Sustainability reports add value to a company’s stakeholders, and reporting with an appropriate framework can improve the impact.

Sustainability has gained more importance for companies, and various communication channels have been developed to share the results and progress of their economic, social, and environmental initiatives and efforts. Sustainability reports allow organizations to keep their stakeholders updated on the progress and achievements obtained.

Currently, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a framework used in the elaboration process of the Sustainability Report in over 100 countries that pursue the same goal: to promote sustainability through various indicators and best practices translated into the GRI Standards, which help companies make better decisions to improve economic, environmental and social impacts.

The GRI Standards create a common language for all industries and sectors, and are divided into:

The universal Standards (GRI 101, 102 and 103)

• · GRI 101: Foundation. It is the starting point for all organizations. These standards explain how they are to be used, their content and quality, mandatory compliance guidelines, and references to the GRI Standards. They help select what information can and should be included in the report.
• · GRI 102: General disclosures. It sets out reporting requirements on contextual data about the company and its sustainability reporting practices.
• · GRI 103:Management Approach. It establishes reporting requirements about the approach used to manage the most relevant topics for the organization.

The topic-specific GRI Standards, organized into three series:

• GRI 200: Economic topics
• GRI 300: Environmental topics
• GRI 400: Social topics

It is important to stay alert on the updates to the GRI Standards, to present valid information, and finally, it is highly recommended for the entire reporting process, from data collection to communication of results, to include consultants or professionals with experience in management systems that can help the organization make the process more efficient: reduce time, save money and focus efforts.

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