Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'GRI guidelines'

This thesis deals with comparing CSR activities of two selected Slovak banks. Theoretical part presents definition of CSR and explanation of the concept. It also describes various options for measurement, evaluation and reporting of Corporate Social Responsibility, where most attention is focused on the Reporting of Sustainable development according to GRI Guidelines. In the practical part, the comparison of the reporting of both banks is made, according to AIM model. Then, it continues with comparison of CSR activities of banks, based on GRI indicators. The last part of thesis consists of proposals for settlement of differences between banks and proposals, which could lead to greater efficiency in the field of CSR in the future.

Sustainability and sustainable development is an important topic for today’s society. To manage organizational sustainability, companies use sustainability reporting to measure their performance. A new EU directive [2014/95/EU] requires all companies who have 500 or more employees, to report on non-financial information. Hence, sustainability reporting becomes more institutional. A number of different frameworks exist to help companies to report on sustainability. The most prominent framework is provided by the Global Reporting Initiative [GRI], which helps companies to disclose information on economic, social, and environmental dimensions. As the forestry industry in Sweden and Finland has been considered important for future sustainable development, this industry has been the focus in the thesis. Previous research has focused on why companies report on sustainability. The purpose of this thesis was instead to research how companies report, by investigating the development process of sustainability reports in Swedish and Finnish forestry companies. Moreover, the purpose was to create an understanding of the sustainability report development in accordance with GRI guidelines, within Swedish and Finnish forestry companies. The research question is: How do Swedish and Finnish forestry companies develop sustainability reports in accordance with the GRI guidelines? To answer the stipulated research question, the thesis adopted a qualitative method with an abductive approach. Moreover, the thesis had an descripto-exploratory research design to find relevant knowledge and findings. The thesis theoretical framework introduced concepts related to our research question: sustainability reporting, the organization GRI and their guidelines, a reporting process that was retrieved from GRI’s handbook, and the forestry industry in Sweden and Finland. In addition to this, system-oriented theories such as legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory were presented. Through seven semi-structured interviews, with various managers from Swedish and Finnish forestry companies, information about the companies’ sustainability report development was collected. The thesis identified several essential segments in the report development process. These included: reasons for using GRI, planning, stakeholder engagement, materiality, data collection, and reporting. We concluded that the phases of the process presented in the theoretical framework, instead were included in a continuous process where the phases turned to segments that were integrated with each other in the companies reporting practices.

This study aims to establish an understanding of corporate sustainability and how companies communicate their sustainability. It also evaluates how sustainability reporting is addressed by various corporate companies by using GRI reporting guidelines and ISO standards, and also how these standards and guidelines are helping the companies to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. A literature review was conducted to understand the various approaches to developing a sustainability report. A theoretical relationship matrix was carried out to establish the relationship of ISO standard (clauses are the section in ISO standard which defines the action or requirements to be carried out, ISO in this research is used to represent the various important areas in a company) with the GRI guidelines (disclosure, are the section used to report contextual information about an organization and its sustainability reporting practices), and a list of the number of SDGs which each GRI disclosure and ISO standard achieves was developed. Four industrial sectors were selected and one company in each sector was used as a case study. The SDG impact assessment web-based tool was used to represent the information provided by the companies in their sustainability report/annual report. From the case studies, it was understood that, out of 4 companies, two companies employed GRI reporting guidelines i.e 2 companies used twin approaches for reporting their sustainability and 2 companies used inside-out reporting approaches. Whereas all the companies had ISO 14001:2015 certification, 3 out of 4 companies had ISO 9001:2015 certification and 2 out of 4 had companies ISO 45001:2018 certified. With this, we can understand a broad picture of corporate sustainability, and in-depth sustainability analysis of one industrial sector from the companies point of view has to be carried out in future.

