Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on trends in sustainability reporting has been taken a step further.

 To investigate and better understand the effect they would have on their own companies and sustainability reports CLG choose 4 trends From the 17 trends presented by GRI at the Forum on Sustainability Trends and Reports held in November 2015. These trends are climate change, human rights, wealth inequality, and information and technology.

Climate change.

Climate change is at the top of the global agenda and evolving trends in sustainability and corporate information.

In 2016, the World Economic Forum declared the failure in mitigation and adaptation to climate change as the main global risk in terms of impact. Climate occupies a prominent place in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are already attracting significant interest and early adoption, and many organizations already disclose information about climate change.

https://www.ge3s.org/service/sustainability-advisory/

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) took stock of the spread of climate change in the G20 countries and found that corporate reporting practices are improving rapidly.

Among the priorities to explore and improve information on climate change in corporate reports, the GLG recommends organizations to:

•Contextualize and internalize more the challenge of climate change: Learn as much as you can from the best practices, but be sure to review the materiality analysis and the most relevant aspects of climate change for each sector and organization, and improve the data, the metrics and the reports accordingly: If the emphasis is on the supply chain, the priority could be to understand the risks in your supply chain and calculate your scope 3 emissions. If the company’s products and services influence the use of energy and the emissions of others, the design and manner in which they are delivered may be of greater importance.

•Try to understand the interconnections of climate change and other issues.

•Establish and achieve long-term goals (beyond 2020), based on scientific objectives.

•Determine how to align the interests and activities of the reporting organizations with governments, taking into account the different national plans on climate change and the multinational nature of many reporting organizations.

•Develop a clear and concise narrative of the vulnerability of the organization in the light of climate change and the shared challenge it presents.

•Focus on behavior change: what should people and organizations do to address the challenges related to energy consumption and emissions?

Human Rights.

Human rights observes two  mega trends that will be fundamental for business operations and will demonstrate the inter connectivity of the trends that were explored by the CLG:

•The emergence of hyper-inequality and the opportunity for shared prosperity: The business plays a fundamental role in the way in which wealth is created, but also in how it is distributed. Respecting and protecting Human Rights is fundamental for the equitable distribution of resources.

•The worsening ecological crisis: The need to transition towards a low carbon economy creates an opportunity to find solutions that benefit the most vulnerable: those who often remain without environmental or ecological protection also often experience a lack of Human Rights and social protection, especially in long and complex supply chains.

The expectations of corporate reports on the many facets of Human Rights are growing day by day and due diligence in that area is now the minimum expected. Investors, rating agencies, and regulators seek information about this diligence and through benchmarking they will be provided with simple and quick comparisons.

The priorities and next steps to be taken to improve the report on Human Rights according to the GLG are to:

•Understand better the Human Rights, not only as a material problem for the organizations but with a more detailed understanding of the importance and of the rights that run the risk of having the most severe negative impact through the activities of the organization and its commercial relationships. To achieve this, Human Rights impact evaluations must be carried out.

•Create awareness and disseminate knowledge through the company and its supply chain is essential.

•Companies must explore how their HR departments can help compliance with Human Rights.

•Integrating respect for Human Rights throughout the supply chain is perceived as the greatest challenge.

•Many companies are interested to share their supply chain information since a single organization can not effectively monitor hundreds and thousands of suppliers.

•The work of risk analysis of the supply chain and the audit are a first step to identify the risks in Human Rights.

GE3S is a sustainability reporting consultant. We have developed 30+ sustainability reports globally. For further information visit us @ ge3s.org or email vishal.kumar@ge3s.org

Blog about: Carbon Natural and Footprint

Climate change describes the shift in weather phenomena around the world associated with an increase in global average temperatures. Although there is a wide range of natural phenomena largely on climate, the publication of climate scientists agrees overwhelmingly that global warming and the resulting climate impacts we are seeing are the result of human activity.

Whereas, human activity has contributed to increasing long-term greenhouse gases that are not dissipated as a result of industrial and technological progress and dependence on fuel derivatives as a primary source of energy. The figure below shows where these emissions came from in 2016.

