Corporate sustainability reporting for water : water footprint, global reporting initiative and the water accounting framework

Three initiatives with respect to water reporting in the mining sector are compared in this paper to understand the quantities that are asked for by each initiative and the guidelines of those initiatives through means of a case study. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was chosen because it has achieved widespread acceptance amongst mining companies and its water-related indicators are widely reported in corporate sustainability reporting. In contrast, the Water Footprint Network, which has been an important initiative in food and agricultural industries, has had low acceptance in the mining industry. The third initiative is the Water Accounting Framework, a collaboration between The Minerals Council of Australia and the Sustainable Minerals Institute of the University of Queensland. A water account had previously been created according to the Water Accounting Framework for the case study site, an open pit coal mine in the Bowen Basin. The resulting account provided consistent data for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Water Footprint attributable to mining but in particular, a deficiency in the GRI indicator of EN10 reuse and recycling efficiency was illustrated quantitatively. This has far-reaching significance due to the widespread use of GRI indicators in mining corporate reports.

Análise da Transparência Corporativa através dos Relatórios de Sustentabilidade com base na Global Reporting Initiative de Empresas do Setor Brasileiro de Energia Elétrica

Este estudo realizou um exame crítico sobre os relatórios de sustentabilidade, com base na Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), elaborados pelas empresas do setor de geração de energia elétrica por hidroeletricidade no Brasil e avaliou a significância destes documentos em prestar informações claras sobre a eficácia do desempenho socioambiental. Os estudos acadêmicos relacionados com os relatórios de sustentabilidade, e especificamente com os relatórios da GRI, demonstram que há problemas na qualidade da informação com relação à completeza, padronização e credibilidade do conteúdo, porém sem aprofundar nas causas potenciais. Trata-se de um estudo com abordagem quali-quantitativa, com o emprego de pesquisa do tipo descritiva e a utilização de procedimentos bibliográfico e documental, por meio de análise de conteúdo. A quantificação das evidências foi desenvolvida com base nas informações contidas nos relatórios de sustentabilidade das empresas CPFL, EDP e Tractebel, que possuíam o nível mais alto de aplicação da GRI, associadas com as informações de seus desempenhos socioambientais disponíveis por outras fontes de consulta independentes. Os resultados da análise de conteúdo dos relatórios de sustentabilidade demonstraram que nenhuma das empresas atingiu o atendimento pleno de evidência da informação solicitada nas Unidades de Informação avaliadas. Esta constatação indica que todas as empresas avaliadas apresentaram falhas na validação das informações antes do início da elaboração propriamente dita do relatório, como determina a etapa de validação da GRI, sugerindo que os testes disponíveis nos princípios da GRI, provavelmente, não foram empregados ou foram adotados sem eficácia, afetando a qualidade da informação com relação à completeza e credibilidade do conteúdo. Questões que merecem ser aprofundadas em futuros trabalhos são: a influência dos limites da auditoria independente no resultado da verificação do relatório e a extensão da pesquisa de análise de conteúdo para outros setores industriais formados por grandes empresas e com elevado impacto ambiental potencial. O estudo contribui para o aumento de conhecimento sobre o tema, em destaque na atualidade, seja pelos esforços de normalização mundial do relatório de sustentabilidade GRI, e, principalmente, com a recomendação para o fomento destes relatórios incluída no documento final The Future We Want- O Futuro que Queremos da Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Desenvolvimento Sustentável (Rio+20), no parágrafo 47, com potencial regulamentação brasileira compulsória dos mesmos.

Responsabilidad social empresarial y global reporting initiative.

Las empresas son conscientes de la necesidad de informar los resultados de su desempeño económico a través de los estados financieros, ya que los mismos son exigidos por los accionistas, los organismos de control gubernamental y los demás grupos de interés. La contabilidad, como sistema de información financiero, permite a través de una serie de actividades presentar estos informes. Sin embargo, los cambios en la concepción de desarrollo económico, el surgimiento de una conciencia ecológica, la inconformidad por las desigualdades sociales, entre otras causas, han llevado a que las empresas se vean en la necesidad de informar el desempeño ambiental y social, además del desempeño económico.

