This module explains skills and information needed to identify sustainable work practices, analyse their operation against indicators and improvements, and prepare reports documenting the workplace sustainability practices evaluation.
Individuals responsible for a specific work area or who head a workgroup or team need to understand and apply sustainability principles. These people look at processes to find sustainable work practices and compare them to worldwide sustainability frameworks.
In this module, ‘sustainability' refers to a wide strategy that focuses on reducing an organisation's social, economic, and environmental impact while creating proactive value in these areas. The following three chapters will provide information on the following areas:
Before we dive into this module, let us just have a quick overview on some specific topics and information:
Overview
What is a Workplace?
A workplace, also known as a place of employment, is where employees do activities, jobs, and projects on behalf of their employer. Mobile workplaces exist, and some employees may work in different locations on different days. A relatively new form of the workplace has emerged: the virtual office, which allows employees to work from any location.
The environment in which employees work is determined by their work and the industry in which they work. Some examples of workplaces include:
Office
An office is a common workplace type in which a company's workers operate from a single location. A full complex, an individual building, a floor in a shared building, or a piece of a co-working unit can serve as a company's office. Co-working spaces are a good solution for small businesses that need to concentrate on their business, workers, and customers rather than their workspace.
Farm or Natural Setting
Farmers, environmental scientists, park rangers, construction workers, law enforcement officials, and electricians are among the individuals who may work outside. Each of these jobs has a different work environment.
Manufacturing or Distribution Facility
Many industries, including food, apparel, electronics, and automobiles, employ workers to work in factories or distribution centres. They might be in close proximity to the company's headquarters or at other locations. Factory employees make the final product on the production line. Employees at distribution centres receive and sort items for delivery to shops or customers.
Home Office
Allowing workers to work remotely can assist businesses that do not require personnel to execute duties in a centralised location. Employees are given the necessary software, equipment, and training to operate remotely. Some employees set up a room in their house with a desk and computer to conduct their business. Businesses may provide remote employees with flexible work schedules or establish hours when everyone must be online.
Store
Employees at retail outlets, such as apparel stores, restaurants, petrol stations, and supermarkets, typically work indoors. Customers frequently engage with store staff. Depending on the sector and regional demands, stores vary in size and location.
What is Workplace Sustainability?
A sustainable workplace has set the objective of balancing the earth, people, and profit in order to achieve long-term success and viability. This implies that if a company fails to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its most valuable asset—its employees—it will be considered unsustainable. Employees are happier and motivated in a sustainable and healthy workplace, which leads to increased productivity and fewer work-related dangers, illnesses, and mishaps. This is critical for increasing the organisation's total income and reputation.
Merits of Sustainability in the Workplace
The commercial case for sustainable workplace practices is unmistakable. Reduced operational expenses, improved energy and supply chain flexibility, additional tax savings and government subsidies are some of the significant advantages.
Other important advantages of a sustainable workplace include:
- Going green helps minimise pollution in the air, water, and soil. It will also cut corporations' carbon footprints, which will positively influence global warming.
- Employees' health and well-being improves, contributing to a good mental fitness level and increased productivity at work.
- Going green gains companies the most valuable commodity: their customers' confidence.
What is the Workplace Environment?
The factors that make up the work environment and influence employees are called the workplace environment. Some aspects are physical such as the rooms and equipment used, while others are less obvious, such as corporate politics or a coworker with personality traits incompatible with the company culture. Because both full-time and part-time professionals must execute their tasks inside it, their office environment greatly influences them. Workers are usually forced to adjust to this workplace aspect.
Positive Work Environment Characteristics
The following qualities are all part of a positive work environment:
- It encourages all employees to maintain a good work-life balance.
- Productive employees are rewarded.
- It promotes a culture where employees may learn from their failures.
- It encourages workers' individualism and fosters different working methods.
- Employee contributions are recognised through work benefits and opportunities for advancement.
- It encourages employees to participate in corporate operations.
- Employee participation in decision-making is encouraged; for example, through peer interviewing.
- Individuals are held accountable for their job.
- It is designed to promote staff collaboration.
- It encourages employees to participate in corporate operations.
- Managers favour democratic or situational leadership approaches.
- It helps teams by encouraging staff members to collaborate.
- Managers and subordinates are encouraged to give each other feedback.
