The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has appointed Verna Lin to lead its Greater China Regional Hub, which has now been relocated from Beijing to Hong Kong.
GRI said the move aims to better serve the needs of companies and stakeholders in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau.
The move of its Greater China Regional Hub comes as both the China Securities Regulatory Commission and Hong Kong Stock Exchange progress plans for environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure requirements by listed companies.
Along with the opening of the office in Hong Kong, GRI has published an updated guide to reporting in the Chinese market. Developed with the Corporate Social Responsibility Research Centre of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS CSR), the resource sets out how the GRI Standards enable businesses to meet the latest CASS CSR 4.0 guidance.
Lin said: “In the Greater China region sustainability is starting to become mainstream, as governments, regulatory authorities and relevant stakeholders implement policies at all levels. I believe there are many strategic opportunities for GRI to further encourage the sustainability agenda, supported by corporate disclosures, in the years to come.”
GRI chief executive said: “As more organisations in the Greater China region are reporting their sustainability performance, it is crucial that they adopt the global common language for ESG disclosure – the GRI Standards.
To support these companies, I am pleased to announce our Greater China Hub is now located in Hong Kong and to welcome Verna Lin as our newly appointed regional leader.
GRI is dedicated to harmonising global ESG reporting to help improve, quality, comparability and ultimately align capital to sustainable business practices. Our new linkage resource gives local companies additional help to report their impacts through the GRI Standards while adhering to CASS CSR guidance.”
