The Role of the Global Reporting Initiative's Sustainability Reporting Guidelines in the Social Screening of Investments

Social screening of investments calls not only for investment policy and criteria, but also for information about companies, their policies, practices and performance. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and its June 2000 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines have the potential to significantly improve the usefulness and quality of information reported by companies about their environmental, social and economic impacts and performance. The GRI aims to develop a voluntary reporting framework that will elevate sustainability reporting practices to a level equivalent to that of financial reporting in rigour, comparability, auditability and general acceptance. This will be a welcome and efficient supplement to the questionnaires, interviews, press releases, media reports and other sources of information traditionally used for screening in investment decision making – social/ethical and mainstream. The Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index, the Jantzi Social Index and the Innovest EcoValue'21 analytical platform, together with the SRI community, are all likely to benefit from GRI-style sustainability reports. One of the GRI's key challenges is to accommodate the broad variety of disclosure needs and expectations of a wide range of report users and company stakeholders. To maximize the usefulness of the GRI Guidelines, report users, including the SRI community, need to be engaged in the process of developing and refining the Guidelines over time. The GRI Guidelines are emerging as an important instrument in enabling companies to communicate with their stakeholders about performance and accountability beyond just the financial bottom line.     

The Uptake of Sustainability Reporting in Australia

In this paper, we identify and discuss how sustainability reporting has spread throughout the Australian business community over the past twenty years or so. We identified all Australian business organisations that have produced a sustainability report since 1995, and we undertook an interview survey with managers of reporting companies. By incorporating a wide range and large number of reporting companies, we offer insights beyond those obtained from traditional report content analysis and from close analyses of singular case-study organisations. We reveal that sustainability reporting has deepened in a few high-impact industries, and it has spread to a small number of firms in a wide range of low-impact industries. We tested whether there were any relationships between the drivers of reporting and the experiences of different types of reporting firms. Many of the relationships we observed were not as clear or as consistent as expected. Sustainability reporting is, however, of strategic importance to reporting companies. Given the small number of reporters in Australia, we raise the possibility of strategic differentiation as a key driver of reporting behaviour and suggest further studies to explore institutional fields that may be shaping sustainability reporting practice.     

可持续发展报告的可靠性审核——提升组织的社会信誉

在经济全球化时代,跨国公司之间的竞争已经从过去主要是硬件竞争,同时上升到软件的竞争;从过去主要是技术、产品的竞争上升到公司社会责任理念以及道德水准的竞争。先进的公司社会责任理念和行为,成为企业制胜不可或缺的核心竞争力。为此,越来越多的     

Sustainability Auditing and Reporting: The Canadian Experience

This paper reviews the experience of 174 of Canada's largest 1500 public and private sector corporations which have begun to incorporate sustainable development management and reporting as part of their operations. Answers are provided to three main questions: Why have they implemented this initiative? What progress has been made in terms of sustainability audit practice – frequency, focus, organization of the audit team –, internal communication, and external reporting? And where has, and will the leadership for the sustainability audit movement come from as why? Sustainable development auditing and reporting in Canada is voluntary. Practice varies from an elementary level to a sophisticated integrated assessment of social, environmental, labour, sourcing and trading, and governance issues. The depth of practice and experience in this area depends on several factors, including: corporate commitment, the degree of public perception of sector-wide environmental issues, exposure to legal liability, and the extent of dialogue and transparency associated with the auditing process. Differences of opinion about accounting and auditing standards as well as whether all, or parts of, audits should be independent are explored. The sources of data used for this paper include the EthicScan Corporate 1500 DataBase, The Corporate Ethics Monitor, various reports prepared by EthicScan Canada, and the consultancies of both authors.     

The Level of Sustainability Assurance: The Effects of Brand Reputation and Industry Specialisation of Assurance Providers

This research focuses on examining the relationship between some attributes of assurance providers and the level of sustainability assurance. By using the propensity to issue negative conclusions in the assurance statement as an indicator of the level of assurance, we examine whether the brand name and industry specialisation of the practitioners have an impact on the assurance opinion issued. Using an international sample of 1233 firm-year observations over the period 2007–2014, the findings document the impact of the brand reputation and industry specialisation of assurance providers on the level of assurance. The probability of detecting material errors and omissions in a sustainability report is higher if it is verified by a Big 4 auditing firm and by an industry expert as an assurance practitioner. The greater experience in providing audit services and the relevant skills and training provided by Big 4 firms, as well as the greater knowledge and experience of industry experts, increase the propensity to report more accurate opinions about a sustainability report. The findings are robust for alternative measures for the level of assurance and the industry specialisation.     

