gri: inside [and] out

1 Global Reporting Initiative

GRI: Inside [and] out

The Amsterdam Global Conference on

May 7-9 2008Sustainability Reporting Today: The Readers’ Verdict

Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Report

2010/11

2 Sustainability Report 2010/11

GRI’s Vision

A sustainable global economy where organizations manage their environmental, social and governance impacts responsibly, and report transparently

GRI’s Mission

To make sustainability reporting standard practice by providing guidance and support to organizations

Contents

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) receives core funding from several governments and through its Organizational Stakeholder Program. In 2010/11 GRI received financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). GRI thanks its supporters for helping the transition to a sustainable global economy.


From GRI’s Chief Executive 4

About this report 10

Talking and listening: stakeholder engagement 11

Program, policy and partnerships 14

Reporting companies and organizations 16

Working groups 18

Policy makers and allied organizations 19

Organizational Stakeholders 21

Local engagement 23

Governance bodies 25

Integrated reporting stakeholders 26

Employees and environment - the Secretariat’s direct impacts 27

External Feedback Committee 30

Acknowledgements 33

GRI Content Index 34

Annex 60

Glossary 73

Contents


From GRI’s Chief ExecutiveWelcome to GRI’s Sustainability Report 2010/11. This report covers GRI’s three main sustainability impacts: the effectiveness of programs, policy and advocacy work, and internal processes.

GRI: the organization

Diverse stakeholders, including business, civil society, labor organizations, professional accountants and consultants, investors and financial analysts, and intergovernmental institutions, are represented in GRI’s governance structure. The Board of Directors approves the Secretariat’s work plan, the Secretariat is the body that carries out the work at GRI. the Stakeholder Council provides strategic advice to the Board of Directors, and the Technical Advisory Committee provides technical advice. All three governance bodies are part of GRI’s due process for development of the Sustainability Reporting Framework.

The Board meets at least twice a year, giving direction to the Secretariat. There is a weekly management meeting, where senior management review the main departmental projects and challenges.

The Secretariat aligns goals with the Board, and these are tracked on a quarterly basis. GRI has a process of comprehensive quarterly activity reporting against the approved workplan, in addition to monthly financial reporting. The 2010/11 Quarterly Management Report showed targets being met or exceeded across most GRI

GRI and sustainability reporting

Sustainability reporting is a rapidly growing practice, and GRI provides guidance and support to all organizations worldwide that want to report their sustainability performance. We see a vital shift in sustainability reporting, moving from an experimental practice of pioneering companies to a rapidly widening adoption in the mainstream.

The range of users of sustainability performance data is widening, to include investors and financial market analysts as well as different organizations concerned with the public interest in our social, environmental and economic sustainability, and the ever-increasing number of peer organizations that produce sustainability reports. Audiences also include governments, stock exchanges and other policy makers. To encourage and enable engagement with sustainability reporting, GRI is working with policy makers worldwide, promoting a report or explain approach to regulation – organizations should report their sustainability performance or explain why not.

In April 2011 GRI launched the Report or Explain Campaign Forum – a convening space for any organization that supports the goal to make sustainability reporting standard practice. GRI maintained its collaboration with key strategic partners in 2010/11, including with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the International Standards Organisation (ISO). Collaboration with these partners helps GRI to reach out to many more reporting organizations with information about the GRI Guidelines. This in turn helps reporting organizations to use the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework more effectively, to enhance their transparency around actions undertaken following the guidance of GRI’s partner organizations.

There is a growing sense of urgency around sustainability reporting – all organizations must report their performance or explain why if they do not. This will enable comparison and benchmarking, analysis of trends and increased competitiveness. Markets, governments and consumers need sustainability performance information. It’s time to make sustainability reporting standard practice, and GRI provides the guidance and support to help make this happen.

Ernst Ligteringen,Chief Executive


workstreams. Information from the Report is relayed to all Secretariat staff, as needed.

The main internal resource for measuring GRI’s progress is the Quarterly Management Report, prepared for the Board and Executive Management Team. The Report is broken down by Key Performance Indicators and Operational Progress Indicators. Qualitative information is also provided, such as whether GRI is effectively engaging in policy advice and dialogue, and how.

GRI’s financial health relies on financial contributions, made in a variety of ways, by institutions, governments, companies and other organizations. As a non-profit foundation, GRI relies on the support of governments, private sector companies and income from its services. Securing funds is vital for the ongoing success of GRI, and building a secure financial base is a priority. Therefore it is significant that the number of Organizational Stakeholders – core supporters that endorse GRI’s mission and vision, and play a governance role – has increased to more than 600.

Challenges

Encouraging more companies and organizations to report is GRI’s biggest challenge. Tracking exactly who is using the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework, and determining the impact of its use, is also a challenge. The Framework needs to evolve: It should remain up to date and be suitable for the needs of new audiences engaging with reporting – including investors. Integrated reporting is a newly emerging concept that seeks to promote the integration of financial and non-financial reporting. GRI will work to define how integrated reporting relates to sustainability reporting, and aims to ensure that the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework will fit with the forthcoming Integrated Reporting Framework that is under

development by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).

In the reporting period, the organizational risks faced by GRI include, but are not limited to: • Operating in different and diverse business

environments (including China, India, USA, Brazil, Australia, Africa), establishing and maintaining regional presence

• Lower rates of uptake in some countries, including smaller emerging markets and least developed countries

• Inappropriate use of its reporting guidance• Exclusion of key stakeholders, collectively or as

individuals • Ensuring neutrality in GRI processes and managing

relations where vested interests are represented

The key sustainability topic that poses a risk to GRI is the economic climate, and crises. The troubled economic situation may affect funding, and may influence companies’ decision making around whether to invest in sustainability reporting or not.

Performance

In GRI’s Sustainability Report 2009/10, we talked about GRI’s direct impacts, centered around three main themes: paper, planes and people. These three themes are still important and this report covers GRI’s performance in these areas.

GRI is a highly diverse workplace with staff coming from 23 countries – the Secretariat is based in Amsterdam and operates according to Dutch law. A more robust Performance Management Methodology for employees was developed in 2010/11, and was launched just after the end of this reporting period.

Performance with respect to goals, objectives, standards and targets 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011

Performance or Operational Indicator FY Target 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011

Actual performance 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011

FY target 1 July – 2011 – 30 June 212

Downloads of G3 and G3.1 40,000 41,219 35,000

Number of Certified Training Partners 65 67 75

Number of Certified Training participants 2,500 3,411 3,600

Learning & Coaching – participants trained (MNE and suppliers)

85 79 100

Number of Organizational Stakeholders (OS) 625 651 750

Application Level Checks 400 586 700

OS events and online conferences 14 21 45*

*Including events and online conferences of other departments


Employee turnover in the Secretariat has increased by 4.85 percent, with ten employees leaving the organization during this reporting period. Two transferred to a national representation – Focal Point – within GRI, three left at the end of specific projects, three left to pursue personal opportunities, and two resigned before the expiry date of their contract; both accepted new job opportunities. This turnover was anticipated and not considered to be exceptional.

In January 2011, GRI established an Employee Representation Body (ERB) – an elected group of people that represents the employees. One of the priority issues GRI is working on with the ERB is training and education of staff members. As an employer, GRI also listens to feedback, and is working to ensure appropriate complaint mechanisms are in place.

Reducing the impact of travel-related carbon emissions has been, and continues to be, an important goal. For the first time, carbon emissions for the whole Secretariat were offset, based on 226.59 tonnes of CO2.

Operationally, GRI runs a very efficient office, and in 2010/11 worked to maintain its sustainability. The Sustainability Management and Reporting Team (SMART), formed in 2009, continues to improve data collection processes and encourage staff in sustainable office

practices. SMART now has its own Rules and Procedures, and this work is part of each team member’s objectives.

GRI aimed to implement a new sustainable procurement policy, and publish new internal policies for sustainability, the environment, diversity and human resources; while these goals were not achieved, draft versions of the documents were finalized for the Executive Management Team’s approval. Of the other sustainability goals that GRI set for 2010/11, the provision of more precise and comparable data on energy consumption was achieved.

Goals 2010/11 Outcome

Develop a more robust Performance Management Methodology and supporting tools

Completed

Offset all business travel carbon dioxide emissions

Completed

Provide more precise and comparable data on energy consumption

Completed. Data provided monthly

Complete and implement the sustainable procurement policy

Incomplete. The policy still needs to be incorporated into the Secretariat operations

Finalize the sustainability, environmental, diversity and human resources policies

Incomplete. Drafts available and undergoing consultation for approval in 2012

Launch event for GRI’s Focal Point USA at the New York Stock Exchange.


GRI has a number of goals for the next year relating to direct impacts:• Offset all business travel related carbon dioxide

emissions• Strive for a more balanced gender representation in the

governance bodies• Implement the Performance Management

Methodology (PMM) for all GRI employees • Formalize the sustainability, procurement,

environmental and human resources policies• Achieve a 30 percent increase in training hours per

employee• Gather and report travel related data from Focal Points

as from 1 January 2012

GRI’s biggest impacts are indirect, through the use of the Sustainability Reporting Framework, improving the sustainability and transparency of thousands of organizations worldwide. As such, it is important to reflect on GRI’s performance related to workstream goals. GRI’s excellent performance in this reporting period is thanks to the engagement of staff and stakeholders worldwide, with a shared vision of a sustainable global economy.

2010/11 was overall a successful year for GRI: key achievements include the publication of the updated G3.1 Guidelines, the launch of the Focal Point USA, and the publication of new sector guidance including the Airport Operators Sector Supplement. For more information on GRI’s work, you can read the Year in Review.

Through these achievements, GRI has enabled thousands of organizations to be transparent about their performance, and raising awareness about the value of sustainability reporting. Research published by KPMG in 2011 shows that 95 percent of the world’s 250 biggest companies now disclose sustainability performance information (figure 2); this is a big increase from nearly 80 percent in 2008. What’s more, 80 percent of these companies use the GRI Guidelines.

In 76 percent of the countries surveyed in the research, more than half of the largest 100 companies now disclose sustainability performance information, indicating that sustainability reporting is becoming the norm (figure 1).

With a comparatively small staff working on so many projects to promote sustainability reporting, some GRI activities were delayed in 2010/11. Launch dates for the Construction and Real Estate, Oil and Gas, Event Organizers, and Media Sector Supplements were moved back. However, GRI continues to work on these projects, which will all be completed in the next reporting period.

In support of its mission to make sustainability reporting standard practice, GRI‘s strategic objectives for the period 2011-2015 are:• GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework - G4• Promote a report or explain approach to sustainability

reporting policy• Contribute to the development of Integrated

Reporting

One of GRI’s strategic goals centers around innovation – developing new guidance. As sustainability reporting

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Figure 2

https://globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Sustainability-Report-2009-2010.pdf


Ernst Ligteringen, Chief Executive, the Global Reporting Initiative

continues to gather bigger audiences, guidance must be fit for purpose. In the reporting year, GRI started work on the development of the next generation of Sustainability Reporting Guidelines – G4. The development follows GRI’s due process, involving experts from diverse sectors, constituencies and locations.

Integrated reporting – the combined reporting on an organization’s financial and non-financial performance – is expected to become an effective way of mainstreaming sustainability disclosure over the coming decade. For this reason, contributing to the evolution of integrated reporting is a strategic goal: GRI was one of the co-founders of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), which was set up in 2010, and the two organizations continue to work closely together.

This report

The online discussion about GRI’s 2009/10 sustainability report was very interesting and informative. Feedback included the need for a more comprehensive risk analysis of the organization, an updated stakeholder engagement, an evaluation of the program effectiveness and product responsibility and external feedback on the report. All of this input has been considered for this Sustainability Report.

GRI’s mission is to make sustainability reporting standard practice, and organizations around the world expect GRI’s own reports to set an example. Feedback on the last report has led to the following changes in this report.

For the first time, this sustainability report covers GRI’s indirect impacts on sustainability worldwide – its program effectiveness. GRI’s products and services – including capacity building through its training programs – enable thousands of organizations to be transparent about their sustainability performance.

For this report, GRI increased stakeholder engagement. The outcome has driven the themes of this report and, as a result, this report is different to last year’s. In the previous reporting period, GRI looked at its direct impacts and performance related to internal processes. Following stakeholder engagement, this year’s report is expanded to include indirect impacts – the effect GRI’s work has on

sustainability worldwide. As highlighted by reviewers, GRI’s biggest sustainability impact is its guidance.

Because GRI works with diverse stakeholders worldwide, stakeholder engagement is a priority for GRI – in this report you will find information on the stakeholder engagement exercise undertaken for this report, which resulted in changes in the reporting guidance GRI uses. GRI’s stakeholders feel GRI’s program effectiveness and policy work are important indicators of sustainability performance. This report uses the updated G3.1 Guidelines and the NGO Sector Supplement, released in 2010. The Supplement focuses on specific issues for non-profit organizations such as program effectiveness, public awareness and advocacy. While GRI is not an NGO, many of the indicators in the NGO Sector Supplement (NGOSS) are relevant for communicating GRI’s sustainability performance: This report emphasizes program effectiveness, as GRI examines how well it achieves its mission.

GRI has followed its own Guidelines to produce its 2010/11 sustainability report, at Application Level A. Application Levels reflect the extent to which GRI’s Guidelines have been followed. This is the first time GRI is using the NGOSS for its own Sustainability Report, so this year the report is setting a baseline. Looking to the future, GRI aims to report its indirect sustainability impacts and provide comparisons year on year. For next report, GRI’s reporting team SMART is developing mechanisms to report quantitative data for comparison in future reports.

GRI’s direct impacts are still important. This report covers the ongoing development of sustainability policies and practices at the Secretariat, covering employees, travel and operations.