Análisis de las memorias de sostenibilidad basadas en las directrices del Global Reporting Initiative como herramienta de comunicación de la responsabilidad social empresarial. Caso: Telefónica Ecuador, período 2008 y 2009

El tema de la presente tesis es el Análisis de las Memorias de Sostenibilidad basadas en las Directrices del Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) como herramienta de comunicación de la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE). Caso: Telefónica Ecuador, período 2008 y 2009. El objetivo general es conocer la utilidad de los informes de sostenibilidad como herramienta de comunicación, para los públicos de interés. Los objetivos específicos son: analizar la aplicación de los pilares de la RSE propuestos por GRI en la elaboración de los reportes de Telefónica Ecuador en dos períodos seguidos y la tendencia de la comunicación en relación a la RSE en estos documentos corporativos; así como conocer la percepción de los stakeholders definidos, a partir de la lectura de estos reportes de sostenibilidad a través de encuestas. En base a lo expuesto se desarrollan cinco capítulos, previa una introducción. En el preámbulo se expone la preocupación de las empresas por mejorar sus relaciones con sus públicos de interés en la sociedad, describe las causas del problema y propone la rendición de cuentas a partir de sus prácticas corporativas, para revertir esta problemática. Plantea la pregunta trasversal, los objetivos: general y específicos, el método, la metodología, las técnicas, los instrumentos y los registros utilizados, para la materialización de esta investigación. En el primer capítulo se explica el protagonismo de la sociedad civil en el impulso de la RSE, así como las acciones efectuadas en el Ecuador. Argumenta sobre el desarrollo sostenible, la RSE y lo que no se debe hacer (filantropía). En el segundo capítulo estudia la Comunicación Corporativa y su rol en la RSE; analiza la imagen, el posicionamiento y la reputación aplicado a las empresas. El tercer capítulo expone acerca del Global Reporting Initiative y su aporte al promover un marco estandarizado de información, para la presentación de Memorias de Sostenibilidad. Y, a partir del marco se realiza la evaluación de la aplicación de los pilares de la RSE propuestos por el GRI en la elaboración de las Memorias de Sostenibilidad de Telefónica 2008 y 2009. En el cuarto capítulo se desarrolla la investigación de campo con el enfoque cuantitativo, que comprende la definición de las unidades de análisis, el cálculo del tamaño de la muestra, el procedimiento para la selección de la misma, la elaboración del instrumento de medición, la aplicación de la encuesta, así como el análisis. Y, en el quinto capítulo se plantean las conclusiones. Cabe acotar que la presente tesis se constituye en uno de los primeros aportes de investigación teórico práctico para la Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar y su comunidad en estos temas; más aún será un soporte técnico para enriquecer las prácticas de comunicación del Grupo Telefónica y una fuente de investigación para los profesionales de la Comunicación y áreas afines.

Desafios para implementação do global reporting initiative nas empresas sucroenergéticas no Brasil

Desafios para implementação do global reporting initiative nas empresas sucroenergéticas no Brasil A pesquisa pretende avaliar o grau de maturidade necessário para elaboração e publicação de um Relatório de Sustentabilidade Integrado. O setor sucroenergético brasileiro foi escolhido para a pesquisa por aderir ao padrão da Global Reporting Initiative para relatórios de sustentabi-lidade e por ser um setor com exposição nacional e internacional, que vem passando por grandes transformações com entrada de novos players nacionais e internacionais, profissionalização da gestão, alterações de práticas operacionais visando atender exigências ambientais e sociais. Para se entender o grau de maturidade das organizações foi preciso definir seis fundamentos de supor-te à realização de um relatório integrado: processos, estrutura, pessoas, sistemas, políticas e pro-cedimentos e cultura organizacional. A seguir, foram estabelecidos três graus de maturidade – alto, médio e baixo. Assim, para cada um desses fundamentos foi atribuído um grau de maturida-de. Na prática de elaborar relatórios de desempenho as organizações podem estar em diferentes estágios de um processo evolutivo. Elas têm por fim a publicação de um relatório integrando os aspectos econômicos, ambientais e sociais, denominado triple bottom line. Nesse processo evolu-tivo, existem as empresas que reportam seu desempenho econômico financeiro e há as que repor-tam o relatório anual da administração mais completo e que pode conter o relatório de sustentabi-lidade. Os dois estágios requerem a aplicação dos fundamentos descritos acima, mas em graus de complexidades diferentes. Para elaborar e publicar um relatório integrado, o grau de utilização dos fundamentos deverá ser muito maior. Esse grau de maturidade na aplicação dos fundamentos será determinante para o processo de interação com os stakeholders, criar um relatório transpa-rente e que seja também útil às suas interpretações e decisões. A pesquisa detectou que as empre-sas do setor, como o esperado, têm o grau de maturidade alto quando se trata de reportar o de-sempenho econômico-financeiro. Quando se trata dos indicadores ambientais, já se nota uma evolução em relação ao tema; há um esforço maior a ser empreendido quando o assunto é o re-porte dos aspectos sociais. Independentemente do grau de maturidade, a iniciativa das empresas do setor sucroenergético brasileiro (na região Centro-Sul), na evolução dos Relatórios de Susten-tabilidade, deverá reverter em prol do desafio global para o meio ambiente.