可持续发展报告:可持续发展的催化剂

可持续发展报告,是指一个组织向公众披露它的经济、环境和社会业绩,正在迅速成为世界上的领袖企业和组织的标准实践,它有利于企业和组织提高内部管理和改善外部关系。全球报告倡议组织(GRI)可持续发展报告指南越     

残疾人公共服务体系利益相关方的角色定位研究

在经济与社会转型时期,残疾人公共服务体系建设是政府在社会管理和公共服务方面必须承担的职能和责任。残疾人公共服务体系具有人本性、均等性、参与性、共享性、预防性、服务性等特征。在政府资源稀缺的现实情况下,必须发挥政府和社会组织以及民间资金的作用,要在解读国际残疾人公共服务的前提下,深入研究残疾人公共服务体系的支持网络,建好＂654321系统工程＂,准确定位残疾人公共服务体系的利益相关方即政府、管理机构、社会力量、社区与残疾人基层组织等角色,建立并发展残疾人事业的社会制度。     

The Role of NGOs in CSR: Mutual Perceptions Among Stakeholders

This paper explores the role of NGOs in corporate social responsibility (CSR) through an analysis of various stakeholders’ perceptions and of NGOs’ self-perceptions. In the course of qualitative research based in Spain, we found that the perceptions of the role of NGOs fall into four categories: recognition of NGOs as drivers of CSR; concerns about their legitimacy; difficulties in the mutual understanding between NGOs and trade unions; the self-confidence of NGOs as important players in CSR. Each of these categories comprises the various elements analysed in the paper. We found some discrepancies between the perception of others and the self-perceptions of NGOs, which explains why their role is often controversial. The research confirms that secondary stakeholders, such as NGOs, are key players in CSR, but their role is still regarded as controversial and their legitimacy contested. Deep-seated misunderstandings and mistrust among various stakeholder groups (particularly between NGOs and trade unions) are a possible hurdle to the integration of social and environmental concerns in business activity and corporate governance in Spain. The study finds that business managers need to take a less firm-centric and a more contextual approach, and look more closely into the relationship with and among stakeholder groups. For NGO managers, the research shows that NGOs are not always aware of the stereotypes they generate and the problems caused mainly by what is seen as ambivalent roles: critic and counsellor, accuser and judge, idealist and fund raiser.

Stakeholder Relationships,Engagement, and Sustainability Reporting

The concept of sustainability was developed in response to stakeholder demands. One of the key mechanisms for engaging stakeholders is sustainability disclosure, often in the form of a report. Yet, how reporting is used to engage stakeholders is understudied. Using resource dependence and stakeholder theories, we investigate how companies within the same industry address different dependencies on stakeholders for economic, natural environment, and social resources and thus engage stakeholders accordingly. To achieve this objective, we conducted our research using qualitative research methods. Our findings suggest that the resource dependencies on different stakeholders lead to development of different stakeholder relationships and thus appropriate resources within the company to execute engagement strategies that are informing, responding, or involving. Our research explains why diversity exists in sustainability disclosure by studying how it is used to engage stakeholders. We find that five sustainability reporting characteristics are associated with the company’s stakeholder engagement strategy: directness of communication, clarity of stakeholder identity, deliberateness of collecting feedback, broadness of stakeholder inclusiveness, and utilization of stakeholder engagement for learning. Our study develops the literature by providing insight into companies’ choices of stakeholder engagement strategy thus explaining diversity in sustainability reporting based on the characteristics and relationships with specific stakeholders.     

