Guidelines use and report compilation

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Part 3: Guidelines use and report compilation

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All organizations are encouraged to report against the Guidelines whether they are beginners or experienced reporters. The first step is to determine report content and guidance for this is provided in Part 1. Some organizations may choose to introduce reporting on all material issues at once, while others may start with the most practicable issues first and phase in reporting on other issues over time. All reporting organizations should describe the scope of its report.

Reporting Levels
The 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines offered two options for declaring use of the GRI Guidelines: incremental and ‘in accordance.’ In the future, a system of approximately 3-5 reporting levels that reflect the extent of application of the GRI Reporting Framework will be designed. The reporting levels are expected to be self-declared and will assist report preparers and users by:

• helping report preparers that are just starting sustainability reporting to envision different approaches or phases for developing their reporting practices over time; and
• enabling report preparers to better express and stakeholders to more clearly understand how the GRI framework has been used in preparing a report.

The reporting levels will not be a substitute for independent assurance and will not attest to the accuracy of the information in a report or the performance of an organization.

Feasibility assessment
The content determination processes will result in a set of issues and indicators that are material for the organization. The content definition, prioritization, and boundary setting processes will result in a set of issues and indictors on which to report. However, practical challenges such as the availability of data, the cost of gathering it, the confidentiality of information, privacy or other legal concerns, the reliability of the available information, and other factors may result in a legitimate decision not to disclose the information. Where material information is omitted for such reasons, the report should clearly indicate this and the reasons why.

Frequency and medium of reporting
Electronic or web-based reporting and paper versions are appropriate mediums for reporting. Reporting on economic, environmental, and social performance could coincide or be integrated with other organizational reporting, such as annual financial report and accounts. Coordinated timing will reinforce the linkages between financial performance and economic, environmental, and social performance.

A moment in time
A report should provide a consolidated account of sustainability performance covering a defined reporting period. This should be registered with the GRI secretariat in connection with the organization’s regular reporting cycle, typically annually or bi-annually (see request for notification of use, below). An organization may choose to update information on a more regular basis. However, for comparability purposes, reporting periods covered by a consolidated account of performance should remain consistent as much as possible.

Year-on-year reporting
An organization preparing a report may identify areas of information that have not changed since the prior report (e.g., a policy that has not been amended).  The organization may choose to update the sections on issues and indicators that have changed and to retain the disclosures that have not changed. However, the full set of information for the each reporting period should be presented in a single location.

Data aggregation and disaggregation
Reporting organizations will need to determine the level of aggregation at which to present information. This requires balancing the effort required against the added meaningfulness of information reported on a disaggregated basis (e.g., country or site). Aggregation of information can result in the loss of a significant amount of the value to stakeholders using the report, and also risks masking particularly strong or poor performance in specific areas. Reporting organizations should disaggregate information to an appropriate level as determined through consultation with stakeholders, which may vary by indicator.

Choices on Assurance
Organizations seek to add credibility to their reports through a variety of approaches, which involve internal and external resources. The use of independent, external assurance for sustainability reports is recommended. The use of internal audit processes is also important for supporting the management of information and the preparation of a sustainability report. The term assurance is widely used, but can be understood by different groups in varying ways. The use here is intended to refer to activities undertaken by independent, impartial, and competent parties to provide opinions about a sustainability report.

More resources on assurance
Supporting resources to help explain issues and options associated with assurance will be developed as part of the ongoing G3 work. What further resources would be most useful, including key questions and topics to address? Visit www.grig3.org to submit your ideas via the online public comment form.

Request for notification of use
Organizations that have used the Guidelines and/or other elements of the GRI Reporting Framework during the preparation of their report are requested to notify the Global Reporting Initiative upon its release. Such reports should contain the following two items:

• A statement that indicates that the report was prepared with reference to the Guidelines.
• A GRI content index that lists where all the responses to the standard disclosures can be found by citing a page number or URL.

Organizations can register reports on the website: www.globalreporting.org/reports

Report Use
An organization’s report is a living process and tool, and does not begin or end with a printed or on-line publication. Reporting should fit into a broader process for setting organizational strategy, implementing action plans, and assessing outcomes. Reporting enables a robust assessment of the organization’s performance, and can support continuous improvement in performance over time. It also serves as a tool for engaging with stakeholders and securing useful input to organizational processes.

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