Business sustainability initiatives of organizations is positioning to take a greater space in reporting, as the global sustainability Standard Board, is poised to amend some standard provisions, 303 and 403.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) recently announced that its independent Standard-setting body, the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), has commenced a 60-day public consultation period for draft revisions to GRI Standards 303, for Water and 403, comprising Occupational Health and Safety.
For the three months’ review period, which commenced on August 10th, 2017, to end on 9th October, 2017, GRI calls for feedback and input on the revised Standards from all business sustainability stakeholders.
Business sustainability is often defined as managing the triple bottom line, a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet.
A statement signed by Senior Coordinator, GRI Africa, Ms. Tendai Matika and made available to Daily Times Nigeria, the two Standards to be reviewed by GSSB are the first of the GRI Standards to be updated according the GSSB’s formal due process. “As such, each existing Standard has been assessed and revised by an expert multi-stakeholder Project Working Group to reflect global best practice in sustainability reporting” Matika said.
According to the statement from GRI, expected changes to the draft Standards include, updated reporting requirements, recommendations and guidance in both Standards.
It also include, additional topic-specific management approach requirements in both Standards as well as alignment of both Standards with related key international instruments.
The expected new content in GRI 303 standard to enhance effective work place and boost business sustainability , include Water and Effluents covering discharges, level of treatment, and water consumption, along with emphasis on impacts in water-stressed areas and the supply chain
“New content in GRI 403: OHS, including a greater emphasis on hazards and the application of the hierarchy of controls, improved methodologies for calculating injury and illness data, and new leading indicators on the extent to which workers are covered by management systems and have access to occupational health services.”
According to GRI, both updates are intended to improve corporate transparency ,standardizing and clarifying reporting requirements and data reported about water and occupational health and safety.
They aim is also to further improve the common global language organizations use to communicate about their impacts on these areas.
Now that the draft standards have been proposed, the GSSB wants to hear from you. Would you suggest changes to the proposed disclosures and reporting requirements? Will they be feasible and practical to implement? Will the data they produce be useful to you and the wide range of stakeholders?
To find out more about the proposed changes to the standards, stakeholders were urged to participate in GRI’s live webinars, scheduled on 16 August and 26 September, 2017, and provide all feedback through its online public consultation platform.
Bonny Amadi
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