Event - GRI Global Conference 2016

The fifth GRI Global Conference will take place on May 18 - 20, 2016 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Up to 1,500 sustainability leaders from around the globe will be present to exchange leading-edge knowledge on best practices, innovations and trends that are empowering sustainable decisions and changing the world. GRI is  the globally accepted standard for enabling business, governments and other organizations to understand and communicate their impacts on critical sustainability issues.

New GRI Sustainability Reporting Tools and Resources

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a leader in sustainability reporting and they continue to provide resources to help companies to track their performance. GRI's latest contribution is another helpful installment in this rapidly growing field. This fast moving and increasingly complex realm has seen the proliferation of a number of tools and resources to help companies rise to the challenge.

Comprehensive Summary of Sustainability Reporting Guidance

This summary is designed to provide guidance for businesses seeking to navigate the complicated landscape of sustainability reporting. There are a number of different ways to approach sustainability reporting and this has led to considerable confusion.

While it is generally accepting that sustainability reporting has a number of benefits, businesses can have a difficult time understanding the differences between approaches and deciding which system is best for their organization. One of the most important trends involves integrated reporting and specifically the 4D approach.

The Future of Integrated Sustainability Reporting

Integrated reporting helps to cut through the complicated morass of sustainability metrics. This effort helps tor provide greater consensus regarding the understanding of issues like materiality, transparency and comparability. In 2014 and into 2015 we have seen the proliferation of sustainability reporting that incorporates both environmental, financial and other elements.

While the benefits of sustainability reporting have been widely document there is a need for more comprehensive and integrated sustainability reporting. This is revealed in a number of surveys which show that there is a lack of shared understanding. As reported in Responsible Investor Magazine, a 2013 survey indicated that CEO's see many barriers to implementing ESG issues.

Sustainability Reporting: New GRI G4 Guidelines, SASB, AECOM's Engagement Efforts (Video replay of 3BL Media Webinar)

Here is a recap of a 3BL Media webinar on sustainability reporting. This video features the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and AECOM. It includes a discussion of the new G4 guidelines, an exam for sustainability accounting certification and tricks of the trade for corporate communicators.

Click here to read about some of the benefits of sustainability reporting.

Sustainability Reporting to Minimize Negative Impacts and Increase Positive Benefits

Sustainability reporting is an all encompassing tool to help create value. Reporting is an integral part of being accountable for the broad range of social, environmental and economic impacts that permeate business activities.

Sustainability reporting not only reviews progress it also identifies opportunities for improvement. Being truly accountable cannot be achieved in the absence of honest reporting. Whether this is about reducing carbon emissions or water usage, reporting is a critical part of assessing progress. Such reporting is also a crucial part of laying out and refining strategies.

Allstate is a Leader in Environmental Social and Governance Disclosures

When it comes to environmental and social disclosures in the insurance industry Allstate is a leader. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures (sometimes called goodwill or reputation), include everything from climate change to gender diversity. ESG disclosures are commonly part of corporate sustainability reporting.

A growing number of investors focus on key corporate ESG metrics to make more informed investment and business decisions. Stakeholders are increasingly demanding ESG metrics in 2015.

Webinar - New Waste Management Reporting System

This new downloadable webinar from Enviance provides insights into some of the new realities associated with waste management.

Rebecca Roberts, Associate Environmental Specialist in the Environmental Affairs Dept. at Eversource, will discuss how Eversource (formerly NE Utilities) went from tracking oil spill and PCB data on many different spreadsheets to consolidating all of their environmental data into one ISO 14001 based compliance and sustainability reporting system.

Oftentimes it can be a challenge for users to adopt a new software system but that was not the case for this reporting system.

Online Course - Introduction to Sustainability Reporting

This course is an introduction for people who are thinking about getting into sustainability reporting and want to learn why it’s important. Participants will gain key tips for drafting their first sustainability report. This course is taught in 6 sections, each with its own video, notes, activities and list of follow-up resources. Intro to Reporting is designed to be an introduction for people who are thinking about getting into sustainability reporting, want to get a taste of why it’s an important practice, or hope to simply gain understanding of trends in the industry.

Webinar - Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4: Time to Make The Switch

This free webinar will take place on Tuesday March 10, 2015. Sustainability Reporting to GRI G4, is aimed at helping organizations to succeed in developing winning sustainability strategies. Key to an integrated and effective organizational strategy is a clear sustainability story – this is central to business in 2015.

Organizations are advised strongly that they have until December 2015 to make the switch to GRI G4. This webinar gives organizations the guidance on what GRI G4 is and how to apply it. It is a taster session to support organizations as they prepare to report. GRI G4 is a robust framework and this webinar will help you to get started.