塑造可持续发展报告的未来

全球报告倡议组织(GRI)所主导制定的可持续发展报告指南已在世界范围内广为使用,目前,GRI正在推动新版本G4的发布,并邀请利益相关方参与,以期其更符合新形势下组织编制报告的指导需求。在此背景下,本文中GRI中国区总监刘嘉莹介绍了GRI可持续发展报告指南的发展历程,公众意见对GRI如此重要的原因,G4指南草案中的重大变化以及读者可以帮助GRI改进可持续发展报告指南的途径,以推动G4成为所有机构通用的标准实践。     

解读第三代《可持续发展报告指南》

2006年10月5日来自荷兰阿姆斯特丹的消息,全球报告倡仪组织(GlobalReportingInitiative,GRI)发布了第三代《可持续发展报告指南(》SustainabilityReportingGuidelinesG3),这是一件具有历史性意义的事件。此前两版的报告指南分别于2000年和2002年发布。据悉,包括荷兰银行、英美集团等跨国公司共计1000多家机构都在使用GRI的2002指南(G2)。此次,第三代报告指南在2002年指南的基础之上,吸取了G2在使用过程中的经验,更加简单实用,能够帮助机构聚焦于实质性的问题,改善可持续发展的表现。并且,这一指南与联合国全球契约的原则很好地揉合在一起,对投资者和分析师更有帮助。     

Assurance Services for Sustainability Reports: Standards and Empirical Evidence

This article contributes to the growing scholarship on the topic of assurance services for sustainability reports. We first synthetically illustrate the main international standards for the implementation of assurance services regarding the subject documents. The second part of our article is an empirical analysis of reports drawn up on the basis of the current Global Reporting Initiative 2006 guidelines, and looks at how effectively these standards have been implemented, analyzing the different typologies of assurance statement.     

The Role of Strategic Conversations with Stakeholders in the Formation of Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

This paper explores the role of strategic conversations in corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy formation. The authors suggest that explicitly engaging stakeholders in the CSR strategy-making process, through the mechanism of strategic conversations, will minimize future stakeholder concerns and enhance CSR strategy making. In addition, suggestions for future research are offered to enable a better understanding of effective strategic conversation processes in CSR strategy making and the resulting performance outcomes.     

Building A Sustainable Shelf: The Role of Firm Sustainability Reputation

The reputation of firms for being environmentally friendly and socially responsible is a key purchase driver for sustainable products. However, the commitment of firms to sustainability varies – some firms are founded on strong environmental and social principles; other more traditional firms are built on strong product/brand focus and are not known for sustainability. In response to market trends, many traditional firms are introducing sustainable products to their portfolios. We argue that the firm’s sustainability reputation (FSR) will influence consumer purchase with respect to equally sustainable products from different firms. Two choice studies demonstrate that FSR favors sustainable product choice when the consumer decides between equally sustainable products. However, FSR affects the choice only for sustainable products and not regular products and does so only for consumers that construe sustainability at a high (abstract) level. Retailers should pay attention to the role that FSR plays in consumer response when they select sustainable products to sell.     

Democracy and Economy: What Role for Stakeholders?

This article introduces a note of caution to the stakeholding debate. Current discussions on stakeholders neglect their diversity and confuse alternative modes of stakeholder protection at the enterprise level; namely: direct shareholding, voluntary protection by enterprises, statutory protection, by ad hoc legislation or by granting them a voice. Public policy considerations differ widely in each case. The author views the idea of a nationwide "stakeholder economy" as an unwarranted extension and a misnomer.     

CSR,Sustainability and the Meaning of Global Reporting for Latin American Corporations

Although the ethical judgment of consumers in the United States and other industrialized countries has received considerable attention, consumer ethics in Asian-market settings have seldom been explored. The purchase and making of counterfeit products are considered common, but disreputable, attributes of Southeast Asian consumers. According to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia ranks third among the leading countries of counterfeit items in Asia. Retail revenue losses attributed to counterfeiting amounted to US $183 million in 2004. Therefore, elucidating the ethical perspectives of Indonesian consumers is an effective means of clarifying an important cultural influence on consumer behavior. This exploratory study of 230 Indonesians has many meaningful findings. First, certain personal attitudes apparently affect the ethical judgments of Indonesian consumers. Second, Indonesian consumers who exhibited high ethical concern over actively benefiting from illegal actions had high levels of materialism and idealism, as well as low levels of relativism. Third, materialism, idealism, and relativism significantly influenced whether benefits were created from actively engaging in some questionable activities (DELEGAL). Analytical results indicated that Indonesians with high materialism and relativism were more likely to engage in actions that were questionable but legal. Finally, consumer ethics were compared by applying demographic variables such as gender, age, education, religion, and occupation, indicating that all variables significantly varied except for religion.