{"id":325,"date":"2008-05-02T12:10:24","date_gmt":"2008-05-02T12:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/?p=325"},"modified":"2008-05-02T12:10:24","modified_gmt":"2008-05-02T12:10:24","slug":"the-global-reporting-initiative-a-brief-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corporate-eye.com\/main\/the-global-reporting-initiative-a-brief-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"The Global Reporting Initiative — A Brief Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the marketing men\u2019s idea of a near perfect viral product. The work of a 25 person secretariat living on grants and donations has swept around the world with barely a penny spent on advertising.<\/p>\n

Global Reporting Initiative G3 Frontpage<\/a>GRI G3 Frontpage<\/a><\/div>\n

Now hailed as the defacto standard and on its third generation of guidelines, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) dominates the world of environmental reporting.<\/p>\n

Even those outside the CSR profession prick up their ears when they hear the acronym. It means something: it has respect and gravitas. If you comply with GRI you must be one of the Good Guys.<\/p>\n

But what actually is it, and what makes it so popular?<\/p>\n

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Potted History<\/strong>
\nThe GRI was first launched in 1997 by the Centre for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), a network of environmentalists and investors based in the USA.<\/p>\n

The 2002 revision of its guidelines emphasised transparency, which remains an imperative as work continued toward the release of the third generation of the guidelines (G3).<\/p>\n

These were published in 2006, creating a complete reporting framework for organisations to use. Their gestation included countless rounds of committee and sub-committee meetings, guaranteeing that all stakeholders were not just consulted but were actively included participants.<\/p>\n

This is why the GRI is so popular and has such a far reaching influence. Many other standards are formulated from the point of view of business or environmentalists, accountants or trade unions. GRI G3 is formulated from the point of view of all of them, and many more beside.<\/p>\n

Fundamental Structure<\/strong>
\nAt the heart of the GRI G3 Reporting Framework is a big basket of indicators against which a company can choose to report. These are categorised according to what they measure: human rights, the environment and so on.<\/p>\n

Alongside them is another basket of disclosures. These are statements of fact, policy and strategy which are designed to ensure an organisation is thoughtful and transparent in its approach to sustainability and CSR reporting.<\/p>\n

To help organisations use these tools, GRI documentation is divided into three key sections:<\/p>\n

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