Communicate

The GRI Standards are a modular system of interconnected standards for reporting on sustainability performance, covering a wide range of sustainability topics, including climate change, human rights, labour practices and product responsibility. They enable organisations to measure, manage and communicate their sustainability performance effectively.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on material topics that reflect the organisation’s most significant impacts. GRI’s standardised metrics help the organisation and its stakeholders compare performance with others.

Reporting standards designed to help organisations understand and disclose their impacts in a way that meets the needs of multiple stakeholders. These standards are arranged by a set of Universal Standards that apply to all organisations, and 35 Topic Standards that contain disclosures for impacts related to economic, environmental and social topics.

Use this resource to:

• Measure, assess and value: The standards themselves provide guidance on selecting metrics to report. Using standardised metrics helps the organisation and its stakeholders compare performance with others.
• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on ‘material topics’ that reflect the organisation’s most significant impacts.

GRI is developing standards for 40 sectors to compliment their current topic standards.

Use this resource to:

• Identify: Identify sustainability topics to measure using the list of topics listed for each Sector Standard.
• Measure, assess and value: Identify metrics to measure for each significant topic. The standards themselves provide guidance on selecting metrics to report.
• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on ‘material topics’ that reflect the organisation’s most significant impacts. The Sector Standards are a helpful starting point for identifying likely significant impacts.

Guidance on how to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into reporting processes.

Use this resource to:

• Communicate: Use the guidance to disclose positive and negative contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals.

CDP’s Disclosure System is a tool for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. It enables these organisations to make their environmental impacts transparent, to understand how to reduce their negative impacts and to progress towards environmental stewardship.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on climate change, forests and water security, based on the organisation’s governance and policy, risks and opportunity management, environmental targets, and strategy and scenario analysis. Responses receive a grade from A-D based on the organisation’s disclosed performance.

This guidance provides practical information on how core indicators can be measured in a consistent manner and in alignment with countries’ needs on monitoring the attainment of the SDG agenda. It intends to assist entities to provide baseline data on sustainability-related issues in a consistent and comparable manner, which would meet the common needs of different stakeholders.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Measure, assess and value: Collect information on the core indicators covering areas of economic, environmental, social and institutional performance. For each indicator, the guidance provides a definition, measurement methodology, and potential sources of information. The guidance also explains the links and alignment with relevant macro SDG indicators.
• Communicate: Provide baseline data on sustainability-related issues in a consistent and comparable manner.

This report recommends a set of sector-specific, SDG-related metrics by drawing on metrics from existing standard setters and benchmarks. It was published by the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance, a group of 30 large investment firms that aims to scale-up long-term finance and investment in sustainable development. The GISD is steered by UN DESA.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Include recommended SDG-related metrics in stakeholder disclosures.

The SASB Standards are reporting standards that provide industry-specific disclosure topics and associated metrics for measuring performance across 26 General Issue Categories (or sustainability topics). Management or mismanagement of performance on these sustainability topics may create, preserve or erode value for a typical organisation in a given industry over time.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to providers of financial capital on sustainability topics that are likely to affect how value is created, sustained or eroded for the organisation over the short-, medium- and long-term.

Guidance that contains disclosure recommendations for information on the material financial impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities, including those related to the global transition to a lower-carbon economy. The TCFD recommendations are structured around the four pillars of Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets.

Use this resource to:

• Communicate: Follow recommendations to structure climate-related financial disclosures. Other voluntary standards can be used in conjunction with TCFD recommendations.

Reporting framework that provides principles-based guidance for organisations seeking to create an integrated report, containing both financial and non-financial information. The guidance is tailored specifically for private sector, for-profit companies, but the Framework can also be applied to the public sector and non-for-profit organisations.

Use this resource to:

• Communicate: Report to providers of financial capital on sustainability topics that are likely to affect value creation over the short-, medium-, and long-term.

The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact list how organisations should, at a minimum, meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. They apply across all geographies in which the enterprise operates, and assert that good practices in one business area do not offset harm in another. They draw on several international declarations and other authoritative documents.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Strategy: Align strategy with the Ten Principles to prioritise societal needs such as the SDGs.

Participating in the UN Global Compact requires a commitment from organisations to report annually on efforts to operate responsibly in four areas: human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

Use this resource to:

• Communicate: Submit an annual Communication on Progress on implementing the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.

The Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are a set of voluntary principles and standards that promote responsible business conduct among multinational enterprises (MNEs). They cover various areas, including human rights, labour relations, environmental protection, anti-corruption and consumer protection, aiming to help MNEs align their business practices with societal expectations, and contribute to sustainable development.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

The SDG Impact Standards for Enterprises provide a practical guide and self-assessment tool for integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into organisational decision-making.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

The Principles of Social Value guide organisations in considering social value in decision-making, aiming to optimise value for all stakeholders materially affected by their activities. The practice standards help organisations to implement each principle to a point where they are accountable for their activities.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

The B Corp Certification is an assessment process that evaluates a company’s social and environmental performance, as well as governance and transparency. Organisations that achieve B Corp Certification demonstrate a commitment to meeting a high standard of responsible business practices and accountability.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management

• Verification, assurance and certification: Achieve B Corp certification by meeting the standards set by B Lab, demonstrating a commitment to social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
• Benchmarking and rating: Compare impact scores and metrics with those of other organiations within the same industry or sector.

Tool to report on responsible investment activities annually.

This resource calls upon organisations to:

• Communicate: Report on firm-wide and portfolio or strategy-specific investment practices.

The GIIN Operating Principles for Impact Management provide a framework for investors and fund managers to manage and measure their impact. The principles outline best practices for impact management across the investment lifecycle, from strategy development to implementation, monitoring and reporting.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

The SDG Impact Standards for Private Equity Funds provide a decision-making framework for integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into one or more funds.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

Signatories to the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) must use the reporting and self-assessment template as part of the requirements of the Principles.

Use this resource to:

• Show progress on implementing the Principles for Responsible Banking;
• Provide transparency about impacts and contributions; and
• Assess if PRB requirements are being met and obtain assurance.

The Impact Standards for Financing Sustainable Development (IS-FSD) is a framework for donors, development finance institutions (DFIs) and their private partners to make financial decisions that maximise their positive contribution to the SDGs. The Standards are harmonised with the UNDP SDG Impact Standards.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.