With this year’s Sustainability Report, GRI aims to provide its stakeholders with an overview of its sustainability performance and impacts: direct and indirect, internal and external. We are grateful to those who take the time to read GRI’s reports, and we welcome your feedback, which we use to improve future reports towards better, more engaging reporting. If you have any feedback about the Report, please get in touch with GRI at [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


About this report GRI produces an annual sustainability report: This report covers the financial year 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011. The last sustainability report (for the financial year 2009/10) was published in August 2011, and the most recent Year In Review - GRI’s annual report, with further information on its goals and activity - was published in November 2011.

Identification of topics based on surveys, Prioritization of topics based on their relevance to internal and external stakeholders, and Validation of topics against material GRI Aspects, to identify material issues with respect to the report’s scope, boundary and timeframe.

This report covers the sustainability impacts of the Secretariat’s operations, products and services; and the impacts of GRI-related travel by Board, Technical Advisory Committee and Stakeholder Council members, and of participants in Working Groups convened to develop Reporting Framework guidance.

The sustainability impacts of GRI’s Focal Points are not covered in the report, but their travel-related data will be included in the next sustainability report (2011/12) and thereafter.

The report’s data, including the bases of calculations, assumptions and the techniques underlying assumptions, follow the guidance of the Compilation Points for each GRI Performance Indicator. Corrections from the 2009/10 sustainability report are:

Performance Indicator LA10: Average training hours per employee were 3.06 hours, not 5.2 hours

Performance Indicator LA12: 11 percent of employees received regular performance and career development reviews, not 5 percent.

This is the first GRI sustainability report to be based on the G3.1 Guidelines and the NGO Sector Supplement. This involved addressing Performance Indicators that GRI has not previously considered (pages 14-26). During the next reporting cycle GRI will determine and implement mechanisms needed to collect more quantitative data for these Indicators. This will provide a benchmark for upcoming reports, allowing GRI to evaluate its performance over time.

If you have questions or feedback about this report, please contact [email protected].

Report content is driven by stakeholder engagement and determined using both internal and external processes, including determining material topics and prioritization. GRI updated its stakeholder engagement process in 2010/11 – see pages 11-13 for a full description of the current approach.

The results of stakeholder engagement were analyzed by the Sustainability Management and Reporting Team (SMART), which makes recommendations to the Executive Management Team on the report’s content. Final decision making on report content is undertaken by executive management.

Expected users of this report include:

Providers of Policy Frameworks

Donors

GRI Reporters

Suppliers

Green Economy and Report or Explain Partners

Strategic Partners

Organizations with similar goals and activities

Organizational Stakeholders

Governmental Advisory Group members

Training partners

Certified Software & Tools providers

Media

Working Group members

Board of Directors

Stakeholder Council

Technical Advisory Committee

Focal Points

Secretariat staff members

GRI’s Reporting Guidelines include guidance on Defining Report Content, based on eight Reporting Principles. Further guidance is offered in the Technical Protocol – Applying the Report Content Principles, a standalone resource published in March 2011. The Technical Protocol was referred to when deciding the content of this report. The Protocol’s suggested 3-step process was followed:



Talking and listening: Stakeholder engagement In this reporting period GRI’s Sustainability Management and Reporting Team (SMART) implemented new processes to define the material content of its reports. This meant increased stakeholder engagement - revitalizing the consultation process that was last used for GRI’s report in 2006.

Based on those who are ‘influenced by or influence’ performance and goals, GRI considers its main stakeholders to include:

Internal • Board of Directors (main decision-making body); meets

twice per year• Secretariat staff members

External • Organizational Stakeholders (organizational supporters

and funders); in-country meetings held on an ad-hoc basis, plus regular webinars (online conferences), phone calls and interactive online communications

• Working Groups for Framework content development; meet on an ad-hoc basis, according to project plan

• Stakeholder Council; meets at least once per year• Technical Advisory Committee; meets on an ad hoc

basis• Governmental Advisory Group (meets twice per year)• Donors/Sponsors• GRI Guideline users• Other normative standard setters/framework providers• Trade and industrial associations• Partners for specific activities (with whom GRI has

signed a Memorandum of Understanding)• Accountancy associations• Assurance providers for non-financial reports• Consultants, service providers/reporting professionals• Suppliers of goods or services to the Secretariat• Prospective donors/partners• Training organizations in the sustainability field• Key information users: non-governmental

organizations, civil society organizations• Labor unions• Investors

A new stakeholder survey was introduced for this report. It was emailed to 981 stakeholders; two reminder emails were sent over the five-week period of the survey.

The survey was based mostly on 44 descriptive statements relating to Aspects in the G3.1 Guidelines and NGO Sector Supplement.

159 participants responded fully to the survey. Their Likert-based values were totaled and averaged over the number of respondents.

GRI’s Sustainable Management and Reporting Team (SMART) analyzing the results of the 2011 Stakeholder Engagement using the Materiality Matrix.


SMART then plotted the 44 Aspects on a graph comparing the interests of X (internal stakeholders) and Y (external stakeholders). Following GRI’s Technical Protocol – Applying the Report Content Principles, thresholds were defined as ‘A – most significant’ to ‘D – least significant’. The resulting list of 44 Aspects graded A to D was examined.

Aspect category Aspects Group Reporting Status

Program Effectiveness (NGO SS)

Affected stakeholder involvement A Report

Feedback, complaints, and action A Report

Monitoring, evaluating, and learning A Report

Gender and diversity B Report

Public awareness and advocacy B Report

Coordination A Report

Economic (EC) Economic performance C Report

Market presence, including impact on local economies D Not Material

Indirect economic impacts D Not Material

Resource allocation B Report

Ethical fundraising B Report

Environment (EN) Materials C Report

Energy C Report

Water D Not Material

Biodiversity D Not Material

Emissions, effluents and waste D Report

Products and services C Not Material

Compliance B Report

Transport A Report

Overall C Not Material

Labor Practices and Decent Work (LA)

Employment C Report

Labor/management relations B Report

Occupational health and safety B Report

Training and education A Report

Diversity and equal opportunity B Report

Further guidance on Materiality was applied, such as the perspective that Aspects of low significance to some stakeholders can be of high significance to others. The following topics were deemed material, and are therefore included in this report:

13 Global Reporting Initiative13 Global Reporting Initiative

Aspect category Aspects Group Reporting Status

Human Rights (HR) Investment and procurement practices B Report

Non-discrimination B Report

Freedom of association and collective bargaining B Report

Child labor D Not Material

Forced and compulsory labor D Not Material

Security practices D Not Material

Indigenous rights D Not Material

Assessment Not surveyed Not Material

Remediation Not surveyed Not Material

Society (SO) Local Communities D Not Material

Corruption B Report

Public policy A Report

Anti-competitive behavior D Not Material

Compliance C Report

Product Responsibility (PR)

Customer health and safety D Not Material

Product and service labelling D Not Material

Marketing communicationsCOMM A Report

Customer privacyCOMM C Report

Compliance C Not Material

GRI will continue to revisit its stakeholder engagement process on an ongoing basis, as part of its year-round reporting cycle and its daily operational practice: one influences the other.


Program, Policy and Partnerships GRI’s most significant impacts on sustainability result from its core product: organizational reporting guidance. Many of these impacts can be understood by focusing on GRI’s program effectiveness. Operational responsibility for program effectiveness is shared among the particular Directors of GRI workstreams, and the Executive Management Team (EMT).

Ultimately, the effectiveness of GRI’s program partly equates to the effectiveness of its guidance in revealing organizations’ sustainability performance; and how the collection and publication of this information enables and promotes organizational change towards a sustainable global economy.

This effectiveness is interlinked with the way that GRI operates – as a collaborative non-profit organization, observing due diligence in its finances and due process in the development of its core product.

The inclusivity of GRI’s program is highly significant. Organizational, regulatory, civil and public stakeholders must be able to share their input and responses. All producers and users of sustainability information must be offered a theoretical convening space to reach consensus on the nature of organizational reporting, and how that reporting can lead to positive outcomes.

The producers and users of sustainability information are growing in number. Governments, regulators and financial market actors are increasingly requesting sustainability data. As a major provider of reporting guidance, GRI’s involvement in public policy and advocacy is therefore increasing, and taking on a new importance among its activities.

But GRI’s sustainability impacts are not limited to external guidance and activity. In encouraging all organizations to report, GRI must ‘walk the talk’– it must measure and manage its internally-created sustainability impacts. These internal impacts are most pronounced in the social and environmental spheres – in the welfare of its employees, and the effects of global travel. This report highlights GRI’s performance against goals, and sets goals for the next reporting period.

GRI’s main internal mechanism for measuring program effectiveness, among many, is the Quarterly Management Report. This document plots results against quantitative

goals that fall under GRI’s strategic goals. Sub-goals include such wide-ranging workstreams as the number of sustainability reports filed with GRI, website visitor numbers, and planned growth in the Organizational Stakeholder program The Report is prepared for the Board and Executive Management Team. Responses to performance against these goals are communicated to director and line managers.

The six Performance Indicators for Program Effectiveness focus mostly on processes, for:• correcting and changing policy• feedback and complaints• evaluating the efficacy of programs• integrating gender and diversity into program design• formulating and changing advocacy positions• coordinating with the activities of other actors

The six Indicators observe six sector-specific aspects, including Affected Stakeholder Engagement.

The identification of key stakeholders, and analysis of their participation, is a significant element of understanding program effectiveness. For all organizations reporting with the Supplement, much of the disclosure centers around stakeholders. With whom do you work? With whom do you talk? Whose needs do you represent, or not represent?

For a network-based organization, this stakeholder emphasis in analyzing program effectiveness is very pronounced. The following pages analyze the role of various key stakeholders, and the contribution they make to GRI’s work – and its sustainability impacts.

GRI is a multi-stakeholder network-based organization. Operationally, most of its activity involves reaching out to a wide range of stakeholders from diverse constituencies, on a daily basis. And so GRI is in constant communication with affected parties: this communication is a programmatic element of delivering its core product, and other services.


Reporting companies and organizations

Thousands of companies and organizations around the world use GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Framework.1

The development and form of this guidance has a direct effect on how they collect and present their sustainability data. Establishing an effective sustainability reporting cycle can present organizations with opportunities to change their sustainability impacts and outcomes, internally and externally. In a sustainability context, that means the impacts and outcomes of their economic, environmental, social and governance performance.

The [email protected] email address enables reporters to contact GRI for advice about Sustainability Reporting Framework. Important questions are relayed to managers on at least a monthly basis, if not immediately. If required, they are relayed to EMT members in the same time-frame. Submissions to the address can range from questions around terminology or metrics to suggestions for improvement or spotlighting errors. Reporters may also comment on the feasibility of reporting against some Indicators, or explain organizational difficulties with certain types of disclosure. New resource documents for reporters, such as the G3/G3.1 Reference Sheet, are created on the basis of insight received from these queries.

Formal feedback from organizations that produce sustainability reports is gathered during the development phase of the Reporting Guidelines, Sector Supplements

“As a first time sustainability reporter in 2010, Chrysler Group selected the GRI framework because it provided us with a proven, well-accepted structure to shape our report. With the guidance of the GRI team, we were able to achieve our objectives for timing, transparency and completeness.”

Greg Rose, Director of Sustainability, Environmental, Health & Safety, Chrysler Group LLC, USA

and other Framework elements. Reporters can be contacted or addressed through a variety of mechanisms, ranging from electronic platforms or inclusion on an email mailing list to having an ongoing professional relationship with Secretariat staff. They may answer surveys, or take part in workshops. This feedback is used for many purposes, from devising new and improved content to gauging organizational reactions to prompts for different kinds of data.

Experienced reporters may also participate in Working Groups for developing the Sustainability Reporting Framework. (see page 18), research, and the creation of supporting publications. A significant number of long-term sustainability reporting multinationals are GRI Organizational Stakeholders (see page 21-22).

To take advantage of a number of services and data collection activities, reporters also engage with GRI’s Report Services department. Users of Reports Services packages are sent a survey at year-end to assess satisfaction levels. This assists with the team’s brainstorming when they re-visit the services they provide. Services, pricing, and procedures are usually updated publicly on 1 January each year.

GRI’s Framework documents are reviewed and updated as often as deemed necessary by the Board. Proposed and in-process changes to Framework guidance are made available for public comment at least twice during the development phase of guidance. One measure of the

1 For examples of sustainability reports from around the world, see GRI’s Sustainability Disclosure Database http://database.globalreporting.org



effectiveness of GRI’s guidance is the level of usage. GRI data providers helped maintain the GRI Reports List in 2010/11. The Reports List features all GRI-based reports that GRI is aware of, and that contain a Content Index. While it does not include the thousands more reports that follow GRI’s guidance, it reflects wider trends in sustainability reporting. The List indicates annual growth in sustainability reporting since the publication of GRI’s first guidance in 2000. GRI worked on a major overhaul of the List during the reporting period, launching the new Sustainability Disclosure Database in late 2011.

In 2010/11, public and professional feedback received across many channels led to several changes to GRI’s offerings. This included the development of the Content Index template; the G3 and G3.1 Checklists; the phasing out of self-declared and ‘Third party checked’ icons for sustainability reports; and changes to the GRI Application Level statement, to clarify the meaning of Application Level checks and their relation to external assurance.

Some of this feedback came from assurance providers. Changes to GRI’s offerings were communicated publicly via webinars, meetings and conferences, press releases, social media, email and personal contact, and GRI’s website and newsletter.

GRI’s Certified Software and Tools Program supports reporters that use software to produce sustainability reports. GRI engages with software providers to check their use of its copyrighted guidance, and certifies that it is applied correctly in commercially-available digital resources. Software providers are engaged across a variety of platforms, including open calls on GRI’s website, features

in its online newsletter, or outreach at conferences and events.

Participating software providers are in regular and open communication. During the certification process, providers are offered 5 working days to indicate if they are satisfied with GRI’s assessment of their software. Feedback is actioned on a case-by-case basis. The performance of the Program is subject to annual goals and performance reviews. In 2010/11, as a result of feedback from software providers, changes were made to the Program’s pricing

and application procedures. Updates were published on GRI’s website and communicated individually to relevant providers.

