Global Compact & GRI Prefered Reporting Models -Report

The UN Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are the two most commonly referenced CSR reporting guidelines, a report from the European Commission has revealed.

The report aimed to present statistics on the extent that 200 randomly selected large companies (over 1000 employees) from 10 different EU Member States publicly make available policy references to internationally recognised CSR guidelines.

Some 32% of sampled companies referenced the UN Global Compact, while 31% referred to the GRI on the company’s website or annual and sustainability reports.

68% of companies make reference to "corporate social responsibility" or an equivalent term, and 40% refer to at least one internationally recognised CSR instrument.

GRI’s Deputy Chief Executive Teresa Fogelberg said that the survey demonstrates that the GRI Guidelines are now the dominant framework for sustainability reporting among large EU companies.

“GRI’s mission is to make sustainability reporting standard practice among all companies but there is still a long way to go before a ‘tipping point’ is achieved,” he said.

“While 95% of the world’s largest companies are producing sustainability reports, overall less than 10% of publicly traded companies, and companies that do business across national borders, report on their sustainability practices.”

“If we are to truly achieve the transition to a sustainable global economy, there is an urgent need for all companies to embrace sustainability disclosure. The question to answer is no longer ‘Why report?’ but ‘Why are you not reporting?,” she said.

The survey also took into account the instruments of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines, ISO 26000, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the ILO MNE Declaration.

The 10 Member States in the study were the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

“There is also an important role for governments to play in advancing the goal of mainstreaming environmental, social and governance disclosure. Europe is now ready for clear leadership from EU institutions on how policy can be used to drive forward a culture of corporate transparency,” Fogelberg said.

The report can be downloaded here.