This paper critically evaluates Transnational Corporations' (TNCs) claimed adherence to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)'s "labour" and "human rights" reporting guidelines and examines how successful the GRI has been in enhancing comparability and transparency. We found limited evidence of TNCs discharging their accountability to their workforce and, rather, we found evidence to suggest that disclosure was motivated more by enhancing their legitimacy. TNCs failed to adhere to the guidelines, which meant that material information items were often missing, rendering comparability of information meaningless. Instead, TNCs reported large volumes of generic/anecdotal information without acknowledging the impediments they faced in practice.

Background: Companies today are under increasing pressure from their stakeholders to become more and more transparent regarding the way they deal with the impact on the environment and the communities where they operate in. This type of information is mainly provided by means of sustainability reports. Several guidelines have been developed to aid report makers on the way. Currently however these sustainability reports still differ widely in the quantity of information provided which makes them difficult to compare and it is therefore important to understand the factors that can influence the amount of information being published.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors having an impact on the amount of sustainability information published by Swedish companies using the guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with eleven of the twenty-three Swedish companies listed in the GRI register in order to get their point of view regarding these factors.

Results: The study identified that the willingness to communicate with more than one stakeholder group is the most important factor that can influence the amount of information disclosed in sustainability reports. The authors also argue that a proactive attitude towards identifying legitimation strategies instead of an adaptive approach can also influence the degree of disclosure. Finally, a positive attitude towards the GRI guidelines may also contribute to producing a more detailed report.

Sustainability reports ought to be key channels for communication with stakeholders, enhancing organisational accountability and transparency. However, the proliferation of sustainability metrics and the voluntary nature of reporting leads to inconsistencies in the quality of sustainability reporting, invariably affecting its functionality and effectiveness. This research project investigates the quality and functionality of sustainability reporting within the South African gold mining sector. Firstly, a framework for characterising and subsequently assessing the quality of sustainability reports was developed based on a review and analysis of the published literature. This framework was then applied in a multi-method approach consisting of a desktop review involving a content analysis of three company reports that disclose performance according to the GRI G4 Guidelines, and semi-structured interviews with key internal and external stakeholders. The analysis shows that while sustainability reports in the South African mining sector have been found to have beneficial functions for both internal and external stakeholders, they also presented quality issues that are both technical and socio-political in nature. More specifically, the study found that sustainability reports are used internally at an executive level and that the reporting process enhances organisational transparency and accountability. Externally, sustainability reports were found to be used as a source of performance information and as an indicator of company commitment and legitimacy. However, the quality issues, namely levels of aggregation and detail, as well as the degree of integrity, were considered to have a negative effect on the functionality and effectiveness of sustainability reports for stakeholders. This study offers insight into how companies report and how stakeholders perceive and relate to sustainability reporting, and in turn serves to highlight both strengths that should be encouraged, and weaknesses that detract from sustainability reports’ effectiveness and functionality. The application of a multi-criteria framework in a multi-method approach provides a more holistic picture of the quality and functionality of sustainability reports, allowing technical and political quality issues to be discussed in a simultaneous study, as well as highlighting the complexities and nuances of sustainability reporting.

Master Thesis deals with the Corporate Social Responsibility concept (CSR). This thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is engaged in explaining basic knowledge, also evolution of the corporate social responsibility concept in historical context and company activities in the economic, environmental and social area. The object of practical part, is to analyse and measure reports on corporate social responsibility according to the GRI Guidelines.

