Showing posts with label disclosure. Show all posts

Event - GRI Global Conference 2016

February 15, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The fifth GRI Global Conference will take place on May 18 - 20, 2016 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Up to 1,500 sustainability leaders from around the globe will be present to exchange leading-edge knowledge on best practices, innovations and trends that are empowering sustainable decisions and changing the world. GRI is the globally accepted standard for enabling business, governments and other organizations to understand and communicate their impacts on critical sustainability issues.

The Conference will be an inclusive platform to inspire and engage a truly global network of sustainability leaders. As we move towards a new era of sustainability, it is clear that for information to truly empower decision making it must be more accessible, comparable and available in real time. The focus of the GRI 2016 Conference is to embrace this new era and accelerate progress by delivering innovative sustainability content and by building capability. Those in attendance will help shape the future of sustainable decision making.

Why Attend?

The 5th GRI Conference will create an inclusive platform to inspire and engage a truly global network of sustainability leaders. GRI’s focus at the 2016 Conference is to deliver innovative sustainability content that embraces this new era, enable capacity building, networking, and peer-to-peer learning.

Be inspired and contribute to solutions for sustainability challenges and build your own knowledge; exchange thought leadership in session discussions, share experiences and triumphs through peer to peer learning and take away tools from engaging master classes.

Consider new ways to approach solutions, see a showcase of global commitments, services and products in the marketplace.

Gain access to GRI’s global network and engage with sustainability leaders to bring their insights into your initiatives, seek new and lasting collaborations with potential clients and partners.

About GRI

GRI pioneered sustainability reporting in the late 1990’s and today provides the architecture for sustainability information through GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, the engine for this data. GRI Standards are foundational to the organization’s work towards its vision of a future where sustainability is integral to every organization’s decision-making process. This enables business, governments and other organizations to understand and communicate their impacts on critical sustainability issues.

To see the program click here.
To register click here.

Related
Best Practice in Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Communications
New GRI Sustainability Reporting Tools and Resources
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
Sustainability Reporting Attracts Investors and Improves ROI (Video)
Why Investors Want More Nonfinancial Information
France Makes Sustainability Reporting Mandatory
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting (2012)

Best Practice in Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Communications

July 23, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Ethical Corporation has recently published its complimentary Annual Review on CR Reporting and Sustainability Communications. Ethical Corporation helps thousands of businesses all around the globe to be more responsible. They work with NGO's, think-tanks, academia, governments and consultancies. Their work not only benefits the wider world, it also makes good business sense for the organizations that they serve. Their efforts include work in CSR, compliance, risk and governance communities.

Ethical Corporation's CR Reporting and Sustainability Communications is a 25 page document that contains corporate case studies and best practice. In addition to being a guide for robust and focused reporting it delivers a number of organization specific benefits.

The report is designed to help readers understand how reporting can drive positive change and increase profits. A best practice guide shows how to increase brand integrity and awareness. It also reviews ways of engaging internal and external stakeholders to build support and develop mutually beneficial ongoing relationships.

It also provides guidance on G4 reporting including insights from sustainability leaders and ways of translating the materiality challenges in your organization.

Finally the sustainability values guide helps you to build an organization specific case for management.

Click here to apply to download your complementary version of the report.

Related
New GRI Sustainability Reporting Tools and Resources
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
Sustainability Reporting Attracts Investors and Improves ROI (Video)
Why Investors Want More Nonfinancial Information
France Makes Sustainability Reporting Mandatory
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting (2012)

New GRI Sustainability Reporting Tools and Resources

July 03, 2015 Add Comment Edit

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a leader in sustainability reporting and they continue to provide resources to help companies to track their performance. GRI's latest contribution is another helpful installment in this rapidly growing field. This fast moving and increasingly complex realm has seen the proliferation of a number of tools and resources to help companies rise to the challenge.

GRI is working to expand its scope with the aim of advancing sustainability reporting by assisting organizations with their decision making processes.

To improve the quality of sustainability reporting, GRI has restructured its services and created what is known as the GRI Support Suite. This includes a range of tools and services that can help both those who compile reports and those who read them.

The GRI Support Suite offers guidance throughout the entire reporting process. The four categories in the GRI Support Suite are Preparation, which helps those responsible with preparing the report. Alignment which helps to ensure that the report is aligned with GRI guidelines. Communication which helps to share results with a broader audience and Analysis which can help provide insight into sustainability data.

