UNGC and GRI renew cooperation agreement

AMSTERDAM: The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have today renewed their cooperation agreement with added areas of support.

UNGC, which jointly renewed the Memorandum of Understanding at the GRI's global conference on sustainability and reporting in Amsterdam, has incorporated its ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption into GRI's sustainability reporting guidelines.

The final result is full alignment of G4 with the Global Compact principles.
UNGC executive director Georg Kell said the organisation renewed its partnership with the GRI because "we recognise that strategic engagement triggered by universal principles and reporting go hand in hand".

"As a valuable option for Global Compact participants to report on their progress, G4 provides clear linkages with our ten principles that will help any company preparing a Global Compact Communication on Progress (COP) to align its reporting with the GRI guidelines."

The alignment in guidance on sustainability performance and reporting will provide companies with a clear, strategic and practical roadmap. Any company wanting to report on the implementation of the Global Compact principles can do so through the use of G4.
GRI chief executive Ernst Ligteringen said both the UN Global Compact principles and the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines help business "establish its role in sustainable development".

"Both frameworks are used by thousands of companies in industrialised and developing countries alike. These companies have found that reporting changes mind frames, that it supports dialogue, and that it helps build understanding and trust between business and communities. The reporting practice built by these thousands of companies is a hugely valuable resource, to be leveraged to measuring sustainable development performance, to scale up the contribution business makes globally to sustainable development," Ligteringen explained.

UNGC and GRI plan to work together in the future to provide clear guidance on how to link their sustainability disclosure to potential sustainable development goals.

Related links
United Nations Global Compact
Global Reporting Initiative