Work Streams

Reporting and Financial Markets

Global Reporting Initiative Investors Consultation Group

UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is collaborating with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on a project to solicit the input of the global financial services sector in innovating the third generation of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G3). The goal of the consultation is to better understand the information needs of the financial community and to identify ways to ensure that GRI-based reports can be of maximum value for financial analysis.

This project follows on the successful partnership between UNEP FI and GRI which led to the Financial Services (Environment) Sector Supplement and builds on UNEP FI’s year-long investigation into the materiality of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues to equity pricing. An important outcome of the UNEP FI investigation was the confirmation that financial analysts regard the lack of standardisation in sustainability reporting as a major inhibitor of analysis of the effects of ESG issues on the value of securities.

The project seeks to:

• Ensure that the next generation of GRI Guidelines (expected for release in 2006) is of maximum value to brokerage houses, investment consultants and rating agencies.
• Make it easier for company corporate social responsibility (CSR) and finance executives to communicate the results of their CSR programmes to shareholders.

The project will convene executives from the financial research community, stock exchanges, rating agencies and investment consultancies to advise the GRI on how to ensure their next generation of indicators can meet the financial community’s needs.

For more information see http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/G3Online/