Victoria Whitaker, Network Manager, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Focal Point Australia. Presented at United Nations Association of Australia (Vic) Australia at Rio+20

1. A global policy
framework on
sustainability
reporting:
Report or Explain
Victoria Whitaker
GRI Australia

2. How do we manage a transition to a green
and sustainable economy?
• By making information on
• environmental
• social
• economic
pillars widely available
• This happens through sustainability
reporting

3. • Around 5000 reporting companies worldwide
• 95% of Global Fortune 250 companies release sustainability information
data up from around 80 percent in 2008 and 50 percent in 2005.
• 82.000 Transnational Companies and 45.000 Listed Companies - the
majority does not yet report
• Report or Explain approach to sustainability reporting policy is needed

4. Report
All large companies – listed,
private, and public – should
disclose their sustainability
performance, or explain why
they don’t.

5. GRI’s partners - I
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Coalition
Led by Aviva Investors, the coalition - convened for the
Rio+20 Conference – calls on United Nations member
states to commit to develop a global policy framework that
requires listed and large private companies to integrate
sustainability information throughout their annual report
and accounts – or explain why if they do not do so.
Aviva plc Delta Lloyd Asset Management Rabobank Pensionfund
Aviva Investors EIRIS Sparinvest Group
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Environment Agency Active Pension Fund Stakeholder Forum
BT Pension Scheme Management Limited Ethos Foundation The Co-operative Asset Management
CA Cheuvreux FRR Fonds de réserve pour les Retraites Traidcraft
Carbon Disclosure Project FTSE Trillium Asset Management, LLC
Calvert Investment Generation Investment Management Triodos Investment Management B.V.
Ceres Global Reporting Initiative UN Global Compact
Church of Sweden Hermes University of St Andrews Endowment Fund
Climate Change Capital Illac Ltd Via Gutenberg
Colonial First State Global Asset Management MN-Services Vigeo
CorporateRegister.com Limited Numaï Partners VIP eV
Cyrte Investments PaxWorld Management LLC WWF-UK

6. GRI’s partners - II
Green Economy Coalition (GEC)
A multi-stakeholder coalition whose vision is ‘A
resilient economy that provides a better quality of life
for all within the ecological limits of the planet’. The
coalition’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a
new green economy.
www.greeneconomycoalition.org

7. The future we want – Zero Draft, Para. 24
• Zero draft version (version 10 Jan 2012):
We call for a global policy framework requiring all listed and large private
companies to consider sustainability issues and to integrate sustainability
information within the reporting cycle.
• Proposed text:
We call for [commit to develop] a global policy framework requiring all
listed and large private companies to consider sustainability issues and to
integrate sustainability information within the reporting cycle [or explain
why if they do not].

8. What a report or explain principle?
• It can be introduced in several ways:
• smart ‘soft’ regulation
• mandatory measures
• or stock exchanges listing requirements.
• Companies retain the choice of reporting
frameworks and indicators, and even whether to
report. Therefore, it can be voluntary!

9. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
February 16, 2012, New York:
“Let us work together to
forge a global policy
framework for companies
publicly disclosing
information on
sustainability performance
– and explaining why if
companies do not.”

10. Thank you
Victoria Whitaker
GRI Australia
whitaker@globalreporting.org
UNAA Melbourne, 16 May 2012