All these environmental disasters necessitated the intervention of all countries in an attempt to stop this climate change. Accordingly, in 1992, in the "Earth Summit", the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) produced the "Rio Conventiont" as a first step in addressing the problem of climate change, ratified 197 countries and aims to Stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prevent "dangerous" human interference with the climate system.

In order to enhance the global response to climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. The protocol obliges all parties involved in targets and timetables for reducing emissions in industrialized countries.

Carbon neutral is a term that arose from the idea of ​​achieving equality between the following two exchanges: What is added to the atmosphere from carbon are products of energy use and natural biological processes such as breathing of living organisms and others, and what is consumed of carbon as photosynthesis processes in the plant.

Organizations and companies use the term carbon neutral or carbon neutral, when they take measures to remove the largest amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere whenever they put carbon dioxide in it, as it shown in the figure below. The goal is to keep the carbon from increasing in the atmosphere to achieve a zero carbon footprint.

While the term "carbon footprint" is often used for the amount of carbon that is emitted from an activity or institution, institutions also use the term “carbon neutrality” to express how it balances its carbon emissions. This happens by saving carbon elsewhere in the world by using clean and renewable energy sources in developing countries, thereby achieving societal benefits in addition to environmental benefits.

GE3S provides carbon footprint services to its clients across sectors. We have helped clients in achieving carbon-neutral certification.  Contact vishal.kumar@ge3s.org for more information.  

(Carbon neutral) gives the institution a reputation and supports its strategy of sustainability, and contributes to improving the quality of work and It helps in the growth of the renewable energy market which leads to lower cost, and institutions also realize that customers prefer products and services from suppliers interested in the environment.

Companies can achieve this through carbon neutrality management and strategies, calculating and tracking their carbon footprint, implementing cost-effective carbon reduction programs, and supporting and creating a wide range of high-quality renewable projects around the world.

Benefits of GRI

The GRI Standards for Sustainability Reporting provide a one-stop standardized approach to reporting which benchmarks organizational performance and demonstrates an organizational commitment to sustainable development.

GE3S has helped several government organizations in preparing their sustainability reports. We have experienced a sustainability reporting consultant in Dubai who already worked on sustainability reports.

Organizations applying the GRI Standards report a range of internal and external benefits including:

Internal benefits include:

• Improving Vision and Strategy
•  Strengthening Management Systems
• Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
•  Motivating Employees

External benefits include:

• Building Reputation and Trust
•  Attracting Capital
•  Strengthening Stakeholder Engagement
•  Identifying Competitive Advantage

Who should attend?

Whether or not you already have experience in sustainability reporting, GRI Standards training is relevant professional development training if you are involved in organizational performance.

For experienced practitioners, the training is an opportunity to step outside daily practice to review, improve, and discover leading practices, and to engage with a sustainability reporting community outside your own organization.

If you are new to sustainability reporting or new to the reporting team, or if your organization is thinking about preparing a report but doesn’t know where to start or how to take the first step, this training is ideal for you. It will not only develop your skills in a standardized approach to sustainability reporting, but it will also show you through case study practices what other organizations are reporting.

https://www.ge3s.org/service/sustainability-advisory/

GRI helps government sector clients globally understand and communicate their impact on critical sustainability issues such as climate change, human rights, governance, and social well-being. This allows real action to create social, environmental, and economic benefits for everyone.

We have experienced sustainability reporting consultants in our team. We have developed several reports across GCC in line with GRI standards. Reach us @ge3s.org or email vishal.kumar@ge3s.org

This will be a welcome and efficient supplement to the questionnaires, interviews, press releases, media reports, and other sources of information traditionally used for screening in investment decision making – social/ethical and mainstream.