The electric power system has experienced many changes in the last decade. The notable changes are deregulation of the industry, penetration of renewable energy sources, demand side management, stricter regulations on the system performance, investigation of smart-grid applications, emission regulations on generation and penetration of electric vehicles. These changes have forced the utilities to look for innovative ideas to incorporate the changes while ensuring the performance requirements. One way to measure the performance requirements is in terms of customer satisfaction. In other words the utility is expected to provide uninterrupted power supply on demand. The challenges in achieving this are limited by the increasing load / demand on the system and the aging of the components. In US on average 80% of consumer interruptions are attributed to the failures at the distribution level. Therefore, this work focuses on improving the performance of the distribution system using a preventive maintenance scheme based on the condition of the distribution level components. Impact on the system due to expected penetration of electric vehicles (EV) and the communication advancements for the smart-grid applications are also given noteworthy consideration in this work.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Decentralised energy systems (DES) can be seen as a promising network topology which can potentially address the 21st century energy and power challenges that the existing hierarchical, centrally controlled power grid is required to face. Comprehensive design and representation of such systems are among the many obstacles which restrict the wider spread of DES. This thesis is concerned with the feasibility and profitability of small scale grid-connected DES located in UK. A suitable design and development procedure was proposed in this study for the analytical and detailed representation of the systems considered. The design procedure followed was integrated with the control, management and sizing strategies via the monitor of the system operation and the power flow. The effect of different technical parameters on the system performance and viability was investigated and the outcome was utilised in planning and scheduling decisions. Finally, comparisons between different specific test scenarios, energy systems, overnight charging control algorithms, energy storage sizes, etc. were implemented and conclusions regarding the system financials were drawn. This study can be seen as a design and sizing guide or a process simulation interactive software which provides design recommendations, sizing guidelines and useful system insights to the end users and the management authority/aggregators.

The distribution grid has traditionally been a robust design where the lines are protected by the primary substation. Constant access to electricity is important for our society, and a power interruption can have large consequences. Power interruptions also reduce the revenue cap, i.e., how much the utility can charge its customers. Additionally, in the newest regulation from the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate, communication and remote control equipment obtained a regulatory value, and the revenue cap increases if that kind of equipment is installed in the grid. Therefore, it has been more attractive for the utility to invest in monitoring and remote control equipment in their distribution grids. In a customer-dense area with high interruption costs, the main question is not if monitoring and remote control should be installed. The question is how to do it and where to start. This thesis aims to give guidelines for implementing monitoring and remote control equipment in an urban distribution grid. The structure of a distribution grid, the system grounding, and the basic principles of fault identification, isolation, and restoration of the system are described. A simulation model for a single cable fault is developed. Cable fault is the most common failure in an underground cable grid. Three different levels of automation are used in the model: level 0 -no communication at all; level 1 -monitoring of the station in SCADA/DMS where at least information from fault indicators is sent; level 2 -monitoring and remote control, the switches can be operated from a SCADA/DMS system. In the simulation, two different datasets are used: reference feeder and real data feeders. The results are evaluated feeder by feeder and in a small grid where several feeders were combined. In total, as long as at least 60-75 % of the secondary substations in the feeder have level 1 or level 2 equipment, the interruption cost and SAIDI decrease by at least 70 %. The result also shows that the strategy to reduce interruption costs is different from the strategy to reduce SAIDI. The network structure is an important factor, and just introducing communication and monitoring and remote control systems will not automatically become a quality boost for the utility company. To implement the technology, broad knowledge and understanding about all parts in the distribution grid is necessary. This includes knowledge about the primary and secondary equipment, the communication, and the limitation of the different parts.
Distributionsnätet har traditionellt varit en robust konstruktion där linjerna skyddas av fördelningsstationer. Konstant tillgång till elektricitet är viktigt för vårt samhälle och ett elavbrott kan ge stora konsekvenser. Avbrott minskar även intäktsramen, det vill säga hur mycket elnätsbolaget kan debitera sina kunder. Dessutom har kommunikation och fjärrkontrollsutrustning i den senaste regleringen från Energimarknadsinspektionen fått ett regulatoriskt värde vilket gör att intäktsramen kommer att öka om den typen av utrustning installeras i nätet. Allt detta har gjort det mer hållbart och lönsamt för elnätsbolag att investera i övervakning och fjärrkontrollsutrustning i distributionsnätet. I ett kundtätt område med höga avbrottskostnader är inte huvudfrågan om övervakning och fjärrkontroll ska installeras, det är mer en fråga om hur man gör det och var man ska börja. Detta examensarbete syftar till att ge riktlinjer för hur man implementerar övervaknings- och fjärrkontrollsutrustning i ett distributionsnät i stadsmiljö. Strukturen för ett distributionsnät, systemjordning och de grundläggande principerna för felidentifiering, isolering och återställning av systemet beskrivs. En modell som simulerade effekten av ett kabelfel utvecklades, kabelfel är det vanligaste felet i ett kabelnät. Tre olika nivåer av automatisering användes i modellen. Nivå 0, ingen kommunikation alls, Nivå 1, övervakning av stationen i SCADA / DMS där åtminstone information från felindikatorer skickas. Nivå 2, övervakning och fjärrkontroll, frånskiljare och brytare kan manövreras från ett SCADA / DMS-system. I simuleringen användes två olika modeller: En referens-modell och en modell med data från verkliga linjer. Resultatet utvärderades linjevis samt i ett litet nät där flera linjer kombinerades. När minst 60–75 % av nätstationerna på linjen har Nivå 1 eller Nivå 2 utrustning minskar avbrottskostnaden och SAIDI med minst 70 %. Resultaten visar också att olika strategier kan vara nödvändigt beroende om målet är att minska avbrottskostnader eller SAIDI. Nätstrukturen är en viktig faktor, och bara genom att införa kommunikation, övervakning och fjärrkontrolls utrustning i nätet blir det inte automatiskt en större tillförlitlighet av elleveransen. För att implementera tekniken med bra resultat krävs bred kunskap och förståelse om alla delar i distributionsnätet. Detta inkluderar kunskap om den primära och sekundära utrustningen, kommunikationen och de olika delarnas begränsningar.