To go to the GRI Support Suite click here.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
Sustainability Reporting Attracts Investors and Improves ROI (Video)
Why Investors Want More Nonfinancial Information
France Makes Sustainability Reporting Mandatory
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long

Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance

May 12, 2015 Add Comment Edit

This summary is designed to provide guidance for businesses seeking to navigate the complicated landscape of sustainability reporting. There are a number of different ways to approach sustainability reporting and this has led to considerable confusion.

While it is generally accepting that sustainability reporting has a number of benefits, businesses can have a difficult time understanding the differences between approaches and deciding which system is best for their organization. One of the most important trends involves integrated reporting and specifically the 4D approach.

One of the key issue that is deciding what to include in such reports. The World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development have provided guidance on this issue with two mutually exclusive "boundary setting approaches" in their treatise on carbon accounting called the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol. Those approaches are:

Control Approach

1. Operational Control: Report on 100 percent of anything where you have the authority to introduce and implement operating policies. This is the most commonly used boundary-setting approach.

2. Financial Control: Report on 100 percent of anything in which you bear the majority risk/reward from the operation’s financial performance. Note 50 percent ownership or more is NOT a criteria for financial control. Instead, it is merely whether or not you bear the majority risk/reward, however that may be contractually allocated between you and the other owner(s).

Equity Share Approach

This method of involves reporting in proportion to your ownership in the operation. If you own 32 percent of a factory, for example, you report on 32 percent of the factory's emissions. This is the simplest, most straightforward accounting approach.

* It is important to pick one of these two approaches and not try to combine elements of both together.

However, the lack of uniformity from reporting standards like CDP, GRESB and GRI complicate matters. CDP lets you choose an approach whereas GRESB dictates an unorthodox blend of operational, financial and equity control. What to include and when? Here’s a suggested way to draw your boundaries for GRESB and CDP using the example of real estate companies.

Here is a summary of some other recent guidance that responds to market calls for greater coherence, consistency and comparability between frameworks, standards and requirements:

In May The biggest global names in corporate reporting, CDP, the Global Reporting Initiative, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, IASB, ISO, SASB and the International Integrated Reporting Council published a landscape map that provides a snapshot of a comparison of their frameworks, standards and related requirements through the lens of integrated reporting.

In February Ecometrica, in collaboration with CDP, launched a white paper called Managing Information for Climate Change that serves as a roadmap for sustainability reporting. This effort comes in response to the heightened pressure from customers, investors and regulators for greater transparency.

In March 2015 The Global Reporting Initiative and investment firm RobecoSAM have published a guide that explores materiality from a sustainability reporter’s perspective, as expounded in GRI reports, and compares this with the investor perspective of materiality, as formulated by RobecoSAM. The guide is called Defining Materiality: What Matters to Reporters and Investors.

At the end of 2014, SustainAbility launched a tool to help companies improve transparency in their sustainability reporting by focusing on gathering and providing information on the most material issues.

In 2013 G4 Guidelines were release that have an increased emphasis on the need for organizations to focus on those topics that are material to their business and their key stakeholders. The Global Reporting Initiative launched a service to help improve the usability and transparency of data in sustainability reports. GRI also offers a handbook that introduces the GRI Sustainability Reporting Process for all G4 reporters. The publication provides a step by step approach to the five-phase sustainability reporting process and is based on the G4 Guidelines.

Related
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long

The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting

May 11, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Integrated reporting helps to cut through the complicated morass of sustainability metrics. This effort helps tor provide greater consensus regarding the understanding of issues like materiality, transparency and comparability. In 2014 and into 2015 we have seen the proliferation of sustainability reporting that incorporates both environmental, financial and other elements.

While the benefits of sustainability reporting have been widely document there is a need for more comprehensive and integrated sustainability reporting. This is revealed in a number of surveys which show that there is a lack of shared understanding. As reported in Responsible Investor Magazine, a 2013 survey indicated that CEO's see many barriers to implementing ESG issues.

CEO's said that the driving force is revenue growth and cost reduction (44%), their own motivation (42%) customer demand (39%), employee engagement (31%) regulation (24%) and investors pressure (12%). What is most interesting about these results is that investor pressure did not change between 2010 and 2013. However this is at odds with research that shows that 78% of investors think that disclosure on ESG issues is adequate. Only 7% think that it was sufficient for them to assess materiality.

Companies have a number of different options each of which come with respective strengths and weaknesses. The three major bodies that have advanced corporate reporting are GRI, SASB and IIRC. Here is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each.

