The fourth of the European workshops on disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) was held last week in Brussels, this time focusing on the perspectives of trade unions and public authorities.
European trade unions, trade union research institutes, national trade unions (Spain and UK), as well as sectoral trade unions (such as textile and public sector) were represented at this workshop. Several studies on the level of inclusion of labor issues in GRI reports indicate that this is the “weakest link” in GRI reports.
It was also noted that labor unions are often not acknowleged as stakeholder within sustainability reports. However, there were interesting examples of textile companies who have addressed labor issues very well in their reports, including in the context of their supply chains.
The agenda for the public authorities section of the workshop covered topics including: ‘Public policies and regulation to promote better ESG disclosure by enterprises’; ‘ESG information for the state as owner/investor’; ‘ESG information for state as provider of guarantees, loans and subsidies’; ‘ESG information for public procurement’; and ‘Transparency of public authorities on ESG issues’.
Representatives from the Swedish, French, Dutch and Danish governments spoke at the workshop. All these governments have in some way referenced the GRI Reporting Framework in their sustainability/ESGpolicies.
Deputy Chief Executive of GRI, Teresa Fogelberg, has been the GRI representative at this series of workshops held by the European Commission. The final workshop out of the series will be held later this month.
In related news, GRI has just released a research document on the state of GRI reporting in government agencies, 'GRI Reporting in Government Agencies'. Download the document here.
Find out more about the European Commission ESG Workshops here.