A glossary of sustainability terms
Your company sees GRI everywhere — but what does it actually mean? The world of sustainability is full of words, certifications, labels and standards. We understand that it can feel overwhelming. Sustainability is abstract, and complex. To help you, we will therefore walk through some of the key concepts in sustainability.
Anti-corruption policies
This is a collective term for the guidelines and rules that companies or organisations put in place to prevent corruption. An anti-corruption policy can include measures such as training employees on corruption risks, establishing a reporting mechanism for suspected corruption, or carrying out regular internal audits to ensure compliance with the policy.
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a company's voluntary commitment to take environmental and social issues into account in its business decisions and operations. CSR includes, among other things, reducing carbon emissions, supporting local communities, working against discrimination, maintaining high labour standards and using sustainable materials in production.
ESG
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance and refers to the factors used to assess a company's sustainability performance. Environmental factors include, for example, carbon emissions and the use of natural resources. Social factors can be working conditions and human rights. Governance factors can include, for example, company management and board structures.
GRI
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an organisation that creates guidelines for sustainability reporting for companies and organisations. These guidelines help organisations develop a structured reporting process and identify the sustainability issues that are most relevant to their operations.
ISO
ISO 26000 is an international standard that provides guidelines on how organisations can work with social responsibility and is published by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 26000 addresses seven core areas of social responsibility:
1) Human rights
2) Labour practices
3) The environment
4) Fair operating practices
5) Consumer issues
6) Community involvement and development
7) Development of local communities.
Sustainability performance
Sustainability performance is an assessment of an organisation's performance in relation to sustainability issues. This can include measuring carbon emissions, maintaining high labour standards, using renewable energy sources, and developing services and products that have a positive impact on society or the environment.
SASB
The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) is an organisation that has developed specific standards for sustainability reporting within selected industries. These standards help companies report on the sustainability issues that are most relevant to their particular operations and also help companies benchmark their performance against other organisations operating in the same industry.
Do you feel you still haven't quite got to grips with all the sustainability fluff? Our advisers can help you, for instance through training. Get in touch with us today!