IIRC

Strengths

Focussed on value creation within companies, from financial capital provider’s perspective
Responsive to negative and positive externalities
Flexibility to accommodate other frameworks (including GRI and SASB)
Potential for integration of ESG issues into business-as-usual reporting

Weaknesses

No guidance on metrics or KPIs
Little standardisation
Freedom may lead to poor ESG disclosure
Lacks alignment with traditional materiality

SASB

Strengths

Uses traditional definition of materiality
Certainty in relation to disclosure
High levels of comparability is targeted
Integrated into current reporting mechanisms
Easy integration with other frameworks (including IIRC and GRI)

Weaknesses

Very small number of issues identified per sector
Little guidance on processes, standards or KPIs
Might not identify all material issues for all companies (especially niche players)
KPIs not mandated, decreasing comparability

GRI

Strengths

Reliance on relevance of issues should mean better reporting on less issues
Focus on future targets and expected performance
Good flexibility to incorporate SASB and IIRC approaches
Widely used among large listed companies and good reputation
Requires process and compulsory metrics reporting

Weaknesses

More stringent tests for compliance than IIRC
G4 reporting might result in less transparency and comparability overall
Doesn’t identify relevant issues for some companies
Extensive supply chain disclosure is likely to increase related costs

One example that highlights the future of integrated reporting comes from AkzoNobel a paints and coating company. They have taken integrated reporting to the next level with what is being called the 4D method. This approach measures the whole value chain and includes four dimensions of capital: Financial, natural, social and human.

Pavan Sukhdev, CEO of sustainability consultancy GIST Advisory says the pilot “showcases the future of impact valuation and integrated reporting.” Adrian de Groot Ruiz, True Price executive director at True Price, a sustainability research organization that confirmed the 4D approach to be the first of its kind to be published, calls it “the future of integrated thinking and reporting.”

Two studies released in September 2014 demonstrate the merits of integrated reporting. The benefits cited in these report include engagement with external stakeholders and strategic applications.

In a study from the International Integrated Reporting Council research 91 percent of all respondents have seen a positive impact on external engagement with stakeholders, including investors. A total of 87 percent of businesses believe investors better understand their strategy. This includes better decision-making (79%), better collaborative thinking by the board about goals and targets (78%), better understanding of risks and opportunities (68%).

A PwC study showed that nearly two-thirds of investment professionals (63%) who responded believe that integrated reporting improves the quality of a company’s reporting. This includes information about strategy, risks and other drivers of value that could have a direct impact on its cost of capital.

“By attaching an economic value to the positive and negative aspects of each dimension, we can gain valuable insights into how we can drive longer term value not only for our shareholders, but also for the environment, people and society at large,” said AkzoNobel CEO Ton Büchner. “In addition, the results will inform our strategic decision-making … for our ongoing efforts to do more with less.”

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting (2012)

Sustainability Reporting: New GRI G4 Guidelines, SASB, AECOM's Engagement Efforts (Video replay of 3BL Media Webinar)

May 09, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Here is a recap of a 3BL Media webinar on sustainability reporting. This video features the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and AECOM. It includes a discussion of the new G4 guidelines, an exam for sustainability accounting certification and tricks of the trade for corporate communicators.

Click here to read about some of the benefits of sustainability reporting.

G4 Guidelines

The deadline to adhere to the most current G4 guidelines is January 1 2016. These new reporting guidelines apply to all corporations that use GRI’s G3 or G31 guidelines.

“The first time reporters have very limited information to report on. But by doing stakeholder engagement exercises, they gain insights into what expectations are...The main game for sustainability reporting is not to have a report, but to actually have a report that makes sense for the stakeholders.”

Sustainability Accounting certification

Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) discusses sustainability accounting certification. “Anyone who takes and passes the credential exam is able to demonstrate that they can identify, quantify and communicate the financial impacts of sustainability,” said Nicolai Lundy, manager of education for SASB, adding that the FSA designation is expected to be helpful for the career development of corporate communications pros.

SASB, launched in 2012, has established sustainability accounting standards for about 50 industries that comprise 80 percent of the market capitalization of U.S.-based publicly traded companies, Lundy said.

SASB has proposed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that companies be required to communicate their sustainability information as part of the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) section of the Form 10k currently being filed with the regulator. The SEC has yet to rule on the request.

No company is reporting in this fashion as of today, a fact Lundy attributes to the lengthy legal and regulatory review corporations must undertake before supplementing financial reporting with sustainability data.

