Updated Version of the GRI Guidelines Formally Launched in Amsterdam
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The Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the global voluntary framework for sustainability reporting, held a conference October 4-6 in Amsterdam. This major international event on sustainability and transparency featured the release of the GRI guidelines and included plenary sessions, leadership tracks and forums covering a variety of topics ranging from management and reporting software to performance and risk assessment, compliance, and sustainability reporting.
The Conference on Sustainability and Reporting
Over 100 representatives from business, civil society, labor and government, from developed and developing countries got together to debate on sustainable development and reporting, the list of speakers included USA vice-president Al Gore, European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, United Nations Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner and Björn Stigson from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, among others. Besides the sessions and networking opportunities, the 3-day conference included visits to sustainable projects in and around Amsterdam, meals with organic food and a major dinner in honor of the people and organizations involved in the development of the GRI guidelines- (Read about the GRI guidelines and their applicability in Latin America).
New Fresh G3
The GRI guidelines (Read ifPeople`s report on
this tool)
are currently used by over 700 multinational companies as a framework for their
sustainability reporting. The new version of the GRI`s indicator protocols
(known as G3 since they are the third release of the guidelines launched in
2000 and updated in 2002) reduces the number of environmental and social
performance indicators and offers a simpler set of sustainability indicators
(79 as opposed to the former 97). Also, the guidelines are now available in a
user-friendly electronic format. They establish a new system for reporting that
assigns companies a rating of A, B, or C for different levels of reporting;
where A+ represents the highest level.