- It is set up to recognise and address unfavourable workplace politics that stifle productivity.
watch
Next, watch these short videos explaining characteristics of a positive work environment and what this looks like.
The Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), Australia's national environment law, makes it illegal for anyone to take action that is likely to significantly impact matters protected by the Act unless the Australian environment minister has given their approval. Protected concerns include environmental issues of national importance and any Commonwealth land.
The EPBC Act protects the following eight subjects of national environmental significance:
- World Heritage Sites
- Acts with nuclear weapons (including uranium mines)
- Endangered species and ecological communities are listed on the endangered species and ecological communities list.
- Internationally significant wetlands (listed under the Ramsar Convention)
- International treaties that preserve migratory species
- Maritime areas of the Commonwealth
- The Marine Park of the Great Barrier Reef
- National historic sites
Every company has a responsibility to ensure that its workers, as well as those who apply for jobs with them, are treated properly.
Anti-discrimination regulations at the federal and state levels, as well as the Fair Work Act of 2009, establish this obligation (Cth).
When taken collectively, they make it illegal to engage in certain types of workplace behaviour.
Employers must protect their employees from workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
Watch
The next videos explain the Environment and Biodiversity Protection Act.
What Is the Definition of Illegal Discrimination?
When a person or a group of individuals is treated unfairly because of their history or specific personal qualities, discrimination occurs.
Federal anti-discrimination laws prohibit persons from being discriminated against because of:
The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) safeguards persons from being discriminated against in the workplace because of their religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic background, medical history, criminal record, or trade union involvement.
Discrimination can occur at any time throughout an employee-employer relationship, including:
WATCH
The following youtube videos help to explain in context workplace discrimination.
What is Harassment?
It is illegal to treat a person less favourably on the basis of protected characteristics such as a person's sex, race, handicap, or age, according to discrimination legislation. Harassing or bullying someone is an example of treating them unfairly. There are further clauses in the statute that deal with sexual harassment, racial hate, and disability harassment.
Harassment can take several forms, including:
Employers, co-workers, and other "workplace participants," such as partners, commission agents, and contract employees, are all prohibited from harassing one other in the workplace under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984. Sexual harassment is widely described as unwanted sexual behaviour that a reasonable person would expect to insult, embarrass, or intimidate the harassed individual.
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 forbids workplace harassment based on or related to a person's or an associate's disability.
The Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 outlaws racial hatred-based objectionable behaviour. Racial hate is described as behaviour that offends, degrades, or humiliates a person or group of people based on their race, colour, national or ethnic origin in public.
Employers or supervisors must respond immediately and effectively to all occurrences of harassment, regardless of how major or minor the event is or who is involved. If problems go unresolved, a hostile working atmosphere can emerge, exposing employers to more complaints.
WATCH
Next, watch the next videos explaining workplace harassment.
Bullying in the Workplace
Workplace bullying is defined under the Fair Work Amendment Act 2013 as "continued inappropriate behaviour by a person against a worker that causes a danger to health and safety."
Bullying may take many forms, from overt verbal and physical violence to covert psychological abuse. It might take the form of physical or verbal abuse.
- shouting, screaming, or using derogatory language
- isolating or excluding employees
- psychological harassment
- intimidation
- giving pointless activities not relevant to the work or position
- putting employees in difficult situations
- changing work schedules on purpose to annoy specific workers
- purposely harming job performance by withholding information necessary for effective work performance
Watch
The next videos explaining workplace bullying and what this looks like.
Meet Obligations
Every employee has the right to work in an atmosphere free of harassment, discrimination, and violence. Employers must be aware of their obligations in ensuring a sexually or racially hostile working environment or workplace culture is avoided. Employers should create and execute specific policies and procedures to address improper workplace behaviour and properly resolve any complaints.
Employers should also be proactive in dealing with hostile behaviour that may be ingrained in the culture of the company. Where racially or sexually vulgar comments, innuendo, or inappropriate jokes are part of the accepted culture, this is an example of a potentially hostile working environment. Even if the conduct in question was not particularly targeted at him or her, an employee might file a harassment complaint.
Employers and workers are expected to comply with any measures that enhance health and safety in the workplace under occupational health and safety regulations. As a result of this responsibility, companies must eliminate or limit the dangers of workplace bullying to employees' health and safety.