SASB announced the inaugural “Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting” accreditation test in May.

AECOM stresses engagement around sustainability

Gathering information on sustainability across the 150 countries where AECOM operates takes place all year long. Even producing the annual sustainability report takes four months.

Given the massive time and resource commitment, the communications team at AECOM goes to great lengths to make sure the many success stories surrounding sustainability are shared through multiple channels, and over an extended period, with the company’s 100,000 employees.

“The importance of keeping stakeholders engaged is at an all time high, which is why breaking your sustainability report into digestible pieces on a continuous basis is crucial,” said Chinyere Ojini, a communications specialist with the Los Angeles-based infrastructure and support services firm.

Care was taken to provide AECOM managers with talking points and concrete steps on how to share the sustainability focus across all geographies, Ojini said.

“We are really encouraging employees to promote the report among their clients as well as among their teams,” she said.

“All the content is there. It’s the one place. This really allows us to break down the content into bite sized pieces for our stakeholders,” she said, adding that AECOM also used new 3BL templates emphasizing images over text.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
GRI Launches G4 Online Sustainability Reporting Tool
GRI G4 and Other Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Briefing
Webinar - Why GRI G4 Will Trigger New Directions In Sustainability Reporting
The GRI Sustainability Reporting
GRI Sustainability Reporting on Anti-Corruption and GHGs
GRI & Sustainability Reporting Framework in Business School
GRI Reporting Tool is Good for Business
G3 Guidelines and GRI Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits

May 06, 2015 Add Comment Edit

Sustainability reporting is an all encompassing tool to help create value. Reporting is an integral part of being accountable for the broad range of social, environmental and economic impacts that permeate business activities.

Sustainability reporting not only reviews progress it also identifies opportunities for improvement. Being truly accountable cannot be achieved in the absence of honest reporting. Whether this is about reducing carbon emissions or water usage, reporting is a critical part of assessing progress. Such reporting is also a crucial part of laying out and refining strategies.

Sustainability reports should explore the balance between complex and interrelated social, environmental, and financial aspects. A report can serve as an audit of progress toward achieving quantifiable goals. Reports can help to reduce things like energy and water use they can also assess environmental impacts associated with travel and purchasing as well as other dimensions of sustainability.

Reports are a central part of the culture of ongoing learning which is at the heart of genuine sustainability engagement. Ensuring that an organization is up to date with its sustainability initiatives implies that it knows where it has gone and where it is going.

Sustainability reports identify areas of capital improvements that enhance corporate efficiency. These reports help to understand the efficacy of a program and make improvements. These reports are useful both internally and externally. They are useful to all members of an organization from the CEO and senior management to employees, supply chain partners and the wider public.

By minimizing environmental impacts and enhancing the economic and social benefits, sustainability reporting affords an opportunity to drive significant change both within and outside of an organization.

Sustainability reporting is a key part of the commitment to creating real value. This means being accountable for the social, environmental and economic impacts. Once these impacts are understood, this translates to developing policies and business practices which have positive impacts.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long

Allstate is a Leader in Environmental Social and Governance Disclosures

April 15, 2015 Add Comment Edit

When it comes to environmental and social disclosures in the insurance industry Allstate is a leader. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures (sometimes called goodwill or reputation), include everything from climate change to gender diversity. ESG disclosures are commonly part of corporate sustainability reporting.

A growing number of investors focus on key corporate ESG metrics to make more informed investment and business decisions. Stakeholders are increasingly demanding ESG metrics in 2015.

ESG data is not only valuable to investors it is also of interest to future and current employees as well as existing and prospective customers.

Allstate has had a climate change policy in place for almost a decade and for eight years Allstate has disclosed the risks that climate change poses to its financial performance, its customers, and its operations. They also reveal how they are managing those risks.

The insurance sector does not have much of an environmental footprint compared to the manufacturing sector. So for important environmental metrics like GHG emissions and water intensity Allstate's footprint is almost exclusively focused on the company's buildings and IT centers.

In addition to its environmental efforts Allstate is a leader in gender diversity. More than one quarter (27 percent) of Allstate's board of directors are women, 42 percent of their managers are women and more than half (57 percent) of their workforce are women. Allstate is also a leader in community investment.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch

Webinar - New Waste Management Reporting System

March 06, 2015 Add Comment Edit

This new downloadable webinar from Enviance provides insights into some of the new realities associated with waste management.

