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Embracing GRI Sustainability Reporting: What is GRI?

By: Kristin Gumper | 12/06/2011

As we head into the holiday season, December marks an important time for Standing staffers. We're reflecting on our 2011 performance and identifying goals for the coming year. We're also counting our blessings and thinking about the ways we can give back.

In 2011, I had the extremely fortunate opportunity to attend the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Certified Training Program in Kansas City. After spearheading several reports for clients and undergoing the training, I view the sustainability reporting platform as a valuable tool that can change the way a company does business. Locally, sustainability initiatives will become even more important in the near future, as this December, St. Louis will release its first ever, city-wide sustainability report - the St. Louis Greenprint.

If you're a business leader in St. Louis, it's a good time to think about how you can get behind this initiative and help inspire change. But first... a few tidbits that will give you an edge on the movement:

• The GRI process can help change the way a company does business. Developed in the late 90s to encourage better environmental conduct, the GRI is essentially a corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting framework broadened to include environmental, economic and social performance. GRI reinforces stakeholder engagement and relies on data to instill trust, balance and transparency among readers. It also encourages organizations to understand the link between activities and the surrounding world, then measure impacts and communicate them with stakeholders. Ultimately, GRI helps organizations look at stakeholder interests and then re-examine operations and opportunities for improvement.

• Traditionally more popular overseas, GRI is gaining momentum in the U.S. as leaders like President Obama set forth guidelines for sustainability. Thanks to several key businesses and the RCGA, it's also gaining momentum here in St. Louis. Many of St. Louis' top companies - such as Novus, Monsanto, The Doe Run Company and Arch Coal - have also adopted the trend by releasing their own sustainability reports according to GRI guidelines.

• GRI reporting is becoming the norm, not the exception. According to KPMG, in 2008, over 80 percent of the top global 250 companies reported on CSR. Of that same group, at least 75 percent used the GRI framework for reporting. Economically speaking, studies show reporting companies perform better than those that do not.

• Studies also indicate that the GRI is a trusted information channel. When asked in a 2010 KPMG survey if sustainability is greenwashing, 90 percent of readers strongly disagreed. Top factors that build trust are: robust data proving progress, a track record of actions, and a clear link between sustainability and strategies. Reporting also educates and influences readers. In the same study, 50 percent of readers agreed that reporting will help them make more informed investment decisions and 41 percent said it would help them make purchasing decisions.

Stay tuned for my next post, where I spill three of the "best kept secrets" in GRI reporting.

Posted in Sustainability