Emissions and Transfer Reports
The NPI refers to National Pollutant Inventory. The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) offers free information regarding substance emissions in Australia to the public, businesses, and government. It contains emission estimates for 93 dangerous compounds and information based on their source and location. The NPI receives yearly reports from around 4000 establishments across various industries. The NPI requires most facilities to report data by September 30 each year.
What Method Is Used to Calculate Emissions?
If a facility is required to file a report, they must estimate NPI substance emissions to the air, land, and water. They can use industry reporting documents to help estimate emissions. Industry reporting materials are resources that give industrial facilities information or direction on the data they need to submit to the NPI. These documents provide data that may be used to calculate emissions and transfers.
Materials have been created for each industry type and recognised using the ANZSIC code reported to the NPI.
Is It Necessary to Report?
The first step is to determine whether or not the facility is required to report to the NPI. Industry establishments that exceed the NPI reporting threshold should contact the NPI for assistance.
The NPI is only notified about chemicals that surpass a reporting threshold. Companies can use the NPI Guide to determine if they should report emissions and transfer chemicals in waste to the NPI. The NPI Guide walks companies through the reporting procedure step by step.
How to Determine How Much to Transfer
If a facility is required to record NPI substance transfers in waste, they must estimate the amount of NPI substances present in the waste. Using the transfers information pamphlet or the industry's EET manual to figure out how to estimate transfers is necessary in this regard.
What are Transfers?
NPI chemicals are moved on or off-site during transfers. If NPI compounds are transported in waste streams, establishments are required to notify the transfer to the following:
- landfill
- tailings storage facility
- underground injection, or
- another long-term purpose-built waste storage structure
- a destination for destruction
- an off-site sewerage system, or
- an off-site treatment facility which leads solely to one or more of the above.
These locations are referred to as 'final destinations' for convenience. NPI compounds in waste streams are moved to a destination for:
Industry can educate the public about cleaner production or pollution control strategies to reduce their environmental effect by reporting a transfer to a voluntary reporting transfer destination.
Examples
Australian and International Standards for Corporate Social Sustainability
Currently, a number of Australian regulations oblige companies to adhere to human rights norms. While these laws may not often use the language of human rights, the standards they impose are founded on human rights. Here are several examples:
- Discrimination and harassment in the workplace are prohibited by law, and there are rules requiring businesses to give equal employment opportunities. The rights to equality and non-discrimination are enshrined in several international treaties, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- Laws that govern working conditions. Occupational health and safety, terms and conditions of work, minimum wage, collective bargaining, and the ban on child and forced labour are only a few examples. These laws include a wide spectrum of labour rights outlined in the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) numerous instruments and significant international human rights treaties.
- Native Title Laws are laws that govern the ownership of land by indigenous people. Economic, social, and cultural rights, including property rights, are addressed by such laws outlined in international treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
- Under certain laws, corporations can be held liable for specific activities that affect human rights, such as bribery of foreign authorities or involvement in war crimes or crimes against humanity. These laws are based on norms found in a variety of international documents.
There is a larger spectrum of human rights relevant to business action and the human rights criteria that Australian firms are legally required to comply with under domestic legislation. Depending on the precise operations performed by a corporation, these may include:
- The right to think, feel, and worship as one wishes.
- Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right.
- The right to personal liberty and security.
- The right to a decent standard of life (which includes enough food, water, housing, and clothes) and other economic, social, and cultural rights.
- Indigenous peoples' rights.
Many Australian firms’ CSR plans include human rights requirements that must be met under Australian law. Some Australian businesses go above and above the legal obligations of their own country to join in voluntary CSR and human rights projects such as the United Nations Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative.
What Is Corporate Social Sustainability?
A new corporate management paradigm is described as "corporate sustainability." It may also be classified as "environmental, social governance" in a broader sense (ESG).
Corporate sustainability stresses growth and profitability in three sectors of society through deliberate corporate operations. The objective is to offer long-term benefits to stakeholders while not putting people, the environment, or the economy at risk.
There Are 3 Pillars of Corporate Social Sustainability
The Social Pillar
The social pillar is concerned with a company's desire to gain acceptance from its stakeholders, workers, and the local community. A corporation's commitment to take care of people both within and outside the organisation is key to its long-term viability. Eliminating child labour, providing paternity and maternity leave, and giving back to the community are examples of social pillar practises.