Rebecca Roberts, Associate Environmental Specialist in the Environmental Affairs Dept. at Eversource, will discuss how Eversource (formerly NE Utilities) went from tracking oil spill and PCB data on many different spreadsheets to consolidating all of their environmental data into one ISO 14001 based compliance and sustainability reporting system.

Oftentimes it can be a challenge for users to adopt a new software system but that was not the case for this reporting system.

Hear about customizable forms and how they made the system much easier for people to use and even provided next steps.

You'll learn more about:

Setting up customizable dispatch forms for ease of use The new Configurable Generation Portal User defined dashboards and user defined layouts Other new functionality that is coming soon

Click here to download new webinar.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch

Online Course - Introduction to Sustainability Reporting

February 24, 2015 Add Comment Edit

This course is an introduction for people who are thinking about getting into sustainability reporting and want to learn why it’s important. Participants will gain key tips for drafting their first sustainability report. This course is taught in 6 sections, each with its own video, notes, activities and list of follow-up resources. Intro to Reporting is designed to be an introduction for people who are thinking about getting into sustainability reporting, want to get a taste of why it’s an important practice, or hope to simply gain understanding of trends in the industry.

The course assumes you have some basic understanding of sustainability issues: the environmental and social issues facing companies today, like water, waste, climate change, human rights and supply chain. If you aren’t sure what that means, consider taking the Intro to Sustainability course taught by Jennifer Roney first.

If you are planning to become a sustainability reporter for your organization, this course will provide an overview of key topics you need to understand. You’ll also get concrete tips for drafting your first report.

This course is taught in 6 sections, each with its own video, notes, activities and list of follow-up resources. The six sections are:

Section 1: Why Report

We cover popular reasons for producing a sustainability report. We start here because many sustainability reporting initiatives begin with an internal champion – maybe that’s you! We want to give you some resources for making the internal case for your reporting efforts and help you clarify your own reasons for reporting, so that you can move forward efficiently.

Section 2: Current State of Sustainability Reporting

In section 2, we take a look at trends in sustainability overall, as these will help you frame your efforts.

Section 3: Overview of Popular Sustainability Reporting Standards

In section three we offer an overview of many of the popular sustainability reporting standards. The industry is on the insular side and therefore includes a number of acronyms. We’ll introduce you to the leading organizations and resources and explain how they can help you with your reporting efforts.

Section 4: What to Report (Materiality)

Section 4 gets into the meat of your reporting efforts: how to decide what belongs in a sustainability report. We’ll walk you through some of the easier ways to decide and introduce some of the more detailed options for organizations that are further along in their sustainability reporting efforts. We’ll also cover time management, materiality and improving your reporting over time.

Section 5: How to Report (Data Collection)

Section 5 provides some tips on collecting data to make sure that you’re your report is rigorous and complete. It’s possible to produce a high-quality report without a ton of resources and we’ll explain how.

Section 6: Stakeholder Engagement

In the final section, we’ll talk about common stakeholders and understand why we care about what they think. We’ll discuss why and how to integrate them into your reporting process.

Outline

Module 1 Intro to Sustainability Reporting Unit 1 Part 1: Why Report? Unit 2 Part 2: Current State of Sustainability Reporting Unit 3 Part 3: Popular Reporting Standards Unit 4 Part 4: What to Report (Materiality) Unit 5 Part 5: How to Report (Data Collection) Unit 6 Part 6: Stakeholder Engagement Unit 7 Feedback and Certificate (Intro to Reporting)

Each section includes resources for further study and an activity to help drive home the messages of the section. The course is also filled with tips to share with your colleagues to introduce them to some of the course learnings.

This course is designed to be self-directed and for you to learn at your own pace. Registration of $297 includes all updates for one year.

Click here to register.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long

Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch

February 23, 2015 Add Comment Edit

This free webinar will take place on Tuesday March 10, 2015. Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4, is aimed at helping organizations to succeed in developing winning sustainability strategies. Key to an integrated and effective organizational strategy is a clear sustainability story – this is central to business in 2015.

Organizations are advised strongly that they have until December 2015 to make the switch to GRI G4. This webinar gives organizations the guidance on what GRI G4 is and how to apply it. It is a taster session to support organizations as they prepare to report. GRI G4 is a robust framework and this webinar will help you to get started.

BACKGROUND

This is a key webinar in our webinar series aimed at helping organizations to succeed in developing winning sustainability strategies. Key to an integrated and effective organizational strategy is a clear sustainability story – this is central to business in 2015. SGS is running a range of webinars aimed at supporting organizations on every step of their sustainability journeys.

