Question

Write a memo to your Chief Executive officer Mr Baba Ahmed explaining to him the meaning of Global Reporting Initiatives and state two examples each of the aspect of each of the dimensions

Answer 1

The Global Reporting Initiative is a loose network of organizations and individuals devoted to increasing corporate accountability and transparency. It is the goal of the initiative to create a system of reports on businesses around the world measuring their dedication to environmental, social, and governance issues. In this way, the Global Reporting Initiative, or GRI, attempts to show these elements as clearly as financial reports show how profitable businesses are. A set of sustainability reporting guidelines is the benchmark for the reports that the GRI files.

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Much of what the Global Reporting Initiative stresses is based on sustainability reporting. This is a concept that requires corporations to find ways to do business without acting as a detriment to the environment around them. Instead, their methods doing business should actually produce a net positive in terms of environmental concerns like greenhouse gases and other harmful emissions.

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Aside from environmental concerns, the Global Reporting Initiative judges corporations based on their progress on social issues. For example, a company that does a good job on an environmental front but increases the presence of various social ills within its community would likely fall short in a GRI report. How clearly a corporation reveals itself to the public at large is also another large factor in determining whether the GRI gives it a positive grade.

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Since most of these issues are intangible and thus extremely difficult to measure, the Global Reporting Initiative provides a standard set of sustainability reporting guidelines to which all participating organizations should adhere. These guidelines determine the way that corporations in question should define report content and report quality, and they establish a set of required disclosures that include the organization's sustainability strategy, its management approach, and certain performance indicators. In this way, all organizations can be measured by the GRI regardless of size, industry, or any other differentiating circumstances.

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Economic standards reporting status

Indicator	2017	2016	2015
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. G3-EC1

Environmental standards reporting status

Indicator	2017	2016	2015
Direct energy consumption by primary energy source. G3-EN3
Indirect energy consumption by primary source. G3-EN4
Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements. G3-EN5
Initiatives to provide energy-efficient or renewable energy-based products and services, and reductions in energy requirements as a result of these initiatives. G3-EN6
Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption and reductions achieved. G3-EN7
Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight. G3-EN16
Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight. G3-EN17
Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved. G3-EN18
NOx, SOx and other significant air emissions by type and weight. G3-EN20
Total weight of waste by type and disposal method. G3-EN23
Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts of products and services, and extent of impact mitigation. G3-EN26

Labor standards reporting status

Indicator	2017	2016	2015
Total workforce by employment type, employment contract and region, broken down by gender. G3-LA1
Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. G3-LA4
Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities by region and gender. G3-LA7	N/A	N/A	N/A
Average hours of training per year per employee, by gender and by employee category. G3-LA10
Programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings. G3-LA11

Society standards reporting status

Indicator	2017	2016	2015
Percentage of operations with implemented local community engagement, impact assessments and development programs. G3-SO1
Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying. G3-SO5