Australia Sees More Reliable Sustainability Reports

The latest figures from the GRI Reports List and Annual Review show that the number of sustainability reports registered on the list from companies in Australia has decreased by nine percent, but more than half of the reports produced are externally assured.

GRI provides an international framework for producing sustainability reports. The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines enable large and small companies, Not for Profit and government bodies worldwide to assess their sustainability performance and disclose the results in a similar way to financial reporting.

The Year in Review is GRI’s annual report, outlining the achievements of the GRI Network and showing trends in sustainability reporting using the GRI Guidelines. GRI collects data on the number of reports based on the GRI Guidelines, published in the GRI Reports List.

According to statistics from the GRI Reports List for 1 January to 31 December 2010, more companies are having their sustainability performance data assured, resulting in more accurate and trustworthy data.

Almost half of all sustainability reports globally are being assured. The proportion of sustainability reports from Australia being assured is higher than the global average, with 56 percent of Australian reports assured in 2010.

The statistics for 2010 also reflect a global upwards trend in sustainability reporting, and suggest an increase in the use and awareness of GRI Guidelines. There was an increase of 22 percent in the number of reports registered on the GRI Reports List this year, rising from 1491 in 2009 to 1818 in 2010.

Manager of the Global Reporting Initiative’s Focal Point Australia,Lena Geraghty says although there has been a small decrease in the number of reports based on the GRI Guidelines, it is certainly good that so many more companies are assuring their sustainability data.
Geraghty says there are many more sustainability reports out there, and over the next year the GRI will be working hard to gather information on all of them.

She says Australian organisations have a great opportunity to have a positive impact on a sustainable future: with more reports, and to ensure the quality and reliability remains high in those reports.

The GRI Reports List can be accessed at http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportServices/GRIReportsList/

GRI’s Year in Review 2009/10 will be available at http://www.globalreporting.org/AboutGRI/WhatIsGRI/GRIsOwnReports/OurReports.htm