In 2010/11, two GRI communications in particular presented information on organizations’ business case for sustainability reporting, and on

external impacts on environmental, social and governance issues as a consequence of organizations using GRI’s reporting guidance.

One was the internally-researched Global Action, Local Change publication. Its interviews captured the experiences of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and supply chain actors in developing countries, as they were guided through their first sustainability reporting process on the Global Action Network for Transparency in the Supply Chain (GANTSCh) Program. This workstream involves another GRI department, the Certified Training Program. The local sustainability outcomes of the participants’ new reporting practices were also spotlighted.

The second was the Organizational Stakeholder Knowledge Share Project. This series of online conferences and articles was exclusive to GRI’s Organizational Stakeholders, or OS (see page 21-22). OS include some of the world’s longest-standing sustainability reporters. The insights from their knowledge sharing are due to be published publically in 2012.


Working Groups“Since I first participated at the GRI Conference in 2008, I realized I could help with some of GRI’s goals. Initially, I offered to help GRI establish contact with the Brazilian government, so the government could explore sustainability reporting for state owned companies. Itaipu contributes to various activities of GRI’s Focal Point in Brazil, of which we are sponsors. We are currently working on the Report or Explain proposal directly next to the office of President Dilma Roussef.In 2009 and 2010, GRI invited me to integrate the Advisory Gender Working Group (GRI/IFC) and G3.1 Gender Working Group, due to the work we have been doing at Itaipu since 2003 on gender equality. As a professional, I see that the knowledge gained during the development of our program of gender was instrumental in proposals that I could provide to the G3.1 Gender Working Group.”

Heloisa Covolan, Social and Environmental Responsibility Coordinator, Itaipu (and Gender Working Group member), Brazil

calls are initiated largely via online platforms – GRI’s website, newsletter, social media groups, and email mailing lists. Working Groups develop content within an agreed scope – the Groups ’ Terms of Reference (ToR). ToR are developed collaboratively between the Secretariat and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

Staff of GRI’s Guidance, Support and Innovation Team convene and chair Working Group meetings. Working Groups meet personally at least twice in the course of their activities, but most meetings are conducted via webinar (online conference). Ongoing communication is facilitated by email and telephone contact; all Working Group members can expect to have access to at least two Secretariat staff members for the duration of their participation.

The new content developed by Working Groups is presented for public comment at least twice during the process. After formal public comment has been evaluated by the Secretariat, Working Group members must take account of the feedback received, and consider how it can be incorporated in the emerging guidance. Public comment is invited mostly via online and electronic platforms.

Working Groups are among those most responsible for incorporating gender and diversity into GRI’s program design. Working Groups for various Framework elements regularly include gender considerations in their recommended guidance; in 2010/11, the Gender Working Group developed specific gender-related updates to the G3 Reporting Guidelines, the necessity of which was first recognized by GRI’s Board in 2006. These updates, and others on local community and human rights issues, formed part of the finalized G3.1 Guidelines.

Working Groups are the groups of experts convened to develop the Sustainability Reporting Framework’s guidance. During the 2010/11 period the G3.1 Reporting Guidelines, the Technical Protocol – Applying the Report Content Principles, and the Airport Operators Sector Supplement were published. These guidance documents represent the work of five separate Working Groups (3 Working Groups were involved in developing G3.1). Working Group membership is geographically diverse, and based on the principle of equal representation from four target constituencies - Business, Labor, Mediating Institutions and Civil Society Organizations.

Their development occurred over two years and involved five Working Groups. Working Group membership is geographically diverse, and based on the principle of equal representation from four target constituencies - Business, Labor, Mediating Institutions and Civil Society Organizations.

Working Group members can be recruited (i.e. invited) or appointed following public calls for topic experts. Public

GRI Working Group members session in March 2011.

https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/latest-guidelines/g3-1-guidelines/Pages/default.aspx

19 Global Reporting Initiative19 Global Reporting Initiative

Policy makers and allied organizations “Sustainability reporting helps companies think about their sustainability performance in a more strategic way; by measuring their impacts, companies can better manage their performance and identify areas for improvement. In the end, this contributes both to the economy - making companies more competitive and successful – and to poverty reduction, sustainable development and human rights. For Sida, the partnership with GRI is a cornerstone of the B4D Programme, bringing the worlds of enterprise and international development cooperation together to drive a sustainable global economy.”

Johan Akerblom, Senior Advisor, Business for Development, Sida, Sweden

The Governmental Advisory Group (Gov Group) was established in 2008. To protect GRI’s independence, the Group is an informal body with no constitutional role. Its mandate is to provide expert advice from representatives of international governments to GRI’s Board and Executive Management Team. With 16 members meeting twice a year, the Group also functions as a platform to exchange ideas and experiences among participants.

Gov Group members are drawn from governments in member and non-member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. GRI invites members on the basis of their employment in a government or governmental body, their demonstrated leadership skills, and their experience with sustainability reporting. Gov Group Terms of Reference are developed collaboratively between GRI and Group members.

Fifth meeting of the GRI Government Advisory Group, hosted by the French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, in Paris, France.


Feedback or complaints from Group members are assessed on a case by case basis, initially by the GRI team responsible for chairing the Group – the Government Relations, International Organizations, Development and Advocacy Team (GIDA).

There is no formal system in place for monitoring the learning derived from the Gov Group, or its ‘effectiveness’; the Group exchanges ideas and views informally, usually among GRI’s Executive Management and GIDA Teams.

The GIDA team also oversees the Report or Explain Campaign Forum, launched in the reporting period. The Forum is a convening space for all those who wish to add their support to the Report or Explain principle: that all large organizations should report their sustainability performance as well as their financial performance, or explain why if they do not.

The Forum was populated initially by organizations that GRI reached out to in its network, mostly via the Stakeholder Council and among Organizational Stakeholders. Alongside having professional relationships with GRI staff across several departments, Forum participants may email feedback and input to [email protected]. This feedback and input is monitored and replied to on a daily basis; furthermore, GRI regularly initiates contact with participants. One aim of the Forum is to publish examples of sustainability reporting regulation, and all website visitors are invited to make a contribution on the Report or Explain webpages.

Serious or ongoing complaints would be, and are, brought to the attention of GRI executive management and Directors on the same day as their latest occurrence. During the reporting period GRI received two complaints related to the Report or Explain Campaign Forum. The complaints were addressed by GRI and resulted in changing the name of the ‘Campaign Forum Partners’ to ‘Campaign Forum Members’.

The GIDA manager tracks constituency and regional presence among Forum participants. The Forum is set to evolve as support for the Report or Explain principle, or resistance to it, becomes more evident. All GIDA activities – including fundraising, lobbying, and public advocacy – are aligned with the Report or Explain concept. Formal submissions to governments or governmental bodies are published on the recipients’ websites. News of GIDA campaigning may be featured in GRI’s online newsletter. Any changes of positioning, or exiting from collaborative arrangements, would be discussed by GRI’s Board. The resulting news would be communicated publicly on GRI’s website, and/or through other contact points determined by executive management.

The GIDA Team also manages strategic partnerships – GRI has strategic partnerships with United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The partnerships are managed consistent with the signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).

GRI’s Guidance, Support and Innovation Team may also approach, or be approached by, organizations that offer related reporting frameworks. The potential for coordination is assessed by internal GRI research. As a consequence, linkage documents may be developed to spotlight the compatibility of GRI’s guidance with other normative frameworks. Staff at other organizations may be invited to join a GRI Working Group; GRI may volunteer time to be involved in the development of another organization’s work. In this reporting period GRI was in communication the United Nations The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) , and involved in the revisions of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UNGC Communication on Progress. GRI was also involved in developing linkage guidance with the 26000 standard of the International Organization for Standardization, and the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Questionnaire.




OS profile information is analyzed and viewed regularly by OS Team members; balanced constituency, stakeholder and geographic representation is a significant focus of the Program.

In 2008, OS were surveyed about what they most wanted from the Program: the primary result was a need for a knowledge sharing platform. In 2011, the Knowledge Share Project saw 13 long term OS take part in interviews and webinars (online conferences) every month, to share their skills and experience. Feedback is gathered after each OS webinar to improve content and delivery. Around 20 face to face OS meetings were convened in a number of

Organizational Stakeholders“Over the past few years, the Global Reporting Initiative has played an extremely important role in developing a common approach to sustainability reporting. That role, we believe, will become steadily more important in the years ahead – not only with the adoption of the new G4 Guidelines, but also with the increasing shift towards integrated reporting.”

Marc van Weede, Global Head of Sustainability, AEGON N.V, The Netherlands

Organizational Stakeholders (OS) are GRI’s core supporters. OS endorse GRI’s mission and vision, promote GRI in their own networks, play an important governance role, and fund GRI through annual contributions. OS include multi- and transnationals, consultancies, non-profit bodies and organizations, small and medium enterprises, and private individuals.

One of the advertised benefits of the OS Program is regular and close contact with a small and exclusive GRI team. GRI’s Secretariat engages with OS on a daily basis. GRI also works to recruit reporting organizations to become OS.

GRI’s Letshani Ndlovu at the Spanish Organizational Stakeholder Meeting in Madrid.


countries in 2010/11. OS can email, telephone or schedule

conference calls with Secretariat staff; and they receive an

early monthly online newsletter.

OS have the opportunity to elect 60 percent of the

membership of GRI’s Stakeholder Council. In 2010/11,

during the yearly nominating process, OS requested

more transparency around the decision making behind

‘recommended’ nominees. This year, ‘recommended’

nominees were listed with the reasons why the GRI

Nominating Committee felt these candidates were fair

endorsements. Any serious or ongoing complaints from an OS would be brought to the notice of a GRI Director within a few hours.

OS are a priority stakeholder group to be contacted by GRI for feedback and input on its reporting guidance. This was the case in 2010/11, where one of the first activities of the development process for GRI’s fourth generation of Reporting Guidelines – G4 – was an exclusive online survey for OS. The survey sought input on theory and content. Moreover, in practice OS are able to provide such input to the Secretariat at any time.


Focal Point performance and impact is measured by formal

objective setting and performance review processes. Focal

Points report to the Secretariat on their activities and

achievements quarterly. The Focal Points’ main contact with

the Secretariat is with the team responsible for supporting

them – the Regional Network Team. This communication

includes daily emails and weekly scheduled calls. As a result

of Focal Point feedback, Focal Point Week was established

at the Secretariat during 2010/11 – an annual event,

coinciding with GRI’s financial year planning, where Focal

Points and Secretariat colleagues can meet and collaborate.

Local engagement“CSE is proud to be a GRI Organizational Stakeholder and Certified Training Partner. We share the same vision with GRI, as we strive to promote sustainability in all geographical areas in which we operate. Moreover, we empower organizations from all the sectors that we are active in, to report on their performance and progress in order to establish a long lasting trusting relation with their stakeholders. The GRI framework helps us to provide tangible evidence that sustainability reporting is an opportunity for organizations to become leaders in an ever changing business environment. In GRI we see not only a trusted partner, but a great team which often goes the extra mile to support us in our journey.”

Aglaia Ntili, Global Training and Partnerships Manager, Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE), Greece

The Regional Network Program drives GRI’s strategic goals around the world, and aims to create active reporting communities in different countries and regions. In doing so, they are assisted by Focal Points – regional offices led by a Senior Manager or Director. At 30 June 2011, there were Focal Points in Australia, Brazil, China, India and the USA, alongside GRI Ambassadors for France and Russia.

Face to face, email and telephone outreach from GRI to local networks is undertaken, in order to find host organizations for Focal Points. Focal Points establish formal agreements with hosts: this includes the St James Ethic Centre (Australia), the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC), the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in India and The Conference Board (USA).

GRI’s Romie Goedicke at an Introductory Workshop at the Hong Kong Council for Social Services.


GRI’s regional presence is boosted significantly by its Certified Training Partners (CTPs), and the consultants who advise on training courses delivered by CTPs. CTPs offer widely available training modules that cover GRI’s sustainability reporting process, and were active in 74 countries at 30 June 2011. GRI signs an agreement with CTPs. The effectiveness of their training is evaluated by Quality Control Consultants, who are also based locally.

In April 2011, Certified Training Partners instructed their 5000th participant since courses began in 2008. Much certified training is aimed at groups of first time reporters, specifically small and medium enterprises (SME) and supply chain companies via GRI’s GANTSCh Program.

As a consequence of multi-stakeholder feedback across multiple platforms to GRI’s Secretariat, significant changes have been made to the services provided by both Certified Trainers and GANTSCh. In 2010/11, training materials were adapted and updated, and ongoing ‘Training of Trainers’ meetings were held in Amsterdam. The use of external consultants was amended in the GANTSCh Program. Consultants now report to the Secretariat in a structured way as they assist in training, and complete post-course status reports. The renewal of agreements with Training Partners and consultants is based partly on structured post-training feedback received from all course participants.

GRI Training of Trainers event held in Amsterdam in December 2010.

“Reaching 5000 participants is a real milestone for GRI and shows the value organizations are putting on sustainability reporting. It is also a testament to our 60 Certified Training Partners around the world, whose commitment and drive are key to GRI’s mission.”

Enrique Torres, Senior Manager, Training and Coaching Programs, GRI


Governance bodies

evaluation or monitoring processes for governance bodies, but TAC members may be re-appointed on the basis of performance evaluation at the end of their term. In 2010/11, the SC was in the process of developing a performance evaluation system.

GRI’s advocacy positions arise from the Board or Secretariat. Only the Board can approve such positioning, as is the case with two core goals for GRI: the development of the Report or Explain principle, and integrated reporting (including the work of the International Integrated Reporting Council).

As sector and topic experts, governance body members are frequently the source of learning about new trends and developments in sustainability reporting. Prompted by members, the Board is able to instruct the Secretariat to implement specific workstreams. This includes the possibilities of harmonizing GRI’s guidance with that of other frameworks, or aligning activity with other organizations.