A Study of Environmental Disclosures in the European Oil and Gas Industry : With Reference to the Global Reporting Initiative

Background and Problem: Sustainability reporting is a growing trend in the society. One of the most exposed industries to environmental matters is the oil and gas industry, which commit to sustainability reporting in order to deal with the industry’s destructive operations. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provides voluntary guidelines in sustainability reporting, which increase transparency for the company’s stakeholders. However, it is controversial that the oil and gas industry put a great effort into sustainability reporting even though the industry is environmentally destructive. This gap is interesting to investigate and will contribute to the academic discussion. Therefore, this thesis will focus on the sustainability reporting in the oil and gas industry and to what extent the industry actually discloses material environmental information about their operations. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the sustainability reporting has changed in the oil and gas industry in Europe. This is performed from a stakeholder perspective. Further, it aims to investigate how oil and gas companies have followed the GRI guidelines and how the reporting has changed over time. Method: A quantitative method is used in order to answer the research questions. The data sample is based on oil and gas companies reporting according to the GRI framework during year 2012 to year 2014. The empirical data is gathered from the studied companies’ environmental category in their sustainability reports. Further, a content analysis technique, with a coding scheme, was set up to interpret and analyse the information. To enable an easy overview of the findings, the relevant data is presented in tables and diagrams. Empirical Findings and Conclusion: The majority of the studied companies have increased their level of compliance in the environmental category. Although, the majority of the companies have increased their reporting, the compliance level differs between the companies. The most reported sectors are the; “Water”, “Biodiversity”, “Emissions”, “Effluents and Waste”, “Compliance”, and “Overall”. Further, the empirical findings show that there is an overall increase in the amount of disclosed information per indicator. The conclusion of this thesis is that the environmental disclosures have increased in the oil and gas industry from year 2012 to 2014.

Does the global reporting initiative influence sustainability disclosures in Asia-Pacific banks?

This article examines sustainability disclosures by the major banks in the Asia-Pacific region (the six largest banks from each of four countries: Australia, Japan, China and India) during the period 2005–2012. The findings show sustainability disclosures by banks that participate in the global reporting initiative (GRI) are significantly higher than disclosures by those banks that have not participated in the GRI. Amongst those banks that have participated in the GRI there is a higher rate of disclosure by externally assured banks than by non-externally assured banks. Among the GRI participating banks, there was significant variation of disclosures between countries. Disclosures by Australian banks appeared to be significantly higher than disclosures by banks in any other countries under observation. The findings are discussed from a moral legitimacy perspective. Consistent with this view, the banks under study were responsive to the GRI, which is seen as an influential actor that shapes and reflects the expectations of the broader community. However, the role of the GRI in minimising country differences in disclosure by banks is not significant.

Sustentabilidade organizacional: o processo de construção do Relatório de Global Reporting Iniciative (GRI) para a Unimed Bauru sob a ótica das Relações Públicas

The paper describes the ways of reporting business management, employing the model of sustainability report called the Global Reporting Initiative - GRI. This makes use of indicators based on the concept called Triple Bottom Line, which takes into account the economic, social and environmental. The study points out theoretical positions and concepts that have demonstrated an understanding of this issue and especially emphasizes the presence and experience of Public Relations in the environment of organizational communication, especially in the sphere of quality management activities, coupled with the operational processes and sustainable principles. The discussion is exemplified by a case study of quality management activities, coupled with the operational processes and sustainable principles. The discussion is exemplified by a case study of the Health Cooperative Medical Unimed Bauru that involves the process of preparing the report in GRI model of sustainability, held earlier in the year 2011

Environmental reporting and its relation to corporate environmental performance

This study examines how both the level and the nature of environmental information voluntarily disclosed by Australian firms relate to their underlying environmental performance. Disclosure is scored using an index developed by Clarkson et al. (2008) based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines and the environmental performance measure is based on emission data available from the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). The sample consists of 51 firms that reported to the NPI in both 2002 and 2006. The findings are as follows. First, descriptive statistics indicate that while there was modest improvement in disclosure between 2002 and 2006, the highest disclosure score obtained was just slightly in excess of 50% of the maximum available based on the GRI Guidelines. Second, the results consistently indicate that not only do firms with a higher pollution propensity disclose more environmental information; they also rely on disclosures that the GRI views as inherently more objective and verifiable. Taken together, these results suggest that concerns regarding the reliability of voluntary environmental disclosures in the Australian context remain valid and thereby potentially signal a need for both enhanced mandatory reporting requirements and improved enforcement. In this regard, our study also informs regulatory policy on mandatory disclosures of environmental performance.