The Environmental Pillar
The environmental pillar of corporate sustainability is frequently the most discussed. It outlines the different steps businesses may take to decrease their carbon footprint and environmental effect. Reducing packaging waste, conserving water, recycling materials, and utilising renewable energy sources are just a few examples.
The Economic Pillar
Implementing sustainable business practices to enhance long-term profitability is part of the economic pillar. Compliance and strong corporate governance are two elements of the economic pillar. In other words, stakeholders and management's values must be in sync in resource allocation. The economic pillar enables a company's capacity to develop and invest in innovative corporate sustainability approaches. However, no single pillar should take precedence over the others. Otherwise, organisations risk being found taking shortcuts and increasing revenues in an unethical manner.
Corporate Social Responsibility vs Corporate Social Sustainability
Similarities
Both CSR and corporate sustainability are concerned with assisting businesses in operating in a way that allows them to be conduct business in a moral way while never harming others. CSR and corporate sustainability both assist businesses in having a positive influence. These two ideas are inextricably linked as corporate sustainability is a component of corporate social responsibility. There are, nevertheless, some significant distinctions between them.
Difference Between CSR and CSS
| CRS | CSS |
|---|---|
| CSR frequently looks back and considers what a firm has done to benefit society. | Corporate sustainability considers the future and establishes a long-term plan. |
| CSR projects frequently target opinion formers as their goal (e.g., media, politicians, and pressure groups). | The whole value chain is considered when considering corporate sustainability (i.e., everyone from end-consumers to stakeholders). |
| CSR activities are motivated and driven by the need to safeguard a company's reputation. | The focus for business sustainability is on developing new possibilities for emerging markets. |
Watch
The following youtube clips help to explain the concept of CSR and what it means in context of Business Sustainability.
What is the Sustainability Report?
Sustainability reporting is the disclosure and communication of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and a company's progress towards them. Improved business reputation, customer confidence, increased innovation, and better risk management are all advantages of sustainability reporting. Sustainability reporting may be included in corporate social responsibility initiatives in various ways, including using established sustainability reporting frameworks.
Sustainability Reporting Advantages:
- Long-term management strategy, policy, and company strategies are positively influenced;
- Aids businesses in avoiding high-profile environmental, social, and governance disasters;
- The importance of the relationship between financial and non-financial success is emphasised.
- Processes are streamlined, thus lowering costs, and increasing efficiency.
- Increases awareness of threats and opportunities;
- Measures and evaluates sustainability performance against laws, norms, regulations, performance standards, and voluntary efforts.
- Allows for internal as well as cross-organisational and cross-sector performance comparisons.
External Advantages include:
- Demonstrating how the organisation influences expectations about sustainable development’s impact.
- Reputation and brand loyalty are improved by mitigating negative environmental, social, and governance repercussions.
- Enabling external stakeholders to comprehend the full worth of the organisation's tangible and intangible assets.
Watch
The next video is explaining the ESG Reporting and how it works.
The next video is some examples from IKEA explaining their Sustainability Reporting.
The next video is another example on how to write the report using global sports brand Nike as the example.
What Opportunities Does Reporting Make for Companies?
To be sustainable today — and hence more lucrative in the long run — companies must begin by reporting their actions.
Make the company's strategy clear
When creating a sustainability report, companies determine the impact of their activities, make them public, and visualise what to keep or redirect in the company's present plan to move towards more sustainable development. For example, if a firm is negatively impacting the surrounding communities through its actions as documented in a report, it can bring about changes to the business plan in order to behave in a more environmentally friendly and responsible manner.
Long-term profitability is the goal
Companies that publicly disclose their environmental, social, and governance policies have more sustainable operations, greater profitability, and increased market value over time. Furthermore, environmental, social, and governance features have become highly valued factors by investors, and they have a direct impact on the organisation's future financial health.
More efficiently manage risk
Disclosing sustainability activities entails completing the internal task of identifying and categorising all of the company's operations, allowing it to effectively prevent and manage sustainability-related risk factors. The company may also find business possibilities, solidify competitive advantages, and develop a valuable management tool via reporting. Furthermore, most businesses believe annual reports add value to their organisation and strategy.
