Global Reporting Initiative Establishes Australian Base
6 November 2008 at 2:45 pm
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and St James Ethics Centre have signed an agreement to establish an Australian base for GRI.
GRI is the developer of the world’s most widely-used sustainability reporting guidelines – the G3 Guidelines – that allow companies and other organisations to make meaningful public transparent disclosure on their economic, environmental and social performance.
Over 1600 organisations globally use the Guidelines as the framework through which to disclose their sustainability performance.
The G3 reporting framework sets out the principles and indicators that organisations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance. Taken together, this information is increasingly demanded by consumers, employees, industrial buyers, investment analysts and NGOs when making decisions about whether or not to buy from, work for or invest in a particular firm.
Dr Simon Longstaff, the Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre says this is an exciting and timely development.
He says in the broader context of market meltdown and climate change concerns the importance of trusted, responsible, sustainable and transparent business practice has never been greater.
He says in addition there is a world-wide confusion in the CSR reporting marketplace. The GRI provides the international standard in reporting, enabling Australia business to report in the international arena with credibility and standardisation.
Rosemary Sainty, Head Responsible Business Practice at the Centre says Australia has much to contribute in this space and the Centre is keen to see Australia become a trusted regional hub for business.
Drawing on this theme the Centre is in the process of creating a national trusted hub for corporate responsibility and sustainability resources and conversation.
The collaborative initiative will create a presence of the Global Reporting Initiative on a regional level and will benefit from the synergy of each organisation’s mission.
The Federal Government, through Treasury has commissioned St James Ethics Centre to undertake a three year project to expand responsible business practice nationally.
The Centre says it is uniquely placed within Australia to deliver these goals due to strong links with key players in corporate responsibility and sustainability, including its trusteeship of the Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI) – an initiative of Business in the Community (UK) and its longstanding partnership with the National Business Leader’s Forum on Sustainable Development.
Australia is already a regional leader – it is currently in the top five countries globally in terms of the number of sustainability reports produced by organizations based there.
GRI chose to partner with St James Ethics Centre due to its strong links with key players in regional corporate responsibility and sustainability, including its trusteeship of the Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI) – an initiative of Business in the Community (UK) and its longstanding partnership with the National Business Leader’s Forum on Sustainable Development.
Australian accounting body, CPA Australia will assist in the resourcing of a position in the newly founded GRI base as part of its commitment to the corporate responsibility agenda.
For more information go to: www.globalreporting.org
