Cost Cutting Benefits Driving Compliance with GRI Sustainability Guidelines

While reading CSR reports recently, I noticed a huge shift in both the kind of sustainability reporting that is done and the manner in which it is done. All of this bodes well for green initiatives, even in a down economy. This trend is further evidence that the sooner you implement an integrated platform for collecting and reporting data across the enterprise, the more money you can save.

First of all, there is now a widely-accepted framework for sustainability reports created by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) that enables the reader, or investor, to compare common data. GRI guidelines call for measurement and monitoring. Now in its third generation, companies have had a chance to get comfortable with them and stakeholder input has made the process much more user-friendly.

Nearly 200 leading global organizations comply with GRI guidelines, and that number is expected to grow rapidly. GRI compliance is “voluntary,” but it’s really not. You get the drift. Your company’s investor relations and corporate communications people already know that investors and customers are closely examining these reports…or the lack thereof.

The important takeaway about GRI guidelines is that it drives companies to watch what they’re doing in relation to their footprint, collect data about it and make that data transparent. Exactly how does a particular company emit greenhouse gasses? Through its product? Through its manufacturing process? Can that process be changed? Can equipment be retrofitted, or new equipment purchased that is more energy efficient? Answers to those questions are now available for public examination.

I’m going to guess that many corporate executives were only summarily aware of their unsustainable operating processes or the non-sustainable ingredients in their products, before that information became accessible for public viewing. It’s possible that decision makers at the head of the enterprise were not getting accurate, adequate and actionable data from their facilities. Furthermore, the data, and its implications, were difficult to comprehend. Once executives became aware of the implications of the data, they demanded appropriate action, as did their stakeholders.

In every report I’ve read, companies have reduced emissions and waste since they starting measuring. Almost all of them have set goals to continue on a more sustainable path. Some of them have established BHAGs (big, hairy audacious goals) like WalMart’s goal of zero waste, and equally ambitious target dates and accountability for executing them.

But here is something more important. Companies that execute on their sustainability goals are also reducing their operating costs. This is crucial because in business, at the end of the day, the goal is to reduce costs and make profits. Sustainability goals are not just nice, feel-good items; they’re necessary. Cutting costs, especially in these tough times, is a must.

Add comment November 10th, 2008