Improve stakeholder communication
Companies have discovered in sustainability reports an ally to explain their management to their respective stakeholders, thus building trust and a more customised connection, as well as prospects for growth and development. Companies have connected transparently with collaborators, neighbours, suppliers, governmental institutions, NGOs, and customers using this application. Customers prefer to buy items from firms with a social or environmental mission.
Watch
Data has become the most significant instrument for analysing business sustainability. Businesses need data to become more sustainable, but how can they utilise data effectively and acquire reliable insights into their sustainability performance?
Organisations can assess aggregated data against business goals to determine the effectiveness of their plan execution by utilising key performance indicators (KPIs). Companies are also better equipped to analyse their data faster to keep it relevant, thanks to the growing pace of digital transformation, eliminating many time consuming manual procedures in enterprises.
Some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that companies are already employing to provide meaningful sustainability insights include:
Energy consumption
The most straightforward strategy to eliminate coal-generated energy is to reduce the amount of energy used. Businesses may examine how much energy their activities utilise and identify areas where they can use less energy, resulting in cost savings and less emissions from energy-producing facilities. The industrial internet of things (IIoT) may give useful information on production energy usage. Digital technologies are more than capable of monitoring how much energy is utilised in different locations and applications.
Rates of waste reduction and recycling
Businesses are adjusting to procurement and operations to stay competitive as customers become more aware of the recyclability and sourcing of product materials. Companies will benefit from monitoring their waste management to ensure that the creation of products is sustainable and that the products themselves fit into a circular economy to stay on track with market trends.
Miles in the supply chain
While a company's manufacturing may be the major source of emissions, it should also analyse its supply chain miles, offering additional opportunities for improvement. Alternatively-powered vehicles and transportation solutions provide suitable solutions for reducing emissions and waste in the logistics sector. Companies will need access to data surrounding their overall supply chain mileage and their transportation methods' effect to gain full insights into this aspect of their operations.
Carbon footprint
A company's carbon footprint is one of the most significant KPIs to track since it examines a larger variety of data from the firm and its suppliers and consumers. Organisations can analyse how the market presence of their products or services impacts climate change by assessing Scopes 1, 2 and 3.
Social repercussions
Businesses must be able to recollect facts about supplier treatment when it comes to sourcing and changing customer behaviour. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting may provide companies with a great deal of information about how their activities affect the community and the environment.
Watch
In the next video, you will hear from Christian Klein explaining why data is key to creating value from sustainability.
The Advantages of Establishing a Green and Sustainable Workplace
"Green Buildings include design, building, and operating techniques that considerably decrease or eliminate its negative impact on the environment and its inhabitants," according to the Green Building Council of Australia.The objective of the Green Building is to lower a building's overall environmental effect or ecological footprint during construction and during its lifetime by including 'built-in' sustainability.Green construction allows companies to save money while also providing a better environment for employees to work in. The following are some advantages of environmentally friendly construction:
- Damage to ecological systems and biodiversity is reduced.
- Reduces air pollution, soil, and water pollution throughout material sourcing and production, construction, and the building's life cycle.
- Energy, water, and resource use efficiency is increased.
- Waste, pollution, and environmental deterioration are all reduced by reducing the use of material resources.
- Uses natural light and responsive heating/cooling techniques to create high-quality, healthy, productive workplaces.
All of these may be related to the concepts of sustainable development that should be reflected in a green or sustainable building: environmental protection, economic development, and social development.
Watch
The next video is an explanation of the principles and benefits of a green office. As well some videos to explain how to make your office a green space and more sustainable.
Objectives of Sustainability Assessments
The purpose of sustainable assessment is to ensure economic progress, social equality and justice, and environmental conservation. Although these three variables can coexist, they are frequently found to be at odds with one another. Economic development for a higher quality of living has been a major contributor to environmental degradation. More resources are being used than ever before and damaging the Earth with waste products. Economic expansion will continue to be the foundation for human progress, but it must evolve to become less ecologically damaging. The challenge of sustainable development is to turn this knowledge into reality by switching from unsustainable to more sustainable behaviours.
The goal of sustainable assessment is to strike a balance between economic, environmental, and social demands, allowing for success in the present and in the future. Sustainable development is a long-term, integrated strategy to growing and attaining a healthy community by tackling economic, environmental, and social challenges together while avoiding excessive use of natural resources.