Environmental reporting in the Australian mining industry : complying with regulation or meeting international best practice?

It is nearly 10 years since the introduction of s 299(1)(f) Corporations Act , which requires the disclosure of information regarding a company's environmental performance within its annual report. This provision has generated considerable debate in the years since its introduction, fundamentally between proponents of either a voluntary or mandatory environmental reporting framework. This study examines the adequacy of the current regulatory framework. The environmental reporting practices of 24 listed companies in the resources industries are assessed relative to a standard set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. These Guidelines are argued to represent "international best practice" in environmental reporting and a "scorecard" approach is used to score the quality of disclosure according to this voluntary benchmark. Larger companies in the sample tend to report environmental information over and above the level required by legislation. Some, but not all companies present a stand-alone environmental/sustainability report. However, smaller companies provide minimal information in compliance with s 299(1)(f) . The findings indicate that "international best practice" environmental reporting is unlikely to be achieved by Australian companies under the current regulatory framework. In the current regulatory environment that scrutinises s 299(1)(f) , this article provides some preliminary evidence of the quality of disclosures generated in the Australian market.

CSR in forest industry – Case study of reporting and implementation of social responsibility in three international companies

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly important topic in forest industries, and other global companies, in recent years. Globalisation, faster information delivery and demand for sustainable development have set new challenges for global companies in their business operations. Also the importance of stakeholder relations, and pressure to become more transparent has increased in the forest industries. Three dimensions of corporate responsibility economic, environmental and social, are often included in the concept of CSR. Global companies mostly claim that these dimensions are equally important. This study analyses CSR in forest industry and has focus on reporting and implementation of social responsibility in three international companies. These case-companies are Stora Enso, SCA and Sappi, and they have different geographical base, product portfolios and therefore present interesting differences about forest industry strategy and CSR. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has created the most known and used reporting framework in CSR reporting. GRI Guidelines have made CSR reporting a uniform function, which can also be measured between companies and different sectors. GRI Guidelines have also made it possible to record and control CSR data in the companies. In recent years the use of GRI Guidelines has increased substantially. Typically CSR reporting on economic and environmental responsibility have been systematic in the global companies and often driven by legistlation and other regulations. However the social responsibility has been less regulated and more difficult to compare. Therefore it has previously been often less focused in the CSR reporting of the global companies. The implementation and use of GRI Guidelines have also increased dialogue on social responsibility issues and stakeholder management in global companies. This study analyses the use of GRI´s framework in the forest industry companies´ CSR reporting. This is a qualitative study and the disclosure of data is empricially analysed using content analysis. Content analysis has been selected as a method for this study because it makes it possible to use different sources of information. The data of this study consists of existing academic literature of CSR, sustainability reports of thecase-companies during 2005-2009, and the semi-structured interviews with company representatives. Different sources provide the possibility to look at specific subject from more than one viewpoint. The results of the study show that all case-companies have relatively common themes in their CSR disclosure, and the differences rise mainly from their product-portfolios, and geographic base. Social impacts to local communities, in the CSR of the companies, were mainly dominated by issues concerning creating wealth to the society and impacting communities through creation of work. The comparability of the CSR reporting, and especially social indicators increased significally from 2007 onwards in all case-companies. Even though the companies claim that three dimensions of CSR economic, environmental and social are equally important economic issues and profit improvement still seem to drive most of the operations in the global companies. Many issues that are covered by laws and regulations are still essentially presented as social responsibility in CSR. However often the unwelcome issues in companies like closing operations are covered just briefly, and without adequate explanation. To make social responsibility equally important in the CSR it would demand more emphasis from all the case-companies. A lot of emphasis should be put especially on the detail and extensiveness of the social reponsibility content in the CSR.

“What matters?”: The case of sustainability reporting in Spain and Portugal

This project explores the case of Sustainability Reporting in Spain and Portugal and the recently launched new generation of Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. The sample of the study is composed of companies included in the “GRI Report list 1999-2015”. In particular 2013 onwards 51 companies that published their G4 Report are taken into consideration. An indirect study is conducted based on the content of the sustainability reports of companies that implemented the Global Report Initiatives (GRI) reporting guidelines in order to identify focus areas of sustainability reporting in Spain and Portugal, analyzing trends and patterns relevant for observation. The project also promotes a discussion of the usability of the G4 guidelines and the adoption of materiality definition.

