Anyone who has struggled with sustainability reporting will recognise that, whilst the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines have become an important standard, they are not always easy to navigate.
In their original PDF format, the G4 Guidelines are presented in two parts – the Reporting Principles and Standard Disclosures, and the Implementation Manual. At over 350 pages, it can be difficult to fully utilise the guidance across the many cross-references & be confident that your sustainability reporting meets the guidance.
Now with the latest initiative of G4 Online, the guidelines are available as a web-based tool to help support organisations preparing sustainability reports.
The free-to-use website presents the content of the G4 Guidelines in its complete form but in a dynamic and easy-to-navigate format, and is designed to support users directly involved in a G4-based reporting process.
G4 Online does require a basic understanding of the G4 reporting process and can then be used to:
- Access instant definitions of key terms and concepts, as they prepare their report
- Access information referenced in the G4 text, such as references to other globally recognized sustainability reporting frameworks, via links to third-party websites
- Link to G4 content directly from their reports, web sites, blogs, forums or social network platforms
Over the next few months, I will be looking to use this tool in my sustainability reporting & I welcome your feedback on whether you find it useful.
The G4 Online website can be found at http://bit.ly/1icQUJg