How do you measure sustainability?
One of the challenges in creating and implementing an effective sustainability plan, is the question of metrics. Sustainability, indeed the whole concept of corporate social responsibility, is becoming increasingly important to businesses. From the standpoint of shareholder interest, customer perception and even into HR area areas such as employee satisfaction and recruiting, more and more companies are investing in their corporate social responsibility efforts.
There are few ways of measuring, quantifying and reporting, in a meaningful way, sustainability or corporate social responsibility data. This is changing, as we now have effective carbon and environmental footprint calculators that effectively track and measure footprint data inside and organization and along it’s supply chain as well. Measuring, quantifying and reporting more intangible aspects such as employee community participation, employee environmental awareness, and corporate environmental governance can be more challenging.
A good place to start is the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), which has developed a framework for reporting that can be used by organizations regardless of size, location or sector. The GRI is a multi-stakeholder governed institution collaborating to provide the gobal standards in sustainability reporting. It was conceived by the Boston-based non-profit CERES in 1997, the UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme joined as a partner in 1999. In 2001 the GRI became a sperate institution. It released it’s first guidelines in 2000, in 2006 it released the 3rd revision of the guidlines. The following is directly from the GRI website:
Sustainability reports based on the GRI framework can be used to benchmark organizational performance with respect to laws, norms, codes, performance standards and voluntary initiatives; demonstrate organizational commitment to sustainable development; and compare organizational performance over time.
By utilizing guidelines such as the GRI, companies and their stakeholders can have a useful comparative tool that can allow them to better monitor, measure and communicate their position. If we are going to effectively transition to a sustainable economy based on accountability, accuracy and transparency ,tools such as these will be a necessary component.
-FR
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