PRESENTER

Dr. Colin Morgan, Global Product Manager – Social Responsibility Performance Assessments

TARGET AUDIENCE

This webinar will be most of interest to organizational sustainability strategists, reporting specialists, corporate communications teams, finance officers, senior leadership teams at organizations around the globe, sustainability professionals.

Session 1
05:00 p.m. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Singapore Time)
09:00 a.m. London (GMT Summer Time)
10:00 a.m. Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam (Europe Summer Time)
06:30 p.m. Darwin (Australia Central Time)

Click here to register for session 1

Session 2
10:00 a.m. New York (Eastern Daylight Time)
02:00 p.m. London (GMT Summer Time)
03:00 p.m. Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam (Europe Summer Time)
11:00 a.m. Brazil (S. America Eastern Standard Time)

Click here to register for session 2

For more information contact Nelirene Dablio, Global Interactive Marketing Manager SGS S.A. +63 2 848 0777 loc. 8772

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long

Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews with with VPs from Nestlé, Unilever and Pirelli

October 01, 2014 Add Comment Edit

In these interviews from Ethical Corp you will see the views of VPs from Nestlé, Unilever and Pirelli on how to drive meaningful change and make CR reporting pay off. Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Vice President, Global External Affairs, Unilever and Filippo Bettini Head of Group Sustainability & Risk Governance, Pirelli SPA and Hilary Parsons Director Public Affairs, Nestlé share their ideas and thoughts in the interviews

You will hear:

How to turn reputational risks into opportunities through powerful long-term sustainability communications
How to create strategic stakeholder engagement to attract responsible investment
What the benefits of sustainability reporting are for your business beyond increased employee loyalty and consumer trust

Session 1: Unilever, Vice President, Global External Affairs and Media Relations, Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Pirelli SPA, Head of Group Sustainability & Risk Governance, Filippo Bettini

The Crown Estate, Head of Sustainability, Mark Gough on ‘Unique insights from the top - a cross industry perspective’

Session 2: Nestlé, Director Public Affairs, Hilary Parsons and UPM, Head of Communications UK & Ireland, Will Stone on ‘The future of CR disclosure and sustainability comms: driving meaningful change’

Click here to access the full Interviews.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
Sustainability Reporting: Video of Company efforts to Engage New GRI G4 Guidelines
Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch
Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long

Event - Conference of the Reporting 3.0 Platform: The Future of Sustainability Reporting

September 21, 2014 Add Comment Edit

This second annual Conference of the Reporting 3.0 Platform will take place on October 6 and 7, 2014 in Berlin. It is subtitled, Reporting at the crossroads – ensuring purpose, practicability, performance. The International Multi-Stakeholder Platform for the “Future of Sustainability Reporting” will work in collaboration with organizations and participants, to support nations, cities and companies to manifest their contribution towards a sustainable future with tangible lasting results. To realize this goal, the existing reporting practice needs to be transformed. The Reporting 3.0 Platform delivers newly evolved approaches and ideas.

The conference will address the complexity of sustainability reporting by consistently following 3 streams in the course of the two days, in order to respond to the complexity of this topic on different impact levels:

Impacting the world Defining ambition levels, metrics and data needs for future-ready reporting strategies Impacting the company
Using future-ready information to integrate sustainability strategies on all levels of the company Impacting stakeholders
Satisfying the information needs of demanding external stakeholders

A highlight of the Conference will be the Start Up Pitch Big Sustainability Data Analytics & Visualization, which will take place on the first day of the conference. In the coming years, new data- and information-based technologies will contribute to the development of alternative ways to collect, analyze and visualize bigger and so far not-cross-linked sustainability data. Intelligent cities, infrastructure, sensors, the Internet-of-Things, as well as new business models around Big Data will support this development. In addition, new interfaces between earth system science, satellite-based data and personalized technology will emerge.

The conference will offer more then 25 hours of valuable workshops in 3 separated core Conference themesAt the Annual Conference six Start Ups will pitch their business models on this topic. The jury will award the winner at the end of the first day.

There will be a number of great speakers including a worldwide crew of experts from international companies and institutions. A Keynote speech will be delivered by

John Elkington from Volans. He will talk about moving towards "breakthrough capitalism" – the role of reporting in a change of age. John is Founding Partner & Executive Chairman of Volans and Co-Founder of SustainAbility. John co-authored together with former PUMA CEO Jochen Zeitz the book "The Breakthrough Challenge: 10 Ways To Connect With Tomorrow’s Bottom Line".

