Background

Company boards, executives, and management are investing more and more time and resources on issues of sustainability - such as carbon (green­house gas emissions), energy efficient technology, water use, cleantech, and biodiversity, to name just a few. An import­ant part of the global push towards sustainability practices involves a need to account for, and report on, sustainability  sometimes referred to as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.

On this page, we maintain a history of developments in sustainability reporting requirements and practices, tracking its gradual adoption on both a voluntary and mandatory basis.  

Organisations involved in sustainability reporting

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) promotes the use of sustainability reporting as a way for organisations to become more sustainable and contribute to a sustainable global economy. It is an international not-for-profit organisation, with a network-based structure.

GRI’s mission is to make sustainability reporting standard practice. To enable all companies and organizations to report their economic, environmental, social and governance performance, GRI produces free Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

We have a dedicated page for the GRI.

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is a global partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the financial sector. Over 190 institutions, including banks, insurers and fund managers, work with UNEP to understand the impacts of environmental and social considerations on financial performance. Through its Climate Change Working Group (CCWG), UNEP FI identifies the roles of the finance sector in addressing climate change, and advances the integration of climate change factors - both risks and opportunities - into financial decision-making. This is done through a work programme encompassing research, training, events and regional activities.

The UNEP FI website can be accessed at www.unepfi.org.

Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB)

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) was founded at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in 2007. CDSB is a consortium of global business and environmental organisations, including CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), CERES, The Climate Group, The Climate Registry (TCR), The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), World Council for Business and Sustainable Development (WCBSD), World Economic Forum (WEF) and World Resources Institute (WRI).

CDSB stated mission is to "promote and advance climate change-related disclosure in mainstream reports through the development of a global framework for corporate reporting on climate change".

CDSB produces a climate change reporting reporting framework ('CDSB Framework'). Initially focused on risks and opportunities that climate change presents to an organisation's strategy, financial performance and condition, the framework is currently being expanded to included to encompass other types of environmental information related to climate change, in particular information about water and forest risk commodities.

We have a dedicated page for the CDSB.