The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an independent non-profit organization established to develop and disseminate a generally accepted framework for reporting sustainability; information about the economic, environmental, and social performance of companies, the public sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Ernst Ligteringen oversees this process as the GRI Chief Executive.
The GRI was founded in 1997, as sustainability reporting became more commonplace and the need for a generally accepted reporting framework emerged. The first draft guidelines were published in 2000. In 2002, the GRI issued the G2 guidelines on sustainability reporting. The organization is currently in a process of consultation prior to the release of the third iteration of the guidelines - G3 - in October 2006. “Consultation is very important because this is a work in process. There is a draft that we have produced, which contains many ideas, but we are in discussion with stakeholders over the final publication.”, Ernst said. Part of this consultation has involved meetings in selected cities throughout the world on the GRI guidelines. “We need more ideas. We need solutions. This process is a collaboration, such as the G3 is developing in a context of far more experience than when we prepared the G2. What we are trying to do is encapsulate the experience of G2 within G3”. He added.
The G3 consultation process began in January 2006. In addition to the regional meetings, the organization’s website has provided an access site for companies large and small to pass on their comments and observations. Ernst believes sustainability reporting to be of interest to distinct groups of stakeholders. “The first is formed of employees of the given company. The second is general society. Why should businesses care about the opinions of society? Because these can have an impact on the reputation and finances of the company. The third group is formed by capital stakeholders and investors. In the preparation of G3, we have worked with companies such as Goldman Sachs, which changed from the previous”. He added, “It is this diversity of stakeholders that allows us to develop more effective tools for G3”.
Ernst is a Dutch national, holding a Master of Arts Degree in Social Development from the Reading University in the UK. He started working with the GRI in November 2002 after a career in management within international organizations. He had previously worked as Oxfam International’s first Executive Director from 1995 to 2001, and subsequently he worked with the International Federation of the Red Cross. Ernst’s move to the GRI marked a return to his native Holland after twenty-four years overseas in former Zaire, Dominican Republic, Colombia, United Kingdom and France.
The future work of the GRI will involve fine-tuning the details of G3. Ernst explained, “We do not plan to publish G4 in one or two years, rather to publish updates when important changes in the field take place. It really is the stakeholders who define and help us with the ongoing definition of the guidelines”.