Said Dawlabani of the Memenomics Group. He will address the designing the next-generation economic and reporting system. Said is Said is a Lebanese-American cultural economist, author, theorist and consultant, specializing in macromemetic systems and cultural change based on the value-systems approach.

To register click here.

Related
Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits
GRI Launches G4 Online Sustainability Reporting Tool
GRI G4 and Other Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Briefing
Web-Based Sustainability Reporting
Webinar - Why GRI G4 Will Trigger New Directions In Sustainability Reporting
Corporate Sustainability Reporting
The GRI Sustainability Reporting
GRI Sustainability Reporting on Anti-Corruption and GHGs
GRI Reporting Tool is Good for Business
G3 Guidelines and GRI Sustainability Reporting
GHG Protocol and Scope 3 Accounting and Reporting Standard
Sustainable Business Methods, Strategy, Management and Reporting

Event - CR Reporting and Communications Summit 2014

July 13, 2014 Add Comment Edit

The 8th annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit 2014 will take place on November 13 - 14, 2014 in London. This Summit is This is Europe's only reporting and communications meeting place for sustainability professionals. Europe's leading meeting place to find out where sustainability leaders and innovators are headed around their CR reporting and comms strategy. The event will cover 4 themes, 9 industries, 20+ speakers. More than 150 senior decision makers will be present and there will be many industries to network with (including leading reporters and comms specialists from telecoms & media, banking, chemicals & manufacturing, oil & gas, retail, consumer goods, energy, ICT, real estate & construction so you can get more value out of cross-sector networking).

With over 18 hours of reporting and stakeholder engagement best practice. This event will help you get more value out of your CR Report, motivate your workforce, drive business profits, relate to stakeholders and create positive change.

Overview of Main Offerings

Make sustainability come to life: drive customer loyalty and employee engagement through making your sustainability strategy relevant
G4 vs IR frameworks: share the results of what you and your peers are doing and re-examine your focus on materiality
Tailor and target your stakeholders messaging to get your report read by the right audiences
Use your report to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental value of sustainability
Innovation and best practice - bring new ideas to the table to revamp your reporting strategy
Use your report for internal buy-in: embed sustainability into the day-to-day lives at all levels of your organisation

Expert Speaker Line-up for 2014

David Picton, Chief Sustainability Officer, Carillion
Michel Bande, Corporate Sustainability Officer, Solvay
Bastian Buck, Director Reporting Standard, GRI
Joshua Hardie, Group CR Director, Tesco
Andy Brown, Head of Sustainability, Anglian Water
Sarah Grey, Markets Director, The IIRC

Learning Opportunties

Learn what best practice is and what to avoid
Learn how to build the business case with BT's Director of Energy and Carbon to win your CFO's buy-in for your future reporting strategy
Learn about GRI and IIRC about G4 materiality and practical moves to integrated reporting to get ahead of the game

Course - GRI Certification on G4 Reporting Framework in New Delhi and Bangalor

June 29, 2014 Add Comment Edit

Insight Associates, announces a 2 day GRI certified training course on G4 Reporting Framework.
The certified course will cover diverse aspects of sustainability reporting including leading practices, interactive case studies, discussions and challenges related to sustainability reporting. The training course has been designed based on global methodologies adapted to Indian needs.

New Delhi

Date: July 4-5, 2014 Download Brochure | Download Registration Form
Venue: Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology Incubator Park, Nehru Place Greens, New Delhi -110019, India

Bangalore

White Paper - The CFO and Sustainability Reporting Chain

June 19, 2014 Add Comment Edit

As requests for sustainability data increase, the sustainability reporting chain becomes more complex.

Understanding how to streamline your sustainability reporting chain is essential for keeping pace with these new demands.

The CFO and the Sustainability Reporting Chain explains how to simplify this increasingly complex process. The authors provide expert insight on how to get the most from your sustainability chain, including:

An in-depth look at the sustainability reporting chain
How to address data, materiality, and verification within your process
The necessary capabilities of reporting applications
A comparison of on-premise and cloud-based applications

Click here to download the white paper today.

Event - Mastering Materiality: Getting the Most Value out of a Materiality Process (Panel Discussion)

April 06, 2014 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 1:30pm - 4:00pm PDT / Streamed Panel Discussion 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm PDT / 5:00pm - 6:30pm EDT. Meeting in San Francisco.