Secretariat employees who wish to raise issues with governance bodies can do so via the Employee Representation Board (ERB).

GRI’s governance bodies are key stakeholders: the Board of Directors (Board), Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and the Stakeholder Council (SC).

Each governance body has its own rules and procedures, developed by the Board of Directors. Any governance body member wishing to change these rules and procedures is welcome to discuss proposals within their governance group. After the group has reached a decision on the proposal, the Chairman presents it to the Board for final decision-making. The Secretariat can then implement any changes, and communicate them to the group.

Each governance body plays a part in determining whether a Reporting Framework document is released publicly, by expressing a Concur/Non-concur viewpoint. Individual concerns about the guidance are addressed before each group votes. Collective concerns are brought before the Board by each group’s Chair, in a verbal report.

Feedback and complaints related to governance bodies and their members are directed to an appointed Secretariat contact or to the group’s Chairman. Actions are addressed on a case-by-case basis. There are no formal

GRI Board of Directors (Last row from left to right: Roberto Waack, Sean Harrigan, Ernst Ligteringen, Ignasi Carreras, Dr. Simon Longstaff, John Elkington First row from left to right: Sylvie Lemmet, Denise Esdon, Kishor Chaukar, Anita Normark, Prof. Mervyn E. King, Herman Mulder. Board members not on the picture: Peter Wong, Lord Michael Hastings)

“As a long serving member of the GRI Board, and also Chair of its Audit, Finance and Remuneration Committee, I am always looking for tools to help me in my task of ensuring that GRI is fit for purpose. I see my paramount role as a member of the Board to observe that due process - in the GRI multi-stakeholder way - has been followed; more to the spirit rather than the absolute ‘letter of the law’. I need to see that we have proper balance within our structure, and that due process is followed. That is the only way we can ensure that all sectors will accept the final decision around Framework content, even though it may not always be in a sector’s favor. I do not see it as my job to cherry pick the end result of Framework content, although I will certainly point anything out to the appropriate committee chair if something obvious has been missed.”

Peter Wong, Consultant, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Hong Kong


Integrated reporting stakeholders

“It has been evident that the work of GRI informs and has synergies with integrated reporting (IR), this influences thinking by bringing the broad reporting requirement to the table. The clarity of a vision for reporting and how sustainability fits into this big picture is something that we look to our collaboration to accomplish. We expect the development of G4 to have IR at its core, bringing clarity to the need for sustainability data leading to improved reporting and behavior change.”

Paul Druckman, Chief Executive Officer, IIRC, United Kingdom

The IIRC is tasked with developing a framework that brings together financial, environmental, social and governance performance in a concise, consistent and comparable format. This aim aligns with GRI’s vision and mission. Integrated reporting will let GRI reach new and under-represented stakeholders in the sustainability reporting field.

GRI’s involvement with the IIRC is publicized on its website, and in its online newsletter, press releases and promotional materials. The IIRC has its own secretariat, with which a dedicated GRI Secretariat employee coordinates on a weekly basis. GRI’s Chief Executive sits on the Council, and GRI’s Deputy Chief Executive Nelmara Arbex is a member of an IIRC task force.

Integrated reporting means the publication of combined analysis of an organization’s financial and non-financial performance. GRI co-convened the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in 2010, together with the Prince of Wales’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

Sustainability reporting is a significant influence on the development of integrated reporting; GRI’s guidance is a potential content provider for the IIRC’s forthcoming integrated reporting framework. A variety of standard setting bodies and providers of reporting guidance are also involved in the IIRC’s working groups and committees.

As a high profile development, integrated reporting has the capacity to make sustainability reporting standard practice. On this basis, the Secretariat recommended to the Board that GRI should become involved in the founding and activity of the IIRC.


Employees

GRI strives to offer attractive employment benefits, decent working conditions and equal opportunities for its diverse group of employees. Employee terms and conditions are set out in a Contract of Employment and the Personnel Manual. In addition to the Personnel Manual, a supplementary Employee Benefits Schedule is available to all and reflects the taxable impacts.

Overall labor/management relations strategy was discussed in the reporting year by the Chairman of the Board, the Audit, Finance and Remuneration Committee, and the Executive Management Team; the implications of the proposed strategy were then shared with the Chief Executive, HR and other senior managers, before affected staff members were consulted and the changes agreed in writing.

GRI aims to provide a healthy and safe work environment for employees. Procedures and policies relating to occupational health and safety have been relatively structured since the establishment of the Secretariat’s operations. Therefore, regular procedures are followed, based on Dutch legislation and mandatory codes of practice and standards.

Employees and Environment - the Secretariat’s direct impacts

Actions in 2010/11 include: training of two employees in First Aid procedures, availability of a first aid kit, fire extinguishers strategically placed at the office based on fire service recommendations, all new colleagues informed about fire escape routes.

The Operations department of the Secretariat –in particular, the Senior Manager HR – is responsible for occupational health and safety issues, policy development and the implementation of internal procedures. Dutch regulations require employees certified in First Aid procedures to update their knowledge on a yearly basis. The HR manager is responsible for ensuring that the procedures for emergency evacuation of the building comply with Dutch regulations. The monitoring of occupational health and safety policies is carried out on an ongoing basis at GRI by the Senior Manager HR.

HR has an open door policy regarding feedback and complaints, plus a formal Grievance Policy. Regular face-to-face meetings are held between line managers and all employees.

In 2010/11, GRI formed its Employee Representation Body (ERB). The ERB offers employees with a structured system for comments and complaints, which can be channeled


more easily to senior management. The Secretariat votes for the ERB’s five members, mostly on a peer-to-peer basis.

The ERB holds small group meetings with staff chaired by a dedicated ERB member. ERB members are available for confidential conversations with staff ‘on request.’ Employees can also email or telephone ERB members, and an anonymous Suggestions Box is provided, which is checked once a week.

GRI aims to help staff to achieve professional growth and greater job satisfaction. As a small organization, GRI bases this development on a yearly performance review and the provision, as far as possible, of training opportunities. Training and education is one of the subjects that has been included in the draft GRI Human Resources Policy. Media training was provided to senior GRI staff in May 2011, and in-house IT training sessions were ongoing throughout 2010/11.

Although there is still no specific Policy on Career Path Development, the annual employee performance cycle follows a regular procedure. A new Performance Management Methodology was finalized in the reporting period. The Operations department of the Secretariat continues to be responsible for training and education, policy development and the implementation of internal procedures.

Goals Outcome

Develop a more robust Performance Management Methodology and supporting tools

Completed

New Goals- Implement the Performance Management

Methodology (PMM) for all Amsterdam-based employees who joined before 1 October 2011

- Achieve a 30 percent increase in training hours per employee

- Strive for a more balanced gender representation in the governance bodies

The Secretariat continued to grow during the reporting period. The number of indefinite and definite contracts increased by one and three respectively. At the same time, the number of internships decreased by two.

The gender distribution at the Secretariat has remained at approximately 30 percent male and 70 percent female over the last three years. GRI does not discriminate on gender, race, age or by minority group membership. The best candidates are selected for the job based on skills and experience.

In 2010/11, 54 employees received 212 hours of training resulting in an average of 2.87 hours per employee. This is a slight decrease of 0.19 hours per employee from 2009/10. GRI aims to achieve a 30 percent increase in training hours per employee during the next reporting period.

0 2 4 6 8

10 12 14

Chief Exe

cutiv

e

Deputy Chief Exe

cutiv

e level

Directo

rs level

(Sr.) Managers

level

(Sr.) Coord

inator le

vel

Administrato

rs level

Intern le

vel

Volunteer level

LA10 - Average hours of training per year per employee by employee category

2010/11

2010/09

2008/09

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Male Female

LA1 - Total workforce broken down by gender and region (2010/11)

Australia and Oceania

Africa

South America

North America

Asia

Europe

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

2010/11

2009/10

2008/09

LA1 - Total number of employes broken down by type of employment contract

Age Group <30

Age Group 30-50

Age Group >50


EnvironmentGRI’s last sustainability report detailed its actions to reduce environmental impacts in office culture and global travel. That process continued in 2010/11.

Goals Completed

Offset all business travel carbon dioxide emissions

Outcome

Provide more precise and comparable data on energy consumption

Completed Data provided monthly

Complete and implement the sustainable procurement policy

Incomplete The policy still needs to be incorporated into the Secretariat operations

Finalize the sustainability, environmental, diversity and human resources policies

Drafts available and undergoing consultation for approval in 2012

New Goals- Incorporate policies and establish procedures for the

policies after the final approval- Purchase more sustainable office supplies- Work with a more sustainable travel agent and roll out

the new GRI Travel Policy

Drafts of GRI’s new Procurement, Human Resources, Environmental, and Sustainability policies were finalized in 2010/11, pending approval from executive management. The operations department, with the assistance of SMART, is responsible for policy development and the implementation of internal procedures. In 2010/11, the Operations department has been boosted with more staff in the finance and Human Resource teams. To create more awareness and involve the Secretariat, all staff were surveyed about the potential for greater sustainability in the office. This feedback helped SMART prioritize and roll out various actions: Requirements to turn off computers and screens, to not waste foodstuffs, and to always recycle materials.

Environmental Initiatives in 2010/11• Printed fewer Learning Series publications, and

provided Training Partners with electronic versions of publications via a portal service

• Changed office supplies provider, to company offering more sustainable products at a better price

• Recycled used IT hardware• Placed fewer paper bins in offices to create more

awareness - visualize - the amount of paper waste• Recycled used paper

GRI is a young organization with employees predominately of the age groups ‘below 30’ and ‘30-50’. In 2010/11, there was an increase of 5.77 percent in the age group ‘30-50’ and a decrease of 3.49 percent in the age group ‘below 30’. There is no overall trend with respect to change in the distribution of age groups at GRI.

The Secretariat provides training to employees regardless of gender. This is the first year that data related to gender was collected and reported. GRI will fully report this data in a three-year trend by 2013.

22 23

19

27

23

17

5 6 4

2010/11 2009/10 2008/09

LA13 - Breakdown of Secretariat employees by age group

Age Group <30 Age Group 30-‐50 Age Group >50

3.86

3.95

3.80

3.82

3.84

3.86

3.88

3.90

3.92

3.94

3.96

male female

LA10 - Average number of training hours per year per gender

2010/11


External Feedback Committee

Introduction

Stakeholder Engagement is an important part of the reporting journey. Stakeholders were engaged to help decide the content of this report; and to provide feedback. GRI’s External Feedback Committee (EFC) was set up to give an independent expert opinion on the Sustainability Report 2010/11. The Committee was not set up with the intention to provide any formal verification of the accuracy or completeness of the data presented. Instead, the Committee members focused on the report scope and content, and whether reported information is aligned with stakeholder interests. The end goal of the EFC was to provide a consensus-based statement commenting on GRI’s sustainability management, performance and reporting.

The recommendations from the Committee members are presented here.

Stakeholder Selection

GRI’s key stakeholder groups are Organizational Stakeholders, donors, suppliers, sponsors, report users and reporting organizations. Based on this, GRI contacted representatives from different stakeholder groups aiming for multi-stakeholder representation on the EFC. Five people accepted and served on the EFC. The members are listed below.

External Feedback Committee members

• ProfessorCarolAdams,ProVice-Chancellor(Sustainability), La Trobe University, Australia (reporting organization and Organizational Stakeholder)

• EricHespenheide,PartneratDeloitte&ToucheLLP,United States of America (donor, Organizational Stakeholder, reporting organization and report user)

• MatthéüsvandePol,PolicymakerCorporateSocialResponsibility/ Sustainability, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, The Netherlands (donor)

• TuuliSauren,PresidentandFounder, INSPIRIT International Communications, Belgium (supplier and Organizational Stakeholder)

• RobSteensels,ManagerFinancialServices,Ernst& Young, The Netherlands (donor, Organizational Stakeholder, reporting organization and report user)

Engagement Process:

The engagement process was designed to accommodate this geographically diverse group. The first step was to provide documentation to the Committee members. GRI sent the following documents to each member of the committee through email: final draft of GRI’s Sustainability Report 2010/11, GRI Content Index, a description of the GRI process to define the report content for the 2010/11 report, and a standard set of guiding questions for the Committee members to respond to.

The set of guiding questions was provided to ensure that feedback was structured and answered relevant questions.


It also prepared the Committee to produce a consensus report to be included in GRI’s Sustainability Report.

A phone interview with each Committee member was held to clarify any questions about the process or the related documents.

Each Committee member provided answers to the set of questions. The answers from all members were then complied by GRI into one summary document. This document was sent to each member three days before the virtual meeting. During the meeting this document was used as a basis to start the discussion. The meeting was chaired by Professor Carol Adams. The aim was to collect

independent feedback, therefore GRI representatives maintained a distant role during the meeting, observing, clarifying questions when invited and making notes. Crystal Crawford, Volker Höntsch and Peter Westra from GRI attended the meeting.

A consensus report was finalized during the meeting, and has been included in this section. GRI provided a formal response to the feedback, which is also included.

GRI would like to thank each Committee member for volunteering their valuable time for this exercise. GRI aims to follow up on the feedback of the Committee in the next reporting cycle.


•

GRI’s Response

The Committee’s remark on Program Effectiveness will be taken into consideration for GRI’s sustainability management and next report. GRI is currently identifying mechanisms and processes to quantify data for the Program Effectiveness Performance Indicators in the NGO Sector Supplement. Measuring the indirect impacts of GRI and its work is more challenging. However, GRI will look at possibilities to address this and define ways to have more performance information to report.

GRI aims to produce a combined report covering the reporting period 1 July 2011 – 31 June 2012, bringing together GRI’s annual activity report (Year in Review) and

External Feedback Committee Statement on the Global Reporting Initiative’s 2010/2011 Sustainability Report

Sustainability Report. GRI intends to launch the combined report in December 2012. GRI will start to explore when and how it can apply the integrated reporting concept as a non-profit organization. GRI will also aim to condense and contextualize performance data. Some of the information that is currently placed in the Annex and Content Index will be integrated into the report narrative.

