Corporate responsibility and sustainability tools - reporting and indexing
Reporting/indexing tools in corporate responsibility and sustainability are a critical element to the uptake of responsible business practice. Confusion and ‘survey fatigue’ often characterise this landscape (especially for small to medium enterprises).
Three leading players (nationally and internationally) in reporting and indexing include the Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI), the SAM Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Each share a common purpose – to advance the uptake and improvement in responsible sustainable business practices, and each with a complementary function: management and benchmarking framework (CRI), investment tool (AuSSI), and internationally recognised reporting methodology (GRI).
Each has an Australian base and is linked in to an international body, ensuring a global approach to corporate responsibility.
What can be done collectively to further the common purpose? By advancing discussions amongst these three key players in the Australian context can the reporting burden borne by business (from SME to corporate) be rationalised/ harmonised and further participation encouraged?
As part of the nationally funded Responsible Business Practice project, St James Ethics Centre will facilitate discussion in order to bring about greater harmonisation.