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GE3S is one of the most experienced green building consultant in the region having worked on several green building rating systems, from villas to large scale mixed-use developments for both design and construction phase. We have one of the largest sustainability team in the UAE with 25+ sustainability professionals specializing in; green building certifications, sustainability reporting, carbon footprint, environmental studies, waste management plans, energy audits, etc. View more posts

Activities to do for reducing the carbon footprint

“carbon footprint” is an amount of the impact your actions have on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) produced through the burning of fossil fuels and is expressed as a weight of CO2 emissions produced in tonnes. Global specialists call for a target limit of approximately 2 tonnes per person per year. The approximate national average for the United States of America is 20, United Kingdom 9, China 3, and India. As noted below, activities intended at reducing carbon emissions can be very beneficial to health! Readers will need to determine which actions apply to their particular environments.

Transport

Health benefits: Increased physical activity can result in reduced obesity, heart disease (including the lowering of high blood pressure), diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer. Reduced air pollution can lead to less respiratory disease, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Reduced road-related injuries will result in fewer deaths and hospitalizations and less suffering.

Food 

Health benefits: Better dietary choices can reduce the intake of saturated fats, excess sugar, and salt and thus lower the risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and colon and breast cancers. 

Environmental benefits: Food production is a major contributor to global emissions. 

Energy Use 

Health benefits: Outdoor air pollution (attributable annual mortality of 0.8 million in cities >100 000) and occupational health risks, mostly in low-income countries. Currently, 2.4 billion people are governed by traditional biomass fuels and 1.6 billion do not have electricity

Water Use 

Health benefits. Actions that encourage and preserve water quantity and quality will support maintain safe drinking-water, agriculture, and get your clothes and serving dishes clean at low temperatures.

Waste Management: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 

Environmental and health benefits: Waste is a significant supplier of carbon emissions. Reducing waste can lead to big emission savings and lower landfill necessities, with subsequent declines in air and land pollution. 

Sustainability Reporting Consultant in United Arab Emirates

Sustainability Reporting is a crucial step to achieve smart and inclusive growth with long-term profitability and environmental care. GE3S is a leading Sustainability Reporting Consultant in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. For the stakeholder, transparency encompasses a systemic process for improving performance and sustainability reporting practices. It enables companies to measure, monitor, and manage their impact on society, the environment, and the economy. 

For this to be useful, a company should meet with the Sustainability consultant writing the report and categorize the main impacts that influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. Material topics for a reporting organization should include those topics that have a direct or indirect impact on its ability to create value for the three pillars of Sustainability. 

In financial reporting, materiality is commonly thought of as a threshold for influencing the economic decisions of those using an organization’s financial statements i.e. while in sustainability reporting it is not limited to those sustainability topics that have a significant financial impact. 

GE3S as a Sustainability Reporting Consultants helps in determining materiality for a sustainability report includes the consideration of economic, environmental, and social impacts that cross a certain standard in affecting the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. 

When Sustainability consultants create the report, materiality enables external stakeholders to understand the companies’ true value, tangible and intangible assets and provides a critical source of information for affected communities and stakeholders. 

GE3S Prepare Sustainability Reports by following the ‘Reporting Guidance for Defining Content’, and applying the ‘Reporting Principles for Defining Content’ in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the organization should be able to report on those impacts. The G4 Guidelines propose that the organization presents its material topics upfront in the report, meaning that higher visibility will be given to the chosen material topics. These could range from greenhouse gas emissions to human rights or the gender balance of boards of directors. As Sustainability Reporting consultants, GE3S understands the importance of this and values materiality assessment in the core of every sustainability report. 

Reduce your GHG emissions and move towards zero carbon neutral

A carbon footprint is the measure of the Green House Gas emissions of an organization, process, person or event in a given time period. It is calculated in units of tons carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). GE3S helps it’s clients to establish a process, build organizational capacity to measure, analyze and monitor their GHG emissions that help organizations to realize their Carbon Footprint and build climate change mitigation strategy.

We have successfully completed carbon footprint projects for several clients in UAE. An organization’s carbon footprint can be measured by undertaking a GHG emissions assessment. The carbon footprint estimation involves setting the physical boundary and the time period for which it has to be calculated. It is followed by identifying significant GHG emission sources. Some of the common GHG emission sources are electricity consumption, fuel consumption, refrigerant leakage, anaerobic decay of waste in landfills, travel in fossil fuel run vehicles etc.

Once these sources are identified, