To read the press release published during the Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency (26-28 May 2010) please click here.

”The agreed collaboration, combining the expertise and efforts of GRI and the UN Global Compact, will allow us to significantly extend our outreach and support an increasing number of companies and stakeholders around the world which seek to improve their sustainability performance,” Ernst Ligteringen, GRI’s Chief Executive.

“As corporate responsibility has moved into the mainstream of business strategy and operations, the convergence of the two corporate responsibility initiatives with the broadest reach is a crucial development,” said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “Together, the Global Compact and GRI have a unique opportunity to provide a clear roadmap to sustainability and change business practices on a global scale.”

The UNGC-GRI Value Platform

Are you looking to implement corporate citizenship at the core of your business? The UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) combined offer a widely recognized and well tested platform already used by hundreds of companies around the world.

The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G3) can be used to produce the Global Compact’s annually required Communication on Progress (COP). The COP is the mechanism through which UNGC participating companies demonstrate progress towards attainment of the ten UNGC Principles.

The G3 Guidelines provide Principles, Disclosures on Management Approach, and Performance Indicators – all organized in a framework that clearly responds to each of the Global Compact’s disclosure requests and can enhance the quality of the COP.

 

Resources

Making the Connection (2007) (PDF) English version

 

Estableciendo la conexion (PDF) Spanish version

 

Verbindungen Schaffen (PDF) German version

urTierTkavSiris damyareba (PDF) Georgian version

 

 

Implementation resources

 

	Who is involved? See a list of organizations supportive of using the GRI and UNGC frameworks together.
	Search and sort Use this simple online tool to match GRI Performance Indicators to UNGC Principles.
	Publications Handy reference guides to help you implement the UNGC Principles and the GRI Reporting Guidelines together in your company.  Download Making the Connection (PDF) to understand how GRI can be used for UNGC Communication on Progress.
	Training GRI and the Barcelona Center for the Support of the Global Compact are collaborating to create course curriculum.
	Software solutions Information management and digital solutions to help implement the UNGC and GRI frameworks together.

 

The Global Compact and the GRI share important similarities.  At their core both employ a multi-stakeholder approach with respect to overall strategy, governance, and framework development.  In addition, each initiative is aspirational and voluntary in nature – designed to complement regulatory schemes, not replace them. Both find their roots in the major international environmental and social conventions. The GRI and UNGC encourage companies to expand their commitments, activities, and reporting at their own pace.