As stakeholders increasingly request more information and transparency on environmental, social and governance issues, companies are strengthening their non-financial reporting processes by leveraging materiality analyses in an effort to disclose only the most material, or relevant, issues to their business and stakeholders.

Additionally, several leading reporting standards (SASB, GRI, IIRC) have come out with frameworks that provide a platform for sustainability reporting and how to leverage the strategic benefits of materiality. Companies are faced with the challenge of understanding these different guidelines and determining how best to apply them.

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss materiality assessments and how they can enhance the credibility and effectiveness of sustainability reporting and support companies in aligning resources and attention to those issues that matter the most. Some key points for discussion in this meeting will be:

What are the different reporting standards saying about materiality (e.g. SASB, IIRC, GRI). Is there divergence?
How are companies today conducting materiality assessments?
And how are they getting value from them?
What are examples of traditional vs leading edge approaches to materiality and what are the benefits to both?
What are today’s most cutting edge and creative examples of materiality?
What are the key challenges and opportunities?

Video - Corporate Sustainability Report 2013: The Way to Long Term Success

January 04, 2014 Add Comment Edit

The Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013 looks at the state of corporate sustainability today -- providing an in-depth review of the actions taken by companies around the world to embed responsible practices into their strategies, operations and culture. Based on responses to the Global Compact Annual Implementation Survey, the report provides a robust view on how businesses everywhere -- and of all sizes -- are adjusting their policies and practices to address today's sustainability agenda. The purpose of this report is to assess corporate action against the steps of the Global Compact Management Model -- and look specifically at the range of elements considered critical to a comprehensive sustainability approach: management practices to embed sustainability throughout the organization and into the supply chain, and actions on the Global Compact principles. Companies' efforts to contribute to global priorities through core business practices, philanthropy, advocacy and partnerships are also reviewed.

Related Posts
The Business Community is Moving Forward with Sustainability Including Reporting
Best Practices for Sustainable Businesses
GRI Launches G4 Online Sustainability Reporting Tool
GRI G4 and Other Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Briefing
Web-Based Sustainability Reporting
Webinar - Why GRI G4 Will Trigger New Directions In Sustainability Reporting
Corporate Sustainability Reporting
The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting
The GRI Sustainability Reporting
GRI Sustainability Reporting on Anti-Corruption and GHGs
GRI & Sustainability Reporting Framework in Business School
GRI Reporting Tool is Good for Business
G3 Guidelines and GRI Sustainability Reporting
GHG Protocol and Scope 3 Accounting and Reporting Standard
Sustainable Business Methods, Strategy, Management and Reporting
Stock Exchanges Increasingly Requesting Reporting from Listed Companies
Mandatory Emissions Reporting on the UK Stock Exchange
Three SAP Reports on Sustainability
Puma's Reporting and Sustainable Supply Chain

Event - AIEA Conference 2013

November 17, 2013 Add Comment Edit

The AIEA Conference 2013 will take place on the 28th and 29th of November 2013 in Perth Western Australia. Environment Accounting (EA) is separate from financial accounting. EA is an emerging discipline that involves the practice of accounting for all the contributing factors that result in an impact on the environment. EA has a growing body of knowledge and a small number of qualified practitioners who face many challenges in improving the quality of techniques and technologies supporting this new discipline. EA is necessary to provide veracity & confidence in environmental reports and spans all levels of reporting – Statutory and voluntary, Corporate and Government.

Speakers

Lynn MacLaren MLC Member for SMRLC of WA Opening Address
Lee Eeles DSEWPaC NPI mercury reporting and the Minamata Convention
Naomi Struve EPA South Australia Tracking Industrial Emissions with the NPI
Russell Marks Greenbase Environmental Data Quality
Chris McLoughlin Environmental Accounting, where your numbers are being used
Peter Castellas Carbon Market Institute Carbon Policy in light of recent election, State of Australian Carbon Markets
Andrew Terracini Bureau of Meteorology Development of Australian Water Accounting Standards
Jane Meade RSM Bird Cameron Financial Accounting Implications of Carbon Pricing
Tim Kirby What others are saying about Environmental Accounting
Neil Burbridge City of Armadale Landfill Emissions, Business case of Flaring
Chris Wilson Pangolin Associates Carbon and Water Foot printing
Tim Hill HotRock Carbon Free Classrooms
Jamie Ally Energy Made Clean Energy Efficiency Opportunities
Clean Energy Regulator NGER Audit Program
Clean Energy Regulator - CFI Carbon Farming Initiative Audits