By progressively modifying the methods in which companies produce and utilise technology, sustainable assessment pushes them to protect and increase their resource base. Countries must be able to satisfy their fundamental employment, food, energy, water, and sanitation requirements. If this is to be done in a sustainable way, a sustainable population level is required. Economic growth should be encouraged to allow emerging countries to expand at the same rate as industrialised countries.
Pollution, poverty, substandard housing, and unemployment may all be reduced to attain this goal. To safeguard human and environmental health, global environmental risks such as climate change and poor air quality must be mitigated.
Nonrenewable resources, such as fossil fuels, cannot be abandoned overnight; rather, they must be utilised wisely, and the development of alternatives should be promoted to aid with their phase-out.
What sustainability reports should include:
- Environmental reports should include information on the company's positive and negative impact on the environment. This may be in the form of a carbon or water footprint. Each industry has its own set of guidelines regarding this.
- A social report should detail how a company contributes to society through its policies and procedures and any creative projects it may have. This may be done using language, statistics, and photos.
- A description of the company's financial performance (i.e., turnover or revenue) as well as any investments in new methods of carrying out its operations should be included in a financial report (such as R&D programs)
Format of the Report
Most reports are printed annually or quarterly and divided into five sections: management information, the environment and climate change, environmental performance review, listings of verifiable environmental claims and green initiatives, and declarations about environmental compliance.
Important Elements of Company Sustainability Reports
An organisation's annual or quarterly environmental report may be a strong instrument for improving its public image and encouraging workers, investors, customers, and communities to adopt more sustainable practices.
- Details on how to read the report, including what is in each category, should be given along with a glossary. Companies should also disclose any benchmarking or non-environmental assessments created by specialists who have previously worked for the company's supplier or rivals.
- The corporation may also provide information regarding the organisation's structure, including the divisions responsible for specific environmental tasks.
- Companies should highlight their workers' involvement in sustainability activities and provide instances of how they are training to be more environmentally conscious. Some personnel may be singled out by name, especially if they have received awards or other special recognition for their efforts.
- Information regarding the company's board of directors, including a list of all current members and their academic credentials, can also be supplied. They may also include a statement from a board member expressing their dedication to environmental problems.
- The report should be prepared in plain English so that investors and other stakeholders understand it. The executive summary should give readers a quick overview of the important topics of the study
- The report's body should be brief, with sections highlighting distinct elements. Each part may contain a brief introduction that sets the stage for the information given, such as how it ties to the company's sustainability goals or other environmental policies.
- Include a table of contents and references.
- Information should be presented in a way relevant to readers, including stakeholders such as investors and the communities in which the firm works. Presentation items, such as images or graphs, can also aid in making data more understandable and engaging.
Reporting Guidelines to Assist Sustainability Reporting Processes, Including the Global Reporting Guidelines
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), award systems, and rankings are all important factors in the quality of sustainability reports.
Reporting Guidelines and Principles
- The following are some guidelines for determining the substance of a report:
- Materiality, stakeholder inclusion, sustainable context, and completeness are all important factors to consider.
- The following are some guidelines for determining the quality of a report:
- Balance, comparability, correctness, timeliness, dependability, and clarity are all important factors to consider.
- Instructions on how to set the report's borders include the following:
- The "Reporting Boundary" feature allows reporting organisations to choose the range of entities that the report represents. The Reporting Principles give reporting organisations advice on how to shape the Report Boundaries.
Substance of a Report
The goal in establishing the report's content is to show the organisation's performance in a balanced and reasonable manner. The purpose and experience of the organisation, as well as the realistic expectations and interests of the organisation's stakeholders, should all be taken into account.
Below are the steps to follow when using the GRI Reporting Framework:
- Using the Principles of Materiality and Stakeholder Inclusion, Sustainability Context, and Report Boundaries, conduct an interactive process to identify the themes and related indicators that are relevant.
- Consider the relevance of all indicator characteristics mentioned in the GRI Guidelines and appropriate sector supplements when determining the themes.
- Using the tests specified for each Principle, determine which subjects and indicators are material from the set of relevant topics and indicators.
- Prioritise selected subjects and decide which will be addressed using the Principles.
- The methodologies or processes for determining materiality should include—
- Each organisation being differentiated.
