The Global Reporting Initiative

Over the last few months, I have engaged in sustainability reporting in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Sustainability reporting is increasingly viewed as a best-practice for companies worldwide. By gathering and reporting information on organizational processes, companies can assess their impact on the economy, environment, society, and governance. Disclosing sustainability information can also allow companies to have better reputations through transparency and accountability; meet expectations of employees, customers, and other stakeholders; improve access to capital; and increase efficiency and reduce waste.

The GRI is an international nonprofit organization in the sustainability field. Since 1999, the organization has established one of the most prevalent sustainability reporting standards and built strategic partnerships with the United Nations Environmental Protection, the UN Global Compact, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the International Organization for Standardization.

GRI’s mission is to make sustainability reporting a standard practice; one which helps promote and manage change towards a sustainable global economy. Organizations from different industries use a common set of guidelines through the GRI Framework to gather and report information that stakeholders find important.

G4 is the latest version of the GRI Framework, which encourages organizations to show significant economic, environmental, and social impacts of operations that also influence stakeholders including employees, customers, investors, the community, and government. Several of the indicators that companies may report on through GRI include labor relations, resource consumption, emissions, product safety, and procurement practices.

Currently, GRI’s Sustainable Disclosure Database features 7,598 organizations that have submitted 18,922 GRI reports.