GRI recognizes the value of external assurance for the quality of reporting and will assess implementation of external assurance on GRI’s own report over time.

GRI greatly appreciates the feedback and input of the EFC.

GRI and its Sustainability Management and Reporting Team have made considerable progress in further developing their sustainability reporting in their 2010/11 report. They have conducted a robust Stakeholder Engagement process and incorporated stakeholder feedback in the report. The individual testimonials in each section illustrate what GRI’s work means to its stakeholders.

In next year’s report we would like to see greater analysis of the strategic context in which GRI operates, including the organization’s main risks and challenges and an explanation of its key goals in that context. The reporting could be improved by providing more concise information about how GRI evaluates its Program Effectiveness and the organization’s indirect impacts.

We acknowledge that this is challenging, but the indirect impacts of GRI’s work on sustainability performance are critical to the achievement of its vision of a sustainable global economy.

The report could be improved by providing a consistent and clear link between the DMAs and the performance results and by including performance-related data in the main body of the report, rather than the Annex or Content Index sections. The report length could be reduced by providing links to additional information on the website and focusing on material impacts in the body of the report.

Whilst External Assurance is critical to improving the quality of reporting, which in turn facilitates sustainability performance improvements, we understand the constraints on small organizations. We recommend that GRI continues to evaluate external assurance for their own reporting. This statement does not replace a third party external assurance, data has not been verified, but seeking external expert input is indicative of GRI’s commitment to challenging and improving the quality of its reporting.

We would like to see the timeline for the report shortened in order to provide information to stakeholder in a timely manner, thereby increasing its relevance.


AcknowledgementsContributors to GRI’s sustainability report 2009/10 were: The Sustainability and Management Reporting Team (SMART): Tamara Bergkamp, Satu Brandt, Crystal Crawford, Volker Höntsch, Maggie Lee, Shivani Rajpal, Amanda Smits, and Peter Westra.

With further contributions from: Carol Adams, Johan Akerblom, Marjella Alma, Nelmara Arbex, Marjolein Baghuis, Wim Bartels, Manfredo Behrens, Pietro Bertazzi, Jack Boulter, Bastian Buck, Heloisa Covolan, Paul Druckman, Krista Dutrieux, Maaike Fleur, Teresa Fogelberg, Lisa French, Mary Gauthier, Begoña Gilabert, Romie Goedicke, Lucy Goodchild, Eric Hespenheide, Monique Hutten, Ernst Ligteringen, Nikki McKean-Wood, Shireen Naidoo, AglaiaNtili,IsabellaPagotto,MatthéüsvandePol, Greg Rose, Tuuli Sauren, Rob Steensels, Elina Sviklina, Enrique Torres Rodriguez, Marc van Weede and Peter Wong.

The following photos were provided by the winners of the GRI Sustainability Image Competition held in 2011:

p. 9 ‘Breathing new life from old’ by Nicholas Mitchell

p. 15 ‘Goal’ by Barbara Kokoszka

p. 63 ‘Balance’ by Barbara Kokoszka

p. 65 ‘Poppyseed’ by Barbara Kokoszka

Further Information

We would welcome any feedback or questions:

The Global Reporting InitiativeP.O. Box 100391001 EA AmsterdamThe Netherlands+31 (0)20 531 [email protected]

GRI Working Group Event Organizers Sector Supplement Meeting in Amsterdam in June 2011

GRI 2013 Conference kickoff meeting in Amsterdam on 27 June 2011



GRI Content Index G3.1 Content Index - NGO Sector Supplement

Application Level A

External Feedback Committee

STANDARD DISCLOSURES PART I: Profile Disclosures

1. Strategy and Analysis

Profile Disclosure

Description ReportedCross-reference/

Direct answer

If applicable, indicate the part

not reported

Reason for omission

Explanation

1.1COMM Statement from the most senior decision-maker of the organization.

Fully pp. 4 - 8

1.2 Description of key impacts, risks, and opportunities.

Fully pp. 4 - 8

2. Organizational Profile

Profile Disclosure


Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

Explanation

2.1 Name of the organization. Fully p. 60

2.2COMM Primary activities, brands, products, and/or services.

Fully p. 60

2.3 Operational structure of the organization, including national offices, sections, branches, field offices, main divisions, operating companies, subsidiaries, and joint ventures.

Fully p. 60

2.4 Location of organization’s headquarters.

Fully Graphic p. 60

2.5 Number of countries where the organization operates, and names of countries with either major operations or that are specifically relevant to the sustainability issues covered in the report.

Fully p. 61

2.6COMM Nature of ownership and legal form. Fully p. 60

2.7 Target audience and affected stakeholders. Markets served (including geographic breakdown, sectors served, and types of affected stakeholders/customers/beneficiaries).

Fully p. 61

2.8COMM Scale of the reporting organization. Fully pp. 60, 61 & 66

2.9 Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, structure, or ownership.

Fully p. 61

2.10 Awards received in the reporting period.

Fully GRI did not receive any awards in this reporting period



3. Report Parameters

Profile Disclosure


Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

Explanation

3.1 Reporting period (e.g., fiscal/calendar year) for information provided.

Fully p. 10

3.2 Date of most recent previous report (if any).

Fully p. 10

3.3 Reporting cycle (annual, biennial, etc.)

Fully p. 10

3.4 Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents.

Fully p. 10

3.5 Process for defining report content. Fully pp. 10-13

3.6 Boundary of the report (e.g., countries, divisions, subsidiaries, leased facilities, joint ventures, suppliers). See GRI Boundary Protocol for further guidance.

Fully p. 10

3.7 State any specific limitations on the scope or boundary of the report (see completeness principle for explanation of scope).

Fully p. 10

3.8 Basis for reporting on joint ventures, subsidiaries, leased facilities, outsourced operations, and other entities that can significantly affect comparability from period to period and/or between organizations.

Fully GRI secretariat operates from an office in Amsterdam. No significant operational changes were made in 2010/11 that would affect report comparability

3.9 Data measurement techniques and the bases of calculations, including assumptions and techniques underlying estimations applied to the compilation of the Indicators and other information in the report. Explain any decisions not to apply, or to substantially diverge from, the GRI Indicator Protocols.

Fully p. 10

3.10 Explanation of the effect of any re-statements of information provided in earlier reports, and the reasons for such re-statement (e.g.,mergers/acquisitions, change of base years/periods, nature of business, measurement methods).

Fully p. 10

3.11 Significant changes from previous reporting periods in the scope, boundary, or measurement methods applied in the report.

Fully p. 10

3.12 Table identifying the location of the Standard Disclosures in the report.

Fully pp. 34-59



3.13 Policy and current practice with regard to seeking external assurance for the report.

Fully This report has undergone a GRI Application Level Check and an independent external feedback committee was established to determine the extent to which the report content answers the feedback provided during the stakeholderengagement exercise. Page 30-32

4. Governance, Commitments, and Engagement

Profile Disclosure


Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

Explanation

4.1 Governance structure of the organization, including committees under the highest governance body responsible for specific tasks, such as setting strategy or organizational oversight.

Fully p. 61

4.2COMM Indicate whether the Chair of the highest governance body is also an executive officer.

Fully p. 61

4.3 For organizations that have a unitary board structure, state the number and gender of members of the highest governance body that are independent and/or non-executive members.

Fully p. 61

4.4COMM Mechanisms for internal stakeholders (e.g., members), shareholders and employees to provide recommendations or direction to the highest governance body.

Fully p. 62

4.5 Linkage between compensation for members of the highest governance body, senior managers, and executives (including departure arrangements), and the organization’s performance (including social and environmental performance).

Fully p. 64

4.6 Processes in place for the highest governance body to ensure conflicts of interest are avoided.

Fully p. 63

4.7COMM Process for determining the composition, qualifications, and expertise of the members of the highest governance body and its committees, including any consideration of gender and other indicators of diversity.

Fully p. 62



4.8 Internally developed statements of mission or values, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation.

Fully vision & mission: innercover, rest: p. 6

4.9COMM Procedures of the highest governance body for overseeing the organization’s identification and management of economic, environmental, and social performance, including relevant risks and opportunities, and adherence or compliance with nationally and internationally agreed standards, codes of conduct, and principles.

Fully p. 63

4.10COMM Processes for evaluating the highest governance body’s own perfor-mance, particularly with respect to economic, environmental, and social performance.

Fully p. 64

4.11 Explanation of whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed by the organization.

Fully p. 64

4.12 Externally developed economic, environmental, and social charters, principles, or other initiatives to which the organization subscribes or endorses.

Fully p. 64

4.13 Memberships in associations (such as industry associations), coalitions and alliance memberships, and/or national/international advocacy organizations in which the organization: * Has positions in governance bodies; * Participates in projects or committees; * Provides substantive funding beyond routine membership dues; or * Views membership as strategic.

Fully p. 64

4.14COMM List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organization.

Fully p. 11

4.15 Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage.

Fully p. 11

4.16 Approaches to stakeholder engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group.

Fully p. 11

4.17 Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder engagement, and how the organization has responded to those key topics and concerns, including through its reporting.

Fully pp. 11-13


STANDARD DISCLOSURES PART II: Disclosures on Management Approach (DMAs)

G3 DMA Description ReportedCross-reference/

Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

DMA PE Disclosure on Management Approach PE

Aspects Affected stakeholder involvement Fully p. 14

Feedback, complaints, and action Fully p. 16

Monitoring, evaluating, and learning

Fully pp. 20, 27

Gender and diversity Fully p. 18

Public awareness and advocacy Fully pp. 14,20, & 25

Coordination Fully p. 20

DMA EC Disclosure on Management Approach EC

Aspects Economic performance Fully Annex p. 65

Market presence, including impact on local economies

Fully Annex p. 65

Indirect economic impacts Not Not material Indirect economic Impacts were not considered material during the stakeholder consultation. However, GRI aims to have a positive impact on local economies via its work in developing countries and with business groups.

Resource allocation Fully Annex p. 65

Socially-responsible investment Not Not material GRI does not make any type of investments

Ethical fundraising Fully Annex p. 65



DMA EN Disclosure on Management Approach EN

Aspects Materials Fully p. 29

Energy Fully p. 29

Water Not Not material GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office, and its core business revolves around gathering knowledge, communication and the development of guidance documents. As a result, GRI has a relatively small environmental impact.

Biodiversity Not Not material GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office, and its core business revolves around gathering knowledge, communication and the development of guidance documents. As a result, GRI has a relatively small environmental impact.

Emissions, effluents and waste Fully p. 29

Products and services Not Not material GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office, and its core business revolves around gathering knowledge, communication and the development of guidance documents. As a result, GRI has a relatively small environmental impact.



Compliance Fully p. 29

Transport Fully p. 29

Overall Not Not material GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office, and its core business revolves around gathering knowledge, communication and the development of guidance documents. As a result, GRI has a relatively small environmental impact.

DMA LA Disclosure on Management Approach LACOMM

Aspects Employment Fully p. 27

Labor/management relations Fully p. 27

Occupational health and safety Fully p. 27

Training and education Fully p. 28

Equal Remuneration for women and men

Fully GRI applies an equal remuneration for women and men approach whereby the remuneration is based on ability, necessary qualifications and fitness for work; and irrespective of sex, age, marital or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, religion, nationality or race.

Diversity and equal opportunity Not Not material The monitoring of diversity and equal opportunity policies is carried out on an ongoing basis at GRI. Procedures and policies relating to diversity and equal opportunity have been relatively structured since the establishment of the Secretariat’s operations.



DMA HR Disclosure on Management Approach HR

Aspects Investment and procurement practices

Fully There is currently no policy in place regarding the screening of suppliers on human rights. The Operations department of the Secretariat is responsible for diversity and equal opportunity issues, policy development and the implementation of internal procedures regarding Secretariat activities.

Non-discrimination Fully A Harassment Policy is in place, and the Diversity Policy is in draft form. The Operations department of the Secretariat is responsible for diversity and equal opportunity issues, policy development and the implementation of internal procedures regarding Secretariat activities.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining

Fully GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office in Amsterdam and covered by Dutch law where this right is protected.

Child labor Not Not material GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office in Amsterdam, where no child labor, forced or compulsory labor, security practices, or indigenous rights are involved.

Forced and compulsory labor Not Not material

Security practices Not Not material

Indigenous rights Not Not material

Assessment Not Not material

Remediation Not Not material



DMA SO Disclosure on Management Approach SO

Aspects Community Not Not Material GRI is in full compliance with Dutch Law on aspects relating to corruption issues.

Corruption Fully As an office-based organization located in Amsterdam, GRI is in full compliance with Dutch Law on aspects relating to corruption issues. It is common practice that gifts received during official representation activities are not kept for personal use. There are no written policies and procedures in place related to anti-corruption.

Public policy Fully GRI engages in public policy development. Its mission to mainstream sustainability reporting is supported by the Report or Explain campaign forum, a convening space for any organization that advocates policy relating to sustainability reporting. GRI also engages with, and seeks advice from, government representatives: the Governmental Advisory Group, formed in 2008, advises GRI on an informal basis.



Anti-competitive behavior Not Not Material GRI deems this Aspect to be not material given its size and nature of operations.

Compliance Fully GRI aims to comply with Dutch national law on matters of compliance. The aspect of compliance is not covered by specific written policies. However, the Secretariat is bound by Dutch national law.

DMA PR Disclosure on Management Approach PR

Aspects Customer health and safety Not Not applicable Not material. GRI products and services are not related to costumers health and safety issues

Product and service labelling Not Not material Most of GRI’s product and services are not directly linked to compliance with regulations and codes

Marketing communicationsCOMM Fully Annex p. 71

Customer privacyCOMM Fully Annex p. 71

Compliance Not Not material GRI does not have to comply with specific laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of its products and services


STANDARD DISCLOSURES PART III: Performance Indicators

Program Effectiveness

Performance Indicator


Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Affected stakeholder engagement

NG01 Processes for involvement of affected stakeholder groups in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs.