The purpose of sustainability reports is to represent the progress of a company’s sustainability effort and status to stakeholders. There is a need for stakeholders to benchmark sustainability performance of companies. The objective of this research was to find evidence that the GRI Application Level used in the ranking GRI compliant sustainability reports, is an indicator of financial performance for companies trading on the JSE in South Africa.The results will show that there is no evidence to show that the GRI Applications Level is an indicator of financial performance. The consequence of this evidence is that the lack of adequate benchmark standards can de-motivate companies to strive for higher sustainability performance.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

This project explores the case of Sustainability Reporting in Spain and Portugal and the recently launched new generation of Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. The sample of the study is composed of companies included in the “GRI Report list 1999-2015”. In particular 2013 onwards 51 companies that published their G4 Report are taken into consideration. An indirect study is conducted based on the content of the sustainability reports of companies that implemented the Global Report Initiatives (GRI) reporting guidelines in order to identify focus areas of sustainability reporting in Spain and Portugal, analyzing trends and patterns relevant for observation. The project also promotes a discussion of the usability of the G4 guidelines and the adoption of materiality definition.

JEL Classification System: M10 – Business Administration: General M14 – Business Administration: Social Responsibility
The increasing interest in understanding how organizations disclose and report sustainability and its impact on their financial performance constitute the background for this research. In order to achieve the proposed goals, a qualitative and quantitative investigation was conducted for the years of 2014 and 2015, considering a sample of 18 Portuguese companies listed at Euro next Lisbon, specifically the ones quoted at the PSI 20 stock market index at the data of the analysis. A qualitative approach was conducted in order to comprehend how PSI 20 companies communicate with their stakeholders, based on the analysis of their sustainability and annual reports. This approach intended to answer the research question What is the level of importance PSI 20 companies’ give to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting? A quantitative approach was used to evaluate the PSI 20 companies Corporate Social Performance (CSP) and after that, understand if it can be associated with their Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). The CSP for each year and company was measured by a CS Index, constructed based on the level of concordance between the PSI 20 companies sustainable information and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Specific Indicators. The findings suggest that, in general, PSI 20 companies’ do not give the importance they should to CSR reporting. This idea is reinforced due to the positive impact of CSP on ROS, which demonstrates customers might seem to reward sustainable companies.
O crescente interesse em avaliar como as empresas divlugam e reportam sustentabilidade, bem como o impacto desta na performance financeira, constituem as razões da presente investigação. De modo a atingir os objectivos propostos, foi aplicada uma pesquisa qualitativa e quantitativa para os anos de 2014 e 2015, considerando uma amostra de 18 empresas portuguesas cotadas na Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa, mais concretamente as que estavam listadas no índice de mercado PSI 20 à data da análise. Foi conduzida uma abordagem qualitativa por forma a perceber como as componentes da amostra comunicam com os seus stakeholders, de acordo com uma análise aos seus relatórios anuais e de sustentatibilidade. Esta fase da investigação visa responder à seguinte questão: Qual é o nível de importância que as empresas do PSI 20 dão à actividade de reporte de dados relativos à sua Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSC)? Foi adicionalmente utilizada uma abordagem quantitativa, por forma a avaliar a Performance Social das empresas e perceber se é possível associá-la com a Performance Financeira. A performance social para cada empresa e ano foi medida por um Índice de Sustentabilidade, construído com base no nível de concordância entre a informação divulgada pelas empresas do PSI 20 e os guidelines do GRI G4. Os resultados sugerem que, no geral, as empresas do PSI 20 não dão a importância que deviam ao reporte de CSR. Esta tese é reforçada pelo impacto positivo da performance social no Retorno sobre as Vendas, o que demonstra que os clientes parecem reconhecer e premiar empresas sustentáveis.

This study concerns the use of character education practices in schools and how these practices can be integrated into the art education curriculum to benefit students from urban high-poverty backgrounds. I conducted a document analysis of research in character education referring to methods of integrating character education skills into classroom practice. I identified character education programs that provide instruction in the areas of the emotional resources that Payne (2013) suggests that students from high-poverty backgrounds lack. Then, I made connections between how these identified character education skills align to the studio habits of mind (Hetland, 2013) that the visual arts have been suggested to develop in students to create guidelines for art educators to implement in their classrooms.

The sustainability of the REIPPP programme was as yet unknown. Through this study control drivers critical for the sustainability of the REIPPP programme were identified and prioritised. As background sustainability was investigated on an international level and within the South African context. Control drivers are drivers that have a significant impact on the sustainability of the REIPPP programme and also have some level of controllability. These drivers were obtained and compiled based on appropriate literature. The Global Reporting Guideline (GRI) for sustainability was used as baseline for identifying control drivers. To further obtain and verify the relevant sustainability control drivers, input from the REIPPP programme’s key stakeholders were included in the research. The key stakeholders provided an impact and controllability rating via a questionnaire, which was used to prioritise the identified control drivers. Selected key stakeholder where requested to review control drivers that were identified and prioritised, providing the researcher a means of verifying the preliminary proposed control drivers. Obtaining a final list of prioritised control drivers critical for the sustainability of the REIPPP programme was achieved by integrating the drivers identified by the researcher, stakeholder selected alternative drivers and their self-suggested control drivers. The prioritised control drivers could be used to promote or control the sustainability of the REIPPP programme by addressing and/or supporting the control drivers having the most significant impact. The top 5 prioritised control drivers were selected to be used in an interview with high level key stakeholders. The interviewees provided their input on how these drivers could be supported or addressed to control or even promote the sustainability of the REIPPP programme. From the interview it was clear that the final list of prioritised control drivers was relevant and could influence the long-term sustainability of the REIPPP programme. Many insights were obtained which could provide significant role players, or even the South African Government, the guidance they need to take the REIPPP programme forward.
MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The practicum examines the impact of the physical layout of cities on the way we perceive them. In particular it examines the influence of natural, social, and built elements in perception of the downtown core of Winnipeg. It goes on to propose an urban design strategy for the downtown core, supported by supplementary urban design guidelines.
October 2016