- Guidance by the GRI Reporting Guidelines and Tests
Materiality
Materiality refers to subjects and indicators in a report that represent the organisation's major economic, environmental, and social implications, or that would have a significant impact on stakeholders' judgments and decisions.
Materiality in sustainability reporting is not restricted to sustainability concerns with a major financial impact on the company. It also takes into account economic, environmental, and social factors that have a significant influence on the ability to satisfy current requirements without jeopardising future generations' needs.
Stakeholder Inclusiveness
Stakeholder inclusion requires the reporting organisation to identify its stakeholders and explain how it has reacted to their reasonable expectations and interests in its report. Stakeholders can include both internal (e.g., workers, stockholders, and suppliers) and external (e.g., customers).
Because an organisation's stakeholders are dispersed and their expectations and interests may differ, stakeholder engagement techniques may be used to understand stakeholders' realistic expectations and interests. Different sorts of stakeholder engagement are commonly initiated as part of an organisation's routine operations, and they can give helpful insights for reporting choices.
Organisations are required by GRI advice to document their stakeholder engagement practises. As a result, the report's long-term viability will be assured.
Sustainability context
The report should show the organisation's performance from the perspective of long-term sustainability. Sustainability reporting is how an organisation contributes to the improvement or degradation of economic, environmental, and social circumstances, developments, and trends at the local, regional, or global level, or how it aspires to contribute in future. This entails debating the organisation's performance in light of the constraints and demands put on environmental and social resources at the sectoral, local, regional, and global levels. In terms of global constraints on resource consumption and pollution levels, this notion is primarily articulated in the environmental domain. It can, however, be significant in terms of social and economic goals, such as national or international socio-economic and sustainable development goals.
Completeness
Coverage of the material topics and Indicators, as well as the definition of the report boundary, should be sufficient to reflect significant economic, environmental, and social impacts and enable stakeholders to assess the reporting organisation's performance during the reporting period, as defined by completeness. The dimensions of scope, limit, and time are the most important aspects of completeness.
The scope of a report refers to the breadth of sustainability themes discussed. The total number of subjects and indicators covered should be enough to capture substantial economic, environmental, and social repercussions.
The range of entities (e.g., subsidiaries, joint ventures, subcontractors, etc.) whose performance is reflected by the report is referred to as the boundary.
The term "time" refers to the requirement that the selected data be complete for the time period stated in the report.
Principles for Defining Quality in Reporting
Principles for guaranteeing the quality of reported data, as well as its suitable presentation.
Balance
To enable a reasoned assessment of overall performance, the report should contain both good and negative elements of the organisation's performance.
The report's material should be presented in such a way that it presents an unbiased image of the reporting organisation's performance. The report should avoid any selections, omissions, or presentation forms that are reasonably likely to affect the report reader's decision or judgement in an excessively or improper way.
Comparability
The issues and data should be carefully chosen, collated, and presented in a consistent manner. Reported data should be presented in a way that allows stakeholders to track changes in the organisation's performance over time and that allows for comparisons with other businesses.
For performance evaluation, comparability is required. Stakeholders who read the report should be able to compare data on economic, environmental, and social performance to the organisation's previous performance, objectives, and, to the extent practicable, to the performance of other organisations.
Accuracy
The data supplied should be accurate and thorough enough for stakeholders to evaluate the reporting organisation's performance.
Timeliness
This refers to reporting taking place on a regular basis, and information being made available in a timely manner so that stakeholders may make informed decisions. The frequency of reporting as well as the proximity to the actual events reported in the report are both considered when determining the publication date.
Clarity
The material should be made available in a way that is intelligible and accessible to the stakeholders who will be reading the report. The report should offer information in a way that the organisation's many stakeholders can understand, access, and use it (whether in print or through other methods).
Reliability
The information and methods used to prepare a report should be acquired, documented, assembled, evaluated, and disseminated in a way that can be examined and demonstrates the information's quality and materiality. Stakeholders should be confident that a report can be examined to determine the integrity of its contents and the extent to which Reporting Principles have been used correctly.
Reading
Read the following information about globally some different examples of Sustainability Reports from large organisations like Coco Cola, Mc Donalds, IKEA, BP, Shell etc on their sustainability actions.
Watch
The next video is a presentation on how to create a ESG report.
