Thursday, 24 July 2014 00:00
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Offers unmatched GRI 4 workshop
A three-day workshop on GRI 4 reporting covering fundamentals of GRI G4 reporting along with the process of materiality determination and stakeholder engagement organised jointly by DNV GL, Global Compact Sri Lanka and ACCA (Association of Charted Certified Accountants) will take place on the 6, 7 and 8 August at the IVY Room in Cinnamon Grand, Colombo.
The hands-on workshop, open for a limited number of participants, is intended to equip participants with tools and knowledge to identify organisations’ stakeholders and approaches to stakeholder engagement, to carry out materiality determination and to prepare for effective reporting.
“We are keen to raise the standards of reporting and recognise good governance among Sri Lanka’s corporate sector. We are eager to support companies in Sri Lanka to reach the highest possible global standards in sustainability so they may position themselves better to international investors and markets. ACCA, DNV GL and Global Compact Sri Lanka have come together to develop and present this program on Sustainability/integrated Reporting, as one of the initial steps of a larger initiative,” said DNV GL-Sri Lanka Head of Sustainability & Business Excellence Rathika De Silva.
Workshop contents include:
Introduction to sustainability management and reporting
An understanding of GRI G4 and related frameworks – UNGC, OECD, IFC, MDG
Reporting requirements – Principles of Report Content and Quality
Supply chain disclosures
Process of stakeholder engagement
Materiality determination – internal and external context
Structure of GRI G4 -Standard & General disclosures requirements
Disclosure on management approach (DMA) & performance indicators (PI)
Sustainability management and reporting with impact
Roadmap for reporting
“Corporate social responsibility, which encompasses sustainability and environmental concerns, is now part and parcel of any business organisation that deems itself a global player. Hence it is in the company’s best interest to ensure that the levels of transparency and corporate governance are continually enhanced. Reporting activities were once seen as outside the domain of business but thankfully, times change and opinions change and we are pleased that ACCA has played a part in this change.
“Since 1991, we have promoted greater transparency in the reporting of organisations’ social and environmental impacts. In recent decades it has become a business imperative. Indeed such reporting has become a global imperative due to environmental impacts on the planet. This hands-on workshop will equip participants with tools and knowledge to identify organisations’ stakeholders and approaches to stakeholder engagement, to carry out materiality determination and to prepare for effective reporting which we believe is critical to the business strategy and key processes.
“After all, the long-term viability of companies has to be at the heart of corporate decision making. At ACCA’s Sustainability Reporting Awards too we celebrate the business decisions made by companies to embed material and important sustainability issues into their reports,” said ACCA Country Head, Sri Lanka & Maldives Nilusha Ranasinghe.
“The UN Global Compact (UNGC) is a practical framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of sustainability policies and practices, offering participants a wide spectrum of workstreams, management tools and resources — all designed to help advance sustainable business models and markets. UNGC and GRI have a global understanding to align our work in advancing corporate responsibility and transparency. We are delighted to be partnering with DNV GL and ACCA, both champions in the field of sustainability to offer a one-of-a-kind programme to equip companies to report effectively,” said Global Compact Network Sri Lanka Network Representative Sutheash Balasubramaniam.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the world’s most widely accepted and used framework for Sustainability Reporting on organisation’s sustainability performance. The key aspects of sustainability management include the identification of key stakeholders including the supply chain partners, prioritisation of stakeholders, developing structured engagement framework and an effective process of engagement to determine material aspect in sustainability context.
The structured process of sustainability management help organisation to continually assess its key material aspects that the key stakeholders expect the organisation’s management to monitor and manage to reduce/mitigate the sustainability risks.
Corporates and even non-profit institutions are encouraged to use the GRI G4 frame work along with the other national and international charters to which the organisation subscribes like the UN Global Compact, IFC, OECD guidelines Millennium development goals etc. to effectively to identify material issues, risk and opportunities, enhance stakeholder engagement processes and communications on Economic and ESG performance (environment, social and governance).
An increasing number of enterprises have gained intrinsic value by effectively disclosing their sustainability performance either voluntarily or due to regulatory demands. While local operations of multinationals have challenges in shaping local tactical plans conforming to policies of the Corporate and implementation, value chain partners and suppliers are facing pressure to meet their client expectations in order to disclose the sustainability performance in public domain.
The aim of this workshop is to share information, on the concept of Sustainability/ESG and new aspects/trends that are required to enhance the effectiveness of Sustainability management and Reporting based on the latest GRI G4 guideline and other frameworks. Understanding the principles of Sustainability and gaining proper insight into GRI G4 and related guidelines allows enterprises to create a sustainability management system and a communications framework in accordance with international guidelines and standards to reasons of accountability and transparency.
The workshop is designed for the benefit of existing reports as well as new reports from Corporates, Industries Academics, Government, NGO, Students , researchers etc. including Corporate Sustainability Officers/Executives/Managers/Leaders; Corporate Communications, Marketing & Investor Relation practitioners; Sustainability Assurance consultants or any professional seeking applicable training in Sustainability Reporting.
Potential participants are expected to contact the organisers on [email protected].
