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Global Reporting Initiative UNEP DTIE has for many years worked to stimulate individual companies - and industry associations through their membership - to report on their sustainability performance and the implementation of their voluntary commitments in the form of codes of conduct and charters. One key obstacle in advancing sustainability reporting in the 1990s was the absence of a generally accepted reporting framework, which would greatly enhance the credibility, comparability and comprehensiveness of corporate sustainability reports. UNEP addressed this need through its role as co-founder of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Since its inception in 1997, the GRI has worked to design and build acceptance of a common framework for reporting on the triple bottom line of sustainability - the economic, environmental, and social aspects. The sustainability reporting guidelines developed under the GRI are intended to be applicable to all types of organisations. The third revised or third generation (G3) version of the GRI guidelines was launched at an international conference in Amsterdam, October 2006. Since 1994, UNEP and the London-based SustainAbility Ltd have produced various reports on corporate sustainability reporting through its joint Engaging Stakeholders Programme. This programme is designed to meet the ever-increasing demand for the benchmarking of corporate sustainability reports, and the further analysis of sustainability reporting at the sector-level. The joint publication between KMPG and UNEP, Carrots and Sticks for Starters I, summarizes existing regulatory schemes and summarizes arguments in favor of both voluntary and mandatory approaches. Carrots and Sticks II, an update on the first edition, is expected in May 2010. Sustainability reporting activity in recent years has also included the publication of sustainability reports by public authorities. This has been accompanied by a debate on the role of government in advancing sustainability reporting, including exploration of the pros and cons of voluntary and mandatory approaches to reporting. UNEP DTIE has initiated its own efforts to promote reporting in the UN system and to facilitate debate on different policy approaches. UNEP provides special assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through The Efficient Entrepreneur calendar. On the basis of "You can't manage what you can't measure", the calendar introduces environmental performance measures through a month-by-month programme that ends with a simple SME environmental report. UNEP and the CSCP have started developing a self-help guidebook provisionally entitled "Do SMART Business - Week by Week" for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world. This guidebook aims to introduce the basics of environmental practice and social responsibility for managers and employees of SMEs, and includes related examples, commentaries and tips for action.
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In
2006 UNEP also commissioned a critical review of the GRI as product
and organisation. This was done to take stock after almost ten
years of the GRI process, and to provide the GRI advice on possible
future risks and opportunities in its further development. The
review included a series of interviews, and presented to the GRI
Stakeholder Council and GRI Board to assist their strategic planning.
The resultant "