Does stakeholder pressure influence corporate GHG emissions reporting? Empirical evidence from Europe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to shed light on the practice of incomplete corporate disclosure of quantitative Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and investigates whether external stakeholder pressure influences the existence, and separately, the completeness of voluntary GHG emissions disclosures by 431 European companies. Design/methodology/approach – A classification of reporting completeness is developed with respect to the scope, type and reporting boundary of GHG emissions based on the guidelines of the GHG Protocol, Global Reporting Initiative and the Carbon Disclosure Project. Logistic regression analysis is applied to examine whether proxies for exposure to climate change concerns from different stakeholder groups influence the existence and/or completeness of quantitative GHG emissions disclosure. Findings – From 2005 to 2009, on average only 15 percent of companies that disclose GHG emissions report them in a manner that the authors consider complete. Results of regression analyses suggest that external stakeholder pressure is a determinant of the existence but not the completeness of emissions disclosure. Findings are consistent with stakeholder theory arguments that companies respond to external stakeholder pressure to report GHG emissions, but also with legitimacy theory claims that firms can use carbon disclosure, in this case the incomplete reporting of emissions, as a symbolic act to address legitimacy exposures. Practical implications – Bringing corporate GHG emissions disclosure in line with recommended guidelines will require either more direct stakeholder pressure or, perhaps, a mandated disclosure regime. In the meantime, users of the data will need to carefully consider the relevance of the reported data and develop the necessary competencies to detect and control for its incompleteness. A more troubling concern is that stakeholders may instead grow to accept less than complete disclosure. Originality/value – The paper represents the first large-scale empirical study into the completeness of companies’ disclosure of quantitative GHG emissions and is the first to analyze these disclosures in the context of stakeholder pressure and its relation to legitimation.

The ethical, social and environmental reporting-performance portrayal gap

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it assesses in detail the extent to which corporate reporting on ethical, social and environmental issues reflects corporate performance in case study company Alpha. This “reporting-performance” portrayal gap is a key measure of the extent to which an organisation is accountable to its stakeholders. Alpha's disclosures concerning its ethical, social and environmental performance for the years 1993 and 1999 were compared with information obtained on Alpha's performance from other sources. Two different pictures of performance emerged leading to the conclusion that, in the case of Alpha, reports do not demonstrate a high level of accountability to key stakeholder groups on ethical, social and environmental issues. Of particular concern is the lack of “completeness” of reporting. Second, the article assesses the potential of recent standards or guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility (AccountAbility) as well as the industry's own “responsible care” initiative to reduce this “reporting-performance” portrayal gap and improve corporate accountability. The conclusions point to the need for other measures to improve accountability including mandatory reporting guidelines, better developed audit guidelines, a mandatory audit requirement for MNCs and a radical overhaul of corporate governance systems.

Global Estimates of the Prevalence and Incidence of Four Curable Sexually Transmitted Infections in 2012 Based on Systematic Review and Global Reporting.

BACKGROUND Quantifying sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence and incidence is important for planning interventions and advocating for resources. The World Health Organization (WHO) periodically estimates global and regional prevalence and incidence of four curable STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis. METHODS AND FINDINGS WHO's 2012 estimates were based upon literature reviews of prevalence data from 2005 through 2012 among general populations for genitourinary infection with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and trichomoniasis, and nationally reported data on syphilis seroprevalence among antenatal care attendees. Data were standardized for laboratory test type, geography, age, and high risk subpopulations, and combined using a Bayesian meta-analytic approach. Regional incidence estimates were generated from prevalence estimates by adjusting for average duration of infection. In 2012, among women aged 15-49 years, the estimated global prevalence of chlamydia was 4.2% (95% uncertainty interval (UI): 3.7-4.7%), gonorrhoea 0.8% (0.6-1.0%), trichomoniasis 5.0% (4.0-6.4%), and syphilis 0.5% (0.4-0.6%); among men, estimated chlamydia prevalence was 2.7% (2.0-3.6%), gonorrhoea 0.6% (0.4-0.9%), trichomoniasis 0.6% (0.4-0.8%), and syphilis 0.48% (0.3-0.7%). These figures correspond to an estimated 131 million new cases of chlamydia (100-166 million), 78 million of gonorrhoea (53-110 million), 143 million of trichomoniasis (98-202 million), and 6 million of syphilis (4-8 million). Prevalence and incidence estimates varied by region and sex. CONCLUSIONS Estimates of the global prevalence and incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, and syphilis in adult women and men remain high, with nearly one million new infections with curable STI each day. The estimates highlight the urgent need for the public health community to ensure that well-recognized effective interventions for STI prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment are made more widely available. Improved estimation methods are needed to allow use of more varied data and generation of estimates at the national level.