CSR reporting has been a remarkable success story so far. Even the big beasts of the jungle, like ExxonMobil and Wal-Mart are now getting involved. The GRI G3 will attempt to raise the bar and try to put disclosure on a strictly comparable and benchmarkable basis.
With the launch of GRI’s G3 reporting guidelines imminent, the future of CSR reporting is firmly in the spotlight. In reality, CSR reporting has been a remarkable success story so far. The volume of knowledge about companies has been totally transformed. Think back to what was generally available 10 to 15 years ago. The only real source was in the small print of companies’ annual reports, very much through the prism of financial information and some ‘soft focus’ community contribution reports. Even the big beasts of the jungle, like ExxonMobil and Wal-Mart, which swore they would have no truck with all this accountability nonsense, are now gettting involved. Virtually every major corporation reports something, and all this was achieved without any legislative requirements.
Is the time now right to raise the bar and try to put this disclosure on a strictly comparable and benchmarkable basis? That’s what GRI G3 will attempt to do, with strict definitions for claiming ‘in accordance’ status, data entry through an online portal using the precisely-required indicators, more protocols to get consistency of measurement, sector supplements for more meaningful comparisons and charging fees to participate.
In effect, GRI is transforming itself from a good practice guideline into a standard you must meet. As the difficulty of reporting to the required standard grows and in the absence of any statutory obligation, the danger is that the number of companies participating will drop off. Achieving quality at the expense of quantity is a zero sum game and hardly represents progress. Looking ahead, those needing a standard may well switch to the more recognised ISO, or in the UK, the BS standards, with the added bonus that these relate to management and by implication directly to substantive performance, rather than good public presentation alone. A moment of truth for voluntary CSR reporting is looming large.
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