Fully pp. 16-26

Feedback, complaints and action

NG02 Mechanisms for feedback and complaints in relation to programs and policies and for determining actions to take in response to breaches of policy.

Fully pp. 16-18, 20-25,27 & 29

Monitoring, evaluating and learning

NG03 System for program monitoring, evaluation and learning, (including measuring program effectiveness and impact), resulting changes to programs, and how they are communicated.

Fully pp. 20, 25 & 27

Gender and diversity

NG04 Measures to integrate gender and diversity into program design, implementation, and the monitoring, evaluation, and learning cycle.

Fully p. 18

Public awareness and advocacy

NG05 Processes to formulate, communicate, implement,a nd change advocacy positions and public awareness campaigns.

Fully pp. 14, 20 & 25

Coordination

NG06 Processes to take into account and coordinate with the activities of other actors.

Fully p. 20



Economic



Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Economic performance

Resource allocation

NG07 Resource allocation. Fully Annex p. 66

Ethical fundraising

NG08 Sources of funding by category and five largest donors and monetary value of their contributions.

Fully Annex p. 67

EC1COMM Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retained earnings, and payments to capital providers and governments.

Fully Annex p. 66

EC2 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organization’s activities due to climate change.

Fully No significant financial implications for the organization’s activities due to climate change, were identified.

EC3 Coverage of the organization’s defined benefit plan obligations.

Fully Annex p. 66

EC4 Significant financial assistance received from government.

Fully Annex p. 66

Market presence, including impact on local economies

EC5 Range of ratios of standard entry level wage by gender compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation.

Not Not material GRI’s operations arenot related to or linked to to laws or regulations on minimum wage.

EC6 Policy, practices, and proportion of spending on locally-based suppliers at significant locations of operation.

Fully GRI has not stated a definition for local suppliers. As the Secretariat is based in the Netherlands, suppliers based in this country can be considered local. GRI has no policy or practice in place that specifies a preference to contract local suppliers. Decisions related to supplier selection are based on cost effectiveness, quality considerations (including suppliers’ environmental policies) and timeliness of delivery.



EC7 Procedures for local hiring and proportion of senior management hired from the local community at significant locations of operation.

Fully GRI does not have a specific policy on hiring from the local community, but always advertises vacancies both locally and abroad.

EC8 Development and impact of infrastructure investments and services provided primarily for public benefit through commercial, in-kind, or pro bono engagement.

Not Not material GRI does not make infrastruature invetsments nor provide services for public benefit.

EC9 Understanding and describing significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts.

Not Not material The indirect economic Impacts were not considered material during the stakeholder consultation.

Environmental



Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Materials

EN1 Materials used by weight or volume.

Not Not material As a small office, GRI did not consider the weight and volume of used material as generating significant environmental impact.

EN2 Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials.

Fully p. 67

Energy

EN3 Direct energy consumption by primary energy source.


EN4 Indirect energy consumption by primary source.

Fully p. 67



EN5 Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements.


EN6 Initiatives to provide energy-efficient or renewable energy based products and services, and reductions in energy requirements as a result of these initiatives.


EN7 Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption and reductions achieved.

Partially GRI has travel and sustainability policies in place to reduce indirect energy consumption in business travel including employee commuting. This also includes a radar-system approach to combine business appointments into one journey and registration of all CO2 emissions.

GRI did not report on the extent to which indirect energy use has been reduced during the reporting period.

Not available GRI does not currently have a management system in place to track this data.

2015

Water

EN8 Total water withdrawal by source. Not Not material As a small office, GRI did not consider the weight and volume of used material as generating significant environmental impact.

EN9 Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water.




EN10 Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused.


Biodiversity

EN11 Location and size of land owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas.


EN12 Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas.


EN13 Habitats protected or restored. Not Not material As a small office, GRI did not consider the weight and volume of used material as generating significant environmental impact.

EN14 Strategies, current actions, and future plans for managing impacts on biodiversity.




EN15 Number of IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations, by level of extinction risk.


Emissions, effluents and waste

EN16 Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight.

Fully p. 68 The methodology used for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per source is the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, which converts the kilometers traveled into CO2 emissions. More information about the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative at http://www.ghgprotocol.org/

EN17 Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight.

Fully p. 68

EN18 Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved.

Partially p. 29 GRI did not report on the extent of greenhouse gas emissions reductions achieved during the reporting period as a direct result of the initiatives in tonnes of C02 equivalent.

Not available GRI does not currently have a management system in place to track this data.

To be reported in

2015

EN19 Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weight.




EN20 NOx, SOx, and other significant air emissions by type and weight.


EN21 Total water discharge by quality and destination.


EN22 Total weight of waste by type and disposal method.


EN23 Total number and volume of significant spills.


EN24 Weight of transported, imported, exported, or treated waste deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention Annex I, II, III, and VIII, and percentage of transported waste shipped internationally.




EN25 Identity, size, protected status, and biodiversity value of water bodies and related habitats significantly affected by the reporting organization’s discharges of water and runoff.


Products and services

EN26COMM Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts of activities, products and services, and extent of impact mitigation.

Not Not material GRI’s products and services don’t have significant environmental impacts due to their nature.

EN27 Percentage of products sold and their packaging materials that are reclaimed by category.

Not Not material GRI doesn’t reclame its products.

Compliance

EN28 Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

Fully GRI has not identified any incident of non-compliance with any environmental laws or regulations. There were no cases brought through the dispute resolution mechanisms.

Transport

EN29 Significant environmental impacts of transporting products and other goods and materials used for the organization’s operations, and transporting members of the workforce.

Fully GRI does not have any significant environmental impacts of transporting products, members of the workforce and other goods and materials.

Overall

EN30 Total environmental protection expenditures and investments by type.

Not Not material As a small office, GRI did not consider the weight and volume of used material as generating significant environmental impact. As such expenditures on environmental protection didn’t occur.



Social: Labor Practices and Decent Work



Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Employment

LA1COMM Total workforce, including volunteers, by employment type, employment contract, and region, broken down by gender.

Fully p. 28 and Annex p. 68

LA2 Total number and rate of new employee hires and employee turnover by age group, gender, and region.

Fully Annex p. 69

LA3 Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations.

Fully Annex p. 69

LA15 Return to work and retention rates after parental leave, by gender.

Partially Annex p. 71 GRI did not collect parental leave-related data for LA15 in the 2009/10 & 2008/09 reporting period.

Not available This is a new G3.1 Indicator and GRI will collect this data moving forward in order to provide a three-year trend.

GRI will report completely on this Indicator by 2013.

Labor/management relations

NG09 Mechanisms for workforce feedback and complaints, and their resolution.

Fully pp. 28-29

LA4 Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Fully 0% of employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. The ERB is a formal body representing the interests of the employees.

LA5 Minimum notice period(s) regarding significant operational changes, including whether it is specified in collective agreements.

Fully Annex p. 70

Occupational health and safety

LA6 Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs.

Fully Annex p. 70

LA7COMM Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities by region and by gender.

Partially Annex p. 70 GRI did not collect gender-related

data for LA7 in the 2009/10 & 2008/09 reporting period.

Not available GRI will collect this data moving forward in order to provide a three-year trend.

GRI will report

completely on this

Indicator by 2013.



LA8COMM Education, training, counseling, prevention, and risk-control programs in place to assist workforce members, their families, volunteers or community members regarding serious diseases.

Fully Education, training, and counseling with regards to serious diseases are all included in the mandatory governmental health package. Furthermore, the GRI Secretariat is not located in a country with a high risk or incidence of communicable diseases. Vaccinations are covered for employees that travel in high-risk countries.

LA9 Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions.

Not Not material GRI does not have any formal agreements with trade unions.

Training and education

LA10COMM Average hours of training per year per employee by gender, and by employee category.

Partially p. 29 GRI did not collect gender-related data for LA10 in the 2009/10 &

2008/09 reporting period.

Not available GRI will collect this data moving forward in order to provide a three-year trend.

GRI will report

completely on this

Indicator by 2013.

LA11COMM Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings.

Not Not material A large majority of GRI’s staff is under the age of 50 years old and therefore pre-retirement training is not considered to be relevant.

LA12 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews, by gender.

Fully Annex p. 70

Diversity and equal opportunity

LA13 Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per employee category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity.

Partially pp. 29 & 71 Age group-related data for governance bodies is not included.

Not available GRI will start collecting age group-related data for Indicator LA13 in the 2011/12 reporting period.

The orga-nization will fully report this data by 2015

Equal remuneration for women and men

LA14 Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men by employee category, by significant locations of operation.

Fully Annex p. 70



Social: Human Rights



Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Investment and procurement practices

HR1 Percentage and total number of significant investment agreements and contracts that include clauses incorporating human rights concerns, or that have undergone human rights screening.

Not Not material GRI does not make any significant investment agreements that include human rights clauses or that have undergone human rights screening.

HR2 Percentage of significant suppliers, contractors and other business partners that have undergone human rights screening, and actions taken.

Fully No significant suppliers have undergone a screening on human rights.

HR3 Total hours of employee training on policies and procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations, including the percentage of employees trained.

Not Not material GRI does not deem employee training on policies and procedures cocerning aspects of the human rights to be relevant to operations in the Netherlands.

Non-discrimination

HR4 Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken.

Fully No incidents of discrimination were reported this or any other reporting year.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining

HR5 Operations and significant suppliers identified in which the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining may be violated or at significant risk, and actions taken to support these rights.

Fully GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office in Amsterdam and ruled by Dutch law were this right is protected. GRI considers many other workplace human rights issues to be covered adequately by Dutch law, including Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining, Child Labor, Forced and Compulsory labor, Security Practices and Indigenous Rights.



Child labor

HR6 Operations and significant suppliers identified as having significant risk for incidents of child labor, and measures taken to contribute to the effective abolition of child labor.

Not Not material GRI’s main operations are conducted from a small office in Amsterdam and ruled by Dutch law were this right is protected.

Forced and compulsory labor

HR7 Operations and significant suppliers identified as having significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labor, and measures to contribute to the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor.


Security practices

HR8 Percentage of security personnel trained in the organization’s policies or procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations.


Indigenous rights

HR9 Total number of incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous people and actions taken.


Assessment

HR10 Percentage and total number of operations that have been subject to human rights reviews and/or impact assessments.

Not Not material GRI has not been subject to human rights reviews and/or impact assessments.



Remediation

HR11 Number of grievances related to human rights filed, addressed and resolved through formal grievance mechanisms.

Not Not material GRI has not received any grievances related to human rights filed, addressed and resolved through formal grievance mechanisms.

Social: Society



Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Community

SO1 Percentage of operations with implemented local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs.

Not Not material The impact of GRI’s headquarters is minimal.

SO9 Operations with significant potential or actual negative impacts on local communities.


SO10 Prevention and mitigation measures implemented in operations with significant potential or actual negative impacts on local communities.


Corruption

SO2COMM Percentage and total number of programs/business units analyzed for risks related to corruption.

Fully None of GRI’s programs and business units were analyzed for risks related to corruption. As an office-based organization located in Amsterdam, GRI is in full compliance with Dutch Law on aspects relating to corruption issues.

SO3 Percentage of employees trained in organization’s anti-corruption policies and procedures.

Fully GRI does not train its employees with regard to anti-corruption, but complies with Dutch law with regard to corruption, and has never been fined or otherwise censured.

SO4COMM Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption.

Fully GRI complies with Dutch law with regard to corruption and has never been fined or otherwise censured.



Public policy

SO5 Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying.

Fully pp. 25-26

SO6 Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions by country.

Not Not material GRI does not contribute financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions.

Anti-competitive behavior

SO7 Total number of legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices and their outcomes.

Not Not material GRI has not been involved in any legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, or monopoly practices.

Compliance

SO8 Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Fully GRI complies with Dutch law with regard to corruption and has never been fined or otherwise censured.

Social: Product Responsibility



Direct answer


not reported

Reason for omission

ExplanationTo be

reported in

Customer health and safety

PR1 Life cycle stages in which health and safety impacts of products and services are assessed for improvement, and percentage of significant products and services categories subject to such procedures.

Not Not material GRI products and services are not related to costumers health and safety issues

PR2 Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning health and safety impacts of products and services during their life cycle, by type of outcomes.

Not Not material GRI products and services are not related to costumers health and safety issues



Product and service labelling

PR3 Type of product and service information required by procedures, and percentage of significant products and services subject to such information requirements.

Not Not material Based on the fact that most of GRI products and services are not directly linked to compliance with regulations and codes (such as national laws or the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises) and, potentially, with strategies for brand and market differentiation.

PR4 Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning product and service information and labeling, by type of outcomes.


PR5 Practices related to customer satisfaction, including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction.




Marketing communications

PR6COMM Programs for adherence to laws, standards, and voluntary codes related to fundraising and marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

Fully Annex p. 71

PR7 Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship by type of outcomes.

Fully GRI has not identified any non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes

Customer privacy

PR8 Total number of substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data.

Fully GRI has not identified any substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data

Compliance

PR9 Monetary value of significant fines for non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of products and services.

Not Not material GRI does not have to comply with specific laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of its products and services


GRI’s main products and services are divided into two principal areas:

Free products for the public good:1. The Sustainability Reporting Framework2. The G3 and G3.1 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines3. Protocols4. Sector Supplements5. Publications6. Website

Other products and services:1. Conferences and events2. Application Level Checks3. The Global Action Network for Transparency in the

Supply Chain program (GANTSCh)4. Learning services, including Certified Training Program,

introductory workshops and publications5. Organizational Stakeholder Program6. Certified Software and Tools Program

AnnexThe information provided in this Annex is to be used in combination with information disclosed in the narrative sections of this report.

Organizational Profile

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s full legal name is Stichting Global Reporting Initiative. ‘Stichting’ is the Dutch word for ‘foundation’. A stichting is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce as a profitable or non-profit organization that promotes an idealistic or social goal. The Board of Directors (Board) has ultimate fiduciary and legal responsibility for GRI. For the 2010/2011 financial year, GRI’s Secretariat was located at: Metropool Building, 5th Floor Weesperstraat 95, 1018 VN Amsterdam, Netherlands. At 30 June 2011, the Secretariat had 54 staff members. GRI’s total income in 2010/11 was € 5,482,000.


Secretariat staff are invited to speak at more than 800 conferences and events worldwide every year, and accept approximately 350 of these invitations. Staff travel to many different countries to speak at conferences and to hold events like workshops and Working Group meetings.

Independence and inclusivity: GRI’s Governance, Commitments and Engagement

GRI is a multi-stakeholder, non-profit foundation with a mission to make sustainability reporting standard practice. GRI aims to create a consensus-seeking environment for the development and implementation of its reporting guidance and related services.

This means maintaining a credible and independent approach that accommodates the input of many constituencies. GRI has four main constituency groups: Business, Labor, Civil Society Organizations and Mediating Institutions, including consultancies and academia.

GRI’s governance bodies

Board of Directors (Board)

GRI’s Board of Directors has the ultimate fiduciary, financial and legal responsibility for GRI, including final decision making on Reporting Framework revisions, organizational strategy, and work plans. The Board may include up to 15 non-executive members plus the Chief Executive; the Board Chair is not an executive officer. In 2010/11 there were 13 non-executive Board members plus the Chief Executive, including three women and 11 men. There were no other indicators of minority group membership among Board members, all of whom are appointed by the Stakeholder Council.

GRI products and services are developed with a combination of in-house procedures (concepts, research, communications, and implementation) and outsourced procedures (mostly for office supply, design and printing, website development, and project-related consultancy). All GRI’s products and services are developed in support of its mission – to make sustainability reporting standard practice. Ultimately, GRI aims to help organizations report their sustainability performance. In turn, this can help them identify possible improvements in sustainability areas such as poverty, human rights, and the environment. For more details on GRI’s strategic goals, see the website at www.globalreporting.org.

GRI’s Reporting Framework is a free public good available to all interested parties, from multi and trans-national corporations to one-person businesses and non-profit organizations. To increase accessibility, GRI promotes the translation of the translation of the Sustainability Reporting Framework and other publications from the original English into many other languages.

The size of GRI’s Secretariat increased in 2010/11 to 54 staff. GRI’s Organizational Stakeholders – core supporters and funders – increased to over 600 organizations, and a new Focal Point (regional office) was opened in the US.

GRI connects a network of thousands of people from over 60 countries: Guidelines-users, conference participants, and e-newsletter subscribers; participants at GRI’s various meetings and workshops, and stakeholders that give feedback to GRI on its reporting guidance and services. At 30 June 2011, GRI also had a representative (Focal Point) based in Brazil, India, Australia, China and the USA to coordinate the network and activities in these regions.

http://www.globalreporting.org

https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/reporting-framework-overview/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/reporting-framework-overview/Pages/default.aspx


The GRI Nominating Committee coordinates nominations for new governance body members and determines the qualifications and expertise required for guiding GRI’s strategy on economic, environmental and social topics, and for other topics relevant to a particular role.

Chapter 4, Article 18 of the GRI Deed of Incorporation outlines the role and responsibility of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee comprises six members; two are appointed by the Board and two by the SC. The Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the SC serve ex-officio on the Nominating Committee. When discussing Board nominations, the Chairman of the Board serves as the fifth member; when discussing SC nominations the Chairman of the SC serves in this position. The Chair of the TAC is invited to join the Nominating Committee when recommendations to the TAC are discussed. SC members vote to accept or reject new Board members proposed by the Nominating Committee.

Members of GRI’s Board, TAC and SC do not receive any remuneration. All staff members, including Secretariat department heads, directors, and the Chief Executive, are evaluated through a performance review mechanism. A new Performance Management Methodology for Secretariat staff was developed during the reporting

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

The TAC provides technical advice and expertise to the Board of Directors. Its key functions are to recommend the direction of the overall architecture of the Reporting Framework, and advise on important issues that emerge around the content of the Guidelines. The TAC also ensures that technical documents are created following due process, and submits a concur/non-concur recommendation to the Board on whether to approve drafts of GRI reporting documents for publication. The TAC has eight non-executive members, appointed by the Board.

Stakeholder Council (SC)

The Stakeholder Council is GRI’s formal stakeholder policy forum that debates key strategic and policy issues. The SC meets annually and comprises a balance of stakeholder constituencies and geographic regions. Its key governance functions include approving nominations for the Board, and making strategic recommendations on future policy or business planning activities. The SC is also the “eyes and ears” of the GRI network, observing and responding to GRI’s activities and impacts. The SC has 50 non-executive members, 60 percent of whom are voted onto the SC by Organizational Stakeholders; the other 40 percent by incumbent SC members.

GRI Stakeholder Council meeting in Amsterdam


to use the meetings, surveys and comment facilities of the Employee Representation Board; this highlighted many areas for improvement.

Governance bodies and economic, environmental, social and governance performance

The Board is the highest governance body responsible for overseeing GRI’s identification and management of sustainability performance - including risks, opportunities, and adherence with national and international standards, codes of conduct and principles. The Board directs the Executive Management Team in setting GRI’s sustainability goals. The Board usually meets twice a year; the Board Sub-Committee and the Audit, Finance and Remuneration Committee can act on its behalf between Board meetings, and are governed by Board Rules and Procedures.

The Board, or its substitutes, implements its oversight procedure as follows:• Guided by the Board, the GRI Secretariat prepares a

yearly 5-Year Plan for the organization, in which it sets objectives for GRI

• The Board receives this 5-Year Plan for approval and assesses the opportunities, risks and any adherence and compliance requirements

• The Board monitors the progress made towards reaching the goals

• Under exceptional circumstances (e.g., where a consultation with the full Board is not feasible), the Board Sub-Committee can decide on urgent governance matters on the Board’s behalf

• The Audit, Finance and Remuneration Committee has regular meetings and conference calls to assist the Board in exercising its fiduciary duties regarding the management of the organization’s financial resources

While there are no formal processes to evaluate the Board’s own sustainability performance, GRI’s governance structure does set limits on the length of governing terms. The re-election of Board members for a second consecutive term provides an opportunity for evaluation by all voting parties. There is a formal procedure for the Board to approve the Chief Executive’s performance.

GRI’s reporting guidance prompts organizations to explain how they address the precautionary principle (as defined in Article 15 of the UN Rio Principles from 1992). In addressing the precautionary principle in its daily operations, GRI’s sustainability reporting process helps to identify risks and opportunities in operational planning. GRI is continuously working to improve its sustainability performance, a

period. For all positions GRI has a policy to pay salaries comparable to other similar organizations. Wage scales are dependent on the level of responsibility and the extent of expertise and experience required for a role.

Every Board member signs a Conflict of Interest Policy and Statement annually. This policy aims to protect GRI’s interests when a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interests of a Board member may be entered into, such as remunerated consultancy for GRI. This policy supplements, but does not replace, relevant laws governing conflicts of interest applicable to non-profit and charitable associations. In 2010/11, no Board members performed any form of remunerated task for GRI.

GRI does not have shareholders in the traditional financial sense, but it does have many stakeholders with an interest in its activities. Mechanisms for internal and external stakeholders to provide recommendations include:• The Chief Executive, SC and the TAC can provide formal

recommendations to the Board• Employees can raise issues directly with the Secretariat’s

Employee Representation Body, and via specific surveys• GRI’s website provides many contact points for

departments and individuals that all external stakeholders can contact with questions and input

• During intensive periods of Framework development, GRI regularly contacts stakeholders in its network for feedback and input, and widely publicizes Public Comment Periods to enable inclusive participation

• Any organization committed to sustainability and transparent reporting can become a GRI Organizational Stakeholder, gaining access to a dedicated team at GRI and participating in elections for Stakeholder Council membership

• Social media and press coverage tracking, enabling GRI to listen to stakeholders

In 2010/11, social media platforms provided useful feedback to GRI on its last sustainability report. In general, bloggers took the view that the report over-emphasized ‘internal’ sustainability impacts like carbon emissions and office practices for what is, admittedly, a small office. They suggested that GRI change its focus, to analyze the deeper sustainability outcomes of its core product - reporting guidance.

Other users of feedback mechanisms included the public and GRI staff. The results of several Public Comment Periods (for the G4 Guidelines and Sector Supplements) were analyzed by the Guidance, Support and Innovation Team – the Secretariat team responsible for project-managing GRI’s guidance development. And Secretariat staff began


International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) is prominent in this respect. Moreover, GRI is a member of the Green Economy Coalition and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Coalition.

process monitored by GRI’s Sustainability Management and Reporting Team (SMART).

GRI’s focus on sustainability performance also manifests in its subscription to externally developed charters, principles and initiatives. GRI’s co-convening and involvement in the


Program effectiveness

NGO5 (2.8) Organization’s process for exiting a campaign: Should GRI wish to end or amend its involvement with any strategic partner, this would be discussed by the Board. Changes would be communicated via GRI’s website, and any other platform determined by executive management. EconomicDisclosure on Management Approach:

GRI’s economic performance goal is to ensure financial stability through a balanced budget and diverse financial sourcing.

As a small organization in Amsterdam, GRI’s work has a small impact on local economies; because of this GRI has not developed policies regarding local hiring and or local buying. GRI complies with the Dutch accountancy standards and Dutch financial report requirements established by law.

GRI’s fundamental principle is to have a multi-stakeholder approach to ensure diverse and balanced resources. GRI strives for diverse financial sourcing, both monetary value and in kind. The diversity of funds is reflected in the three types of sources: Government and International organizations; business and corporate; and foundations.

GRI’s economic goals include ensuring a financial reserve of six months’ operating expenses, and maintaining and increasing diverse revenue streams from balanced sources: one third from the Organizational Stakeholder Program, one third from Governments and Foundations and one third from project based work.

Management Approach and Performance Indicators


As compensation, all Secretariat staff members receive a 6% contribution on top of their gross annual salary. It is at each staff member’s discretion to decide if and where to invest this money.

The total aggregated contribution in accordance with the regulations and methods for relevant jurisdictions is €138,845 for the reporting period.

EC4 - Significant financial assistance received from government

Significant aggregate financial value 3 2010/11 2009/10 2008/09

Tax relief/ credits(1) 83,058 201,244 151,310

Investments grants, research and devel-opment grants and other types of grants2

1,324,309 2 1,179,1332 1,044,9742

1 GRI could reclaim VAT up to and including December 2008 when net invoice amount was above EUR 225.00. As per 1 January 2009 GRI can only reclaim VAT from certain activities.

2 Grants from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Dutch Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (VROM), the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the City of Amsterdam, Norwegian Government and Swedish Government.

3 GRI does not receive significant financial assistance from subsidies, Export Credits Agencies (ECAs), financial incentives, awards, or other financial benefits received or receivable from any government for any operation• GRI’s tax position: As a non-profit foundation (Stichting) under

Dutch law, GRI is eligible and has qualified for a 0% tax status on corporate tax obligations. Under certain conditions GRI is allowed to claim back VAT paid on goods and services. GRI has VAT exemption on its monthly recurrent payment of rent.

• There is no governmental representation in the governance structure of GRI.

NGO7 - Resource allocation

GRI complies with Dutch accountancy standards and Dutch financial report requirements established by law. Some projects are subject to specific audits, based on funding agreement requirements. A financial audit of GRI is carried out on an annual basis. GRI also has its own Financial Manual that supports the project tracking systems. Some projects have specific tracking systems related to third party requirements. Time registration sheets are used to allocate resources.

NGO - EC1 - Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retained earnings, and payments to capital providers and governments.

These figures are taken from the Audited Annual Report approved by the Board for the financial year 2010/11, 2009/10, & 2008/09.

EC3 – Coverage of the organization’s defined benefit plan obligations

GRI does not offer a Dutch pension scheme to Secretariat staff. Dutch law prescribes that a pension scheme offered to one employee must be offered to all employees. It is unlikely that all GRI staff members will retire in The Netherlands, given that most of the Secretariat’s employees are not Dutch, therefore this option is not practical.

(all amounts in Euro) 2010/11 2009/10 2008/09

REVENUES 5,473,743 5,993,658 4,122,048

Net Income1/ Revenues 5,473,743 5,993,658 4,122,048

ECONOMIC VALUE DISTRIBUTED 5,347,506 5,791,316 4,011,985

Operating costs 2,364,892 3,140,988 1,940,212

Employee wages and benefits 2,987,313 2,651,816 2,072,379

Total payroll 2,314,075 2,070,747 1,663,589

Total benefits 673,238 581,069 408,790

Payments to providers of funds2 (4,699) (1,488) (606)

Interest payments to providers of loans 21 63 2,965

Other payments of interest for debts and borrowings (4,720)3 (1,551)3 (3,571)3

Payments to government / (Gross taxes)4 - 0 0

Community investments4 - 0 0

ECONOMIC VALUE RETAINED 126,237 202,342 110,0631 The definitions for the ‘Net Income revenue’ items are taken from Indicator

Protocol EC1 in the NGO - GRI G3 Guidelines. Includes: Grants, donations, contracts and sponsorships, specific projects, OS fees, conference fees, training certification fees, publication sales and level check fees.

2 GRI has no dividends to share, nor has it financial shareholders to consider.3 Received more interested than was paid. 4 GRI, as a non for profit organization does not make payment to governments

or community investment


Environmental

The Secretariat’s use of input materials is mainly related to paper and publishing. Office printing, hardcopy printing of the Sustainability Reporting Framework, promotional materials and publications are printed on 100 percent recycled paper. Employees are made aware of their personal printing totals and departmental targets in order to help the organization keep its paper use as low as possible.

In 2010/11 GRI experienced a slight increase in its energy consumption which can be attributed to the increase in number of Secretariat staff. In 2009/10 the Secretariat moved to a new location which resulted in a more energy efficient office space.

NGO8 - Sources of funding by category and five largest donors and monetary value of their contribution

Aggregated monetary value of founding received by source

SourceMonetary value

(Euros)

Governments and International Organizations 1,551,054

Corporate and Foundations 2,243,237

subtotal 3,794,291

Support & Services 1,517,071

Other 162,381

TOTAL 5,473,743

Largest donors -in monetary value - and the monetary value of their contribution

Who What Amount %

Five

larg

est d

onor

s

1 Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Institutional

587,299 10.7%

2 Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affaires

Programs 440,013 8.0%

3 Norway Ministry of Foreign Affaires

Institutional 152,463 2.8%

4 PricewaterhouseCoopers Programs / Projects / OS

84,116 1.5%

5 KPMG Programs / Projects / OS

77,219 1.4%

subtotal 1,341,110 24.5%

Others 2,453,181 44.8%

subtotal 3,794,291 69.3%

Support & Services 1,517,071 27.7%

Others 162,381 3.0%

subtotal 1,679,452 30.7%

TOTAL 5,473,743 100.0%

0.7881 0.9278 0.9483

2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011

EN 2 - Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials

299.789 296.4 384.92

457.35 427.8

773.955

2010/2011 2009/2010 2008/2009

EN 4 - Indirect energy consumption by primary source

Electricity Consumption (GJ) Heating Consumption4 (GJ)


Labor Practices and Decent Work LA1 - Total workforce, including volunteers, by employment type, employment contract, and region, broken down by gender

LA1 data for total workforce broken down by gender and region for the reporting period 2010/11 can be found on page 28.

In 2009/10 GRI hosted the Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency which resulted in an increase in indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

Most of GRI’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions are produced by air travel – this includes the Secretariat, Governance Bodies and Working Group members. In 2010/11, greenhouse gas emissions from staff air travel decreased by 21.3 percent. This was mostly due to on-going virtual meetings and online conferences using Webex and Skype. The stakeholder council had two meetings in 2010/11 and in 2009/10 one meeting, doubling their greenhouse gas emissions in this reporting period.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Electricity Consumption

Heating Consumption

Total (tonnes of CO2)

EN16 - Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight

2008/2009

2009/2010

2010/2011

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011

EN17 - Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight

Secretariat

Working Groups

Governance Bodies

Conference

TOTAL air travel (in tonnes CO2)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Male Female

Total workforce broken down by gender and region for 2009/10


Africa

South America

North America

Asia

Europe

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Male Female

Total workforce broken down by gender and region for 2008/09


Africa

South America

North America

Asia

Europe

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

2010/11 Male

2010/11 Female

2009/10 Male

2009/10 Female

2008/10 Male

2008/09 Female

Total number of permanent employees broken down by employment type

Full-time

Part-time


Of the ten employees that left the GRI Secretariat in 2010/11, eight were from Europe and two were originally from North America.

LA3 - Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations

Benefits like pension contribution, holiday allowance and holiday entitlement are reduced pro rata depending on actual working hours. Health Insurance contribution is only adjusted when working less than 50%. If the hours worked fall below 50%, the reimbursement amount for health insurance is decreased pro rata. The only other exception is interns - they do not receive any benefits, in accordance with Dutch Law.

LA2 - Total number and rate of new employee hires and employee turnover by age group, gender, and region.

GRI has reported on gender-related data for LA2 since the 2009/10 reporting period. GRI will fully report this data in a three-year trend by 2013.

During the reporting period the GRI Secretariat hired 16 new employees, twelve women and four men. This represents a total growth of 32.65 percent.

*For a breakdown of GRI’s employee turnover, please see pages 27-29.

Employee turnover by age group

2010/11 Rate (%) 2009/10 Rate (%) 2008/09 Rate (%)

Age Group <30 3 6.12% 4 8.89% 2 5.41%

Age Group 30-50 6 12.24% 3 6.67% 4 10.81%

Age Group >50 1 2.04% 0 0.00% 0 0.00%

Europe

Asia

North America

TOTAL

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Total number of employee turnover by region

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

4

12

5

12

8.16%

24.49%

11.11%

26.67%

2010/11 Male

2010/11 Female

2009/10 Male

2009/10 Female

Total number and rate of new employee hires

Rate (%) Total in numbers

0.00% 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00% 10.00% 12.00% 14.00% 16.00%

2010/11 Male

2010/11 Female

2009/10 Male

2009/10 Female

2008/09 Male

2008/09 Female

Rate of employee turnover by gender

Rate (%)

0.00% 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00% 10.00% 12.00% 14.00% 16.00%


LA7 - Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities by region

2010/11 Male

2010/11 Female

2009/10 2008/09

Total Workforce 16 38 52 40

Total Hours Worked 30080 71440 97760 75200

Injury rate (IR)* 0 0 1 2

Occupational dis-eases rate (ODR)

0 0 0 0

Lost day rate (LDR) 0 0 0 0

Absentee rate (AR) 51 days (1.1%)

138 days (1.3%)

130 days (0.8%)

291 days (2.40%)

Total Fatalities 0 0 0 0

*Minor (first-aid level) injuries are included.

• The average Absentee rate for ‘non-commercial organizations’ during the reporting period (July 2010-June 2011) is 5.1% (Source: CBS).

• GRI will start collecting gender-related data for Indicator LA7 in the 2010/11 reporting period. The organization will fully report this data by 2013.

• GRI calculates lost days on the basis of scheduled work days and begins counting from the first day of absence.

• The GRI Secretariat is based in the Netherlands; therefore all data comes from one region.

During the reporting period only those employees whose labor contract expired before 30 June 2011 have received a formal performance appraisal and review (LA12). Due to the Global Conference (May 2010), all other performance reviews were re-scheduled to January 2011 to align with the calendar year.

LA5 – Minimum notice period(s) regarding operational changes, including whether it is specified in collective agreements

The following statement only applies to formal employees: interns and volunteers are not considered due to the legal nature of their contracts.• Laborcontractshaveaminimumnoticeperiod(bylaw)

of one month for the employee and one month for the employer. The maximum notice periods (by law) are three months for the employee and six months for the employer. By law, a notice period is not required for definite contracts. However, in the spirit of ‘Good Working Conditions’ (in Dutch ‘Goed Werkgeverschap’), GRI always considers possible extension of a definite contract at least two months prior to the expiration date (via a performance review).

• Operationalchangeswillbesharedwithemployeeswell in advance of the event, whereby management strives to observe a notice period of at least 1 month. Furthermore the ERB (a formal body representing employees) has an advisory role on operational changes and meets with management regularly. GRI does not have a collective agreement and follows labor law where applicable.

LA6 - Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs

The following statement only applies to formal employees: interns and volunteers are not considered due to the legal nature of their contracts.

100% of formal employees are represented in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees. Occupational health and safety programs fall under the responsibility of the HR department. Advice and issues on these topics can be brought forward by staff to the ERB (a formal body representing employees) for discussion & resolution with management. In accordance with the Act Working Conditions (in Dutch; ARBO – Arbeidsomstandigheden Wet) every employer based in the Netherlands is obliged to appoint at least one Prevention Staff Member. The Prevention Staff Member is responsible for health and safety within the office and needs to be up to date with specific ARBO risks and working conditions. The Prevention Staff Member of GRI is the Office Coordinator.

71% 66%

8% 13%

100% 100%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Male 2010/11

Female 2010/11

Male 2009/10

Female 2009/10

Male 2008/09

Female 2008/09

LA12 - Percentage of employees who received a formal performance appraisal

and review


All employees (excluding interns) are entitled to parental leave under Dutch law. In 2010/11, out of the 49 employees, three employees took parental leave.

LA15 - Percentage of employees who returned to work after parental leave

ended

2010/11 Return to Work Rate

male employees 100%

female employees 50%

GRI has collected parental leave-related data for LA15 in the 2010/11 reporting period. GRI will report completely on this Indicator by 2013.

LA13 - Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership and other indicators of diversity

Governance Bodies Gender Balance

GRI does not collect data related to minority groups. For all other data, see LA1.

LA14 - Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of men to women by employee category

FY10-11 FY09-10 FY08-09

Deputy Chief Executives / Directors 91% 89% 89%

(Sr) Managers 99% 107% 108%

(Sr) Coordinators 100% 103% 98%

Support Staff 100% 98% 101%

GRI salary scales are linked to job levels - regardless of gender. Variation in average basic salary is due to difference in expertise and experience.

2010/11 2009/10 2008/09

Female Male Female Male Female Male

Board of Directors

21% 79% 14% 86% 14% 86%

Stake-holder Council

46% 54% 50% 50% 50% 50%

Technical Advisory Committee

13% 87% 20% 80% 30% 70%

14

35

49

1 2 3

male employees female employees Total

LA15 - Return to work and retention rates after parental leave, by gender (2010/11)

# of employees that were entitled to parental leave

# of employees that took parental leave


PR6 - Programs for adherence to laws, standards, and voluntary codes related to fundraising marketing communications, including advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

GRI does not report against any codes or voluntary standards relating to fundraising and marketing communications. The organization reviews its compliance with such standards on an annual basis.

Regarding fundraising activities, GRI only approaches organizations that are supportive of GRI’s mission.

GRI produces marketing communications to promote the Sustainability Reporting Framework and other activities. Such materials include flyers, publications and website content. The materials are developed by technical experts and the communications team, and undergo a rigorous approval process internally.

GRI does not sell any type of products that are banned in certain markets; or subject of stakeholder questions or public debate.

GRI does not sell the Sustainability Reporting Framework – it is available as a free public good. Users of the Framework can ask questions or raise concerns regarding content by contacting GRI via the website. Some of the publications GRI produces are available for a fee, including the Learning Publications. GRI has not received any complaints of breaches of standards for fundraising and marketing communication practices in relation to the rights of affected stakeholders or donors.

Product Responsibility

Disclosure on Management Approach

GRI’s mission is to make sustainability reporting standard practice by providing guidance and support to all organizations. In this sense GRI’s responsibility is centered on providing appropriate guidance, meeting the needs of organizations worldwide. The fundamental principle underlining GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Framework is the multi-stakeholder approach to developing guidance. This approach is defined in GRI’s Due Process. GRI’s communications are transparent and open to all.

The overall aim of GRI’s marketing and communications is to promote sustainability reporting and GRI’s Framework, both as a basis for producing a sustainability report and for report users.

GRI aims to raise awareness of its products through communications, both internal and external. This is done through the website, press outreach, social media and events. Internally, the communications team provides training and skill-sharing, to raise awareness of GRI’s messaging and to enable staff to communicate about GRI with different audiences. During the reporting period, GRI spokespeople attended a one-day media training course.

GRI has a Communications and Network Relations strategy, and sub-strategies for communications, media and social media.

GRI’s Privacy Policy protects the privacy of those who participate in its network and engage with its website, which helps to ensure that GRI has never been complained against for breaches of customer privacy or losses of data, but does not consider that its product is injurious to customer health, is labeled poorly or incorrectly, marketed in a misleading way or not in compliance with regulations or codes. GRI’s Operations department is responsible for ensuring that GRI complies with Dutch national legislation on privacy issues.

GRI’s Privacy Policy is available on the website: https://www.globalreporting.org/Privacy/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.globalreporting.org/Privacy/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.globalreporting.org/Privacy/Pages/default.aspx


GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit

IFAC – International Federation of Accountants

IIRC – International Integrated Reporting Council

ISO – International Organization for Standardization

NGO – Non governmental organization

NGOSS - Non-governmental Organization Sector Supplement

OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OS – Organizational Stakeholders are GRI’s core supporters. They put their name to GRI’s mission, play an important governance role, and provide key funding for GRI activity.

Practitioners’ Network – a network of people working in a particular sector. Connected to Guideline and Sector Supplement developments

SC – Stakeholder Council

Sector Supplement – sector-specific Sustainability Reporting Guidelines

SMART - Sustainability Management and Reporting Team at GRI

TAC – Technical Advisory Committee

UNGC – United Nations Global Compact

UNEP – United Nations Environmental Programme

Working Group – Working Groups develop new generations of GRI Guidelines, and new Sector Supplements. GRI assembles Working Groups of experts with regional diversity, who represent different stakeholder groups, including business, civil society, labor and investors. The Working Group members volunteer their expertise to develop Guidelines

GlossaryA4S – The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project

Application Level – indicates the proportion of the G3/G3.1 disclosures that were addressed in the report. Application Level A addresses all profile disclosures, disclosures on management approach and the core performance indicators, whereas Level C only requires a selected set of the profile disclosures and ten of the core or additional indicators to be included.

Certified Training Partners – Certified Training Partners are certified by GRI to provide Certified Training courses for reporters all over the world

Corporate governance – the set of processes, laws, policies that dictate the way an organization is run

CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility

EMT – Executive Management Team

ERB – Employee Representation Body

ESG report – a report produced by a company or other organization, outlining its environmental, social and governance performance

Focal Point – a national representation of GRI, located separately from its headquarters in Amsterdam

G3 – the third generation of the GRI Guidelines, launched in 2006

G3.1 – incremental improvements to the G3 Guidelines, launched in March 2011

G4 – the next generation of GRI Guidelines, due to be launched in 2013

GANTSCh – Global Action Network for Transparency in the Supply Chain

GRI – Global Reporting Initiative

GRI Content Index – an index in a sustainability report based on the GRI Guidelines that enables readers to find particular GRI indicator protocols in the report. A report must contain a GRI Content Index to be included in the GRI Reports List

Art direction and design: Tuuli SaurenINSPIRIT International Communications


The Amsterdam Global Conference on

May 7-9 2008Sustainability Reporting Today: The Readers’ Verdict

Global Reporting InitiativePO Box 100391001 EA AmsterdamThe Netherlands

Tel: +31 (0) 20 531 00 00Fax: +31 (0) 20 531 00 31

www.globalreporting.org

gri: inside [and] out

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