soon discover that not all stakeholders are adversaries, and may, in fact, turn out to be important allies and sources of valuable intelligence.”

The benefits of measuring and reporting on social and environmental performance are both internal and external. Internally GRI supports greater efficiency and innovation, externally GRI can help enhance competitiveness.

Here are the benefits of sustainability reporting as reviewed on the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada site:

Internal benefits of sustainability reporting:

Increased understanding of risks and opportunities
Emphasizing the link between financial and non-financial performance
Influencing long term management strategy, policy, and business planning
Identifying opportunities for innovative products, services and processes through streamlining, reducing costs and improving efficiency
Benchmarking and assessing sustainability performance with respect to laws, norms, codes, standards, and voluntary initiatives
Avoiding negative environmental, social and governance publicity
Comparing performance internally, and between organizations and sectors

External benefits of sustainability reporting:

Mitigating — or reversing — negative environmental, social and governance impacts
Improving reputation and brand loyalty
Improved access to global markets and supply chain opportunities
Enabling external stakeholders to understand company’s true value, and tangible and intangible assets
Demonstrating how the organization influences, and is influenced by, expectations about sustainable development
Improved access to capital and other financing
Enhanced social license to operate in the community.

GRI Reporting Tool is Good for Business

April 26, 2012 Add Comment Edit

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provides methods and metrics to help businesses with important new requirements. Reporting is becoming a basic requirement in some markets and therefore it has become essential for businesses of all sizes. Most large companies already have supply chain standards that make stringent demands on their suppliers.

Launched in 1997, GRI is a non-profit organization that is the world’s standard for measuring and reporting a company’s sustainability performance. The GRI approach is focused on long-term profitability, social justice and environmental responsibility.

Through use of the GRI Framework, companies can report their social, economic and environmental progress. However, these reports not only highlight an organization's accomplishments, they also reveal weaknesses.

The GRI Reporting Framework provides both financial and non financial information on a company’s operational, social and environmental activities. The Framework is an indication of how well the company can deal with the related risks and is a growing indicator of operational and management excellence.

“Business decisions are no longer solely based on financial decisions,” said Mike Wallace, director of GRI’s U.S. office. “Sustainability guidelines are being written into national regulations, implemented by state-owned companies, integrated into stock exchange listing rules and are increasingly woven into the procurement policies of large multi-nationals like Apple and Microsoft. This kind of supply chain management is going to be the biggest game-changing factor for sustainability,” he said.

GRI provides useful tools that help organizations cope with increasingly complex, rapidly evolving compliance demands. GRI helps organizations establish benchmarks, build transparency, and develop stakeholder trust.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework

April 26, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Framework is a set of practical tools that companies can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, social performance. The Framework serves internal tracking purposes and transparency. The Framework includes Reporting Guidelines, Sector Guidelines and other resources.

Reporting Guidelines

The Reporting Guidelines feature sustainability disclosures that organizations can adopt flexibly and incrementally. There are also sector-tailored guidance on reporting standards set by GRI.

Sector Guidelines

Sector specific supplements are also available on issue related to biodiversity management and ecosystems, community consultation, Indigenous people’s rights, handling disputes related to land, the resettlement of local communities and more.

GRI reports are used for internal benchmarking purposes and public disclosure. GRI recommends that companies set up a reporting cycle — a program of data collection on environmental and social impacts of the organization, internal and external communication, and responses. A reporting cycle allows firms to monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. This information is and then made public.

For more information click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
GRI Reporting Tool is Good for Business
G3 Guidelines and GRI Sustainability
GRI is Underutilized by Canadian SMEs
GRI and the Canadian Government
GRI Certified Sustainability Reporting Training