Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is launching a new U.S. office in New York City in an effort to boost the number of companies that produce sustainability reports.
GRI provides the world’s most widely-used framework for producing sustainability reports, also known as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reports. The framework enables large and small companies, non-profit organizations and government bodies worldwide to assess their sustainability and disclose the results in a similar way to financial reporting.
One of GRI’s goals is to make sustainability reporting mainstream.
GRI’s new ‘Focal Point USA’ aims to boost the number of US companies reporting on sustainability in a consistent manner, to improve the quality of those reports, and to increase US organizations’ input into developing new guidelines for sustainability reporting.
Each of the ‘Big Four’ accounting and professional services firms in the United States–Deloitte, Ernst & Young LLP, KPMG and PwC U.S.–has agreed to provide donations to sponsor GRI’s new Focal Point USA for the first two years.
Many organizations around the world already produce reports on different aspects of their sustainability performance. These reports provide stakeholders with insight into key performance indicators such as energy and water use, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and social performance indicators related to human rights issues. This information is critical for helping investors, customers, employees, NGO’s and other stakeholders understand a company’s ability to manage sustainability risk and compete in an increasingly resource-constrained world.
Approximately 80% of both the Global Fortune 250 companies and the 100 largest firms in the US produced ESG reports in 2008/9, according to recent research. However, the prevalence of reporting amongst the Forbes Global 2000–the top 2000 companies as judged by Forbes–is much lower, at just over 30%.
GRI aims to help organizations and companies learn about reporting on their sustainability performance and to make ESG reporting a mainstream practice by 2015. This goal is supported by several policies and policy documents worldwide. For example, the guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February this year clarifies existing regulations stating that US companies should disclose certain specific climate-related impacts. The guidance also cites GRI Guidelines as a framework for ESG reports.
During the past 12 months, GRI has been engaging more closely with US companies, financial institutions, leading business associations, investors and government agencies to examine ways to better integrate ESG data into financial reporting. Over the next ten years, GRI will be working with numerous other organizations to develop a framework for integrated reporting which will bring together financial and ESG reporting, helping stakeholders access the information they need.
"Our firm’s support of GRI’s Focal Point USA underscores our commitment to enable more accurate and thorough non-financial reporting," explained Steve Starbuck, Americas Leader of Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Ernst & Young LLP. "The establishment of the US Focal Point will give US organizations a more pronounced voice in the developing global dialogue around standards and the integration of financial and non-financial reporting."
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