A wealth of sustainability data, hard to find in thousands of reports, will now be unlocked, thanks to a new database launched Wednesday, 9 November 2011, by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
The new Sustainability Disclosure Database includes data on the sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency of over three thousand companies worldwide.
Sustainability performance data is increasingly important to markets worldwide. In 1975, on average 80 percent of a company’s value came from tangible capital – finances and assets. Today, on average, 80 percent of a company’s value is intangible – for example, customer trust, brand value and stakeholder relations.
The new database will enable companies, investors, analysts and other stakeholders to compare and analyze data from reports for free, getting a better picture of companies’ sustainability strategy and performance, long-term viability and impacts on society and nature.
Ernst Ligteringen, Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative, said, “Financial figures are no longer enough to get the full picture of a company’s performance. Stakeholders of all sorts want to take a company’s sustainability performance into account too, to have an idea of the long-term viability of the organization.”
“There is a wealth of sustainability information in thousands of reports from companies around the world that is currently not easy to access. The new database will make this information easily accessible, enabling companies and investors to benchmark and analyze transparency,” added Ligteringen.
Any organization can upload a sustainability report and profile information to the database. The new Sustainability Disclosure Database features sustainability reports – stand-alone and integrated reports – from organizations and companies around the world, including those that follow the GRI Guidelines.
Now users can compare the level of transparency of companies, benchmarking by sector, size and location. People who are interested in organizational sustainability data can find out what indicators companies are reporting on, and how their transparency compares to other companies.
The database is a hub for sustainability disclosure, featuring sustainability reports that use the GRI Guidelines and those that follow other guidance. The database includes references to sustainability guidance from different organizations, including the Carbon Disclosure Project, ISO, the OECD and the UN Global Compact. GRI plans to expand the scope and depth of its data collection and analytical functionality over time.
José Luis Blasco Vázquez, Partner in charge of Climate Change and Sustainability Services at KPMG for EMA region, said, “We may be witnessing the most important transformation in corporate transparency and disclosure in recent decades. A significant percentage of the hundred largest global asset managers already take into account non-financial criteria when building investment portfolios. This database assists investors in accessing more robust and comparable information, bringing sustainability data into closer alignment to financial reporting data.”
The database was built with the support of KPMG Spain and its software provider Baetica. A global team of 22 GRI Data Partners collect information from companies in their region, populating the Sustainability Disclosure Database with information.
Available in English and Spanish, the database enables companies to upload information and link to their reports. This provides companies with a powerful tool, helping them engage with stakeholders and get feedback on their reports and performance through links with social media.
The database is now live at: http://database.globalreporting.org/
About the Global Reporting Initiative
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) produces a comprehensive Sustainability Reporting Framework that is widely used around the world, to enable greater organizational transparency. The Framework, including the Reporting Guidelines, sets out the Principles and Indicators organizations can use to report their economic, environmental, and social performance. GRI is committed to continuously improving and increasing the use of the Guidelines, which are freely available to the public. For more information, visit www.globalreporting.org.
Source: GRI.