Video - Solar Schools Crowdsourcing Community Initiative

The Solar Schools project is putting clean energy in classrooms all over the country. This project gets students and the wider community involved in an effort to support renewable energy and reduce school utility bills. Solar Schools is run by 10:10, a charity that brings people together to help tackle climate change.

For more information on the Solar Schools initiative click here.

Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 200 articles covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, student's eco-initiatives, green school buildings, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Meaningfull Change to Make CR Reporting Pay: Inverviews with with VPs from Nestlé, Unilever and Pirelli

In these interviews from Ethical Corp you will see the views of VPs from Nestlé, Unilever and Pirelli on how to drive meaningful change and make CR reporting pay off. Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Vice President, Global External Affairs, Unilever and Filippo Bettini Head of Group Sustainability & Risk Governance, Pirelli SPA and Hilary Parsons Director Public Affairs, Nestlé share their ideas and thoughts in the interviews

You will hear:

Event - Conference of the Reporting 3.0 Platform: The Future of Sustainability Reporting

This second annual Conference of the Reporting 3.0 Platform will take place on October 6 and 7, 2014 in Berlin. It is subtitled, Reporting at the crossroads – ensuring purpose, practicability, performance. The International Multi-Stakeholder Platform for the “Future of Sustainability Reporting” will work in collaboration with organizations and participants, to support nations, cities and companies to manifest their contribution towards a sustainable future with tangible lasting results. To realize this goal, the existing reporting practice needs to be transformed. The Reporting 3.0 Platform delivers newly evolved approaches and ideas.

Event - CR Reporting and Communications Summit 2014

The 8th annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit 2014 will take place on November 13 - 14, 2014 in London. This Summit is This is Europe's only reporting and communications meeting place for sustainability professionals. Europe's leading meeting place to find out where sustainability leaders and innovators are headed around their CR reporting and comms strategy. The event will cover 4 themes, 9 industries, 20+ speakers. More than 150 senior decision makers will be present and there will be many industries to network with  (including leading reporters and comms specialists from telecoms & media, banking, chemicals & manufacturing, oil & gas, retail, consumer goods, energy, ICT, real estate & construction so you can get more value out of cross-sector networking).

Course - GRI Certification on G4 Reporting Framework in New Delhi and Bangalor

Insight Associates, announces a 2 day GRI certified training course on G4 Reporting Framework.
The certified course will cover diverse aspects of sustainability reporting including leading practices, interactive case studies, discussions and challenges related to sustainability reporting.  The training course has been designed based on global methodologies adapted to Indian needs.

Amplifyd: A Unique Crowdsourced Lobbying Platform

The Amplifyd crowdsourced lobbying platform was launched on June 10th. It supports several campaigns including those focused on environmental themes. Amplifyd is a social activism startup based in Berkeley, California that allows people to influence public policy. Their platform is the world's first technology-driven lobbying solution.

Amplfyd works by giving supporters the opportunity to purchase lobbying calls to elected officials while financially supporting the nonprofit at the same time. People can also generate income by becoming a caller.

White Paper - The CFO and Sustainability Reporting Chain

As requests for sustainability data increase, the sustainability reporting chain becomes more complex.

Understanding how to streamline your sustainability reporting chain is essential for keeping pace with these new demands.

New Social Activism Crowdsourcing Platform

Social activism can change the world and a new concept is being launched shortly that will help give people more power and influence over their governments. This new social activism is called Amplifyd, it is a crowdsourced lobbying platform where people can support causes in their community and in return get a personal representative that will call and lobby their elected officials on their behalf.

Event - Mastering Materiality: Getting the Most Value out of a Materiality Process (Panel Discussion)

This event will take place on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 1:30pm - 4:00pm PDT / Streamed Panel Discussion 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm PDT / 5:00pm - 6:30pm EDT. Meeting in San Francisco.

As stakeholders increasingly request more information and transparency on environmental, social and governance issues, companies are strengthening their non-financial reporting processes by leveraging materiality analyses in an effort to disclose only the most material, or relevant, issues to their business and stakeholders.

Additionally, several leading reporting standards (SASB, GRI, IIRC) have come out with frameworks that provide a platform for sustainability reporting and how to leverage the strategic benefits of materiality. Companies are faced with the challenge of understanding these different guidelines and determining how best to apply them.

Event - AIEA Conference 2013

The AIEA Conference 2013 will take place on the 28th and 29th of November 2013 in Perth Western Australia. Environment Accounting (EA) is separate from financial accounting. EA is an emerging discipline that involves the practice of accounting for all the contributing factors that result in an impact on the environment. EA has a growing body of knowledge and a small number of qualified practitioners who face many challenges in improving the quality of techniques and technologies supporting this new discipline. EA is necessary to provide veracity & confidence in environmental reports and spans all levels of reporting – Statutory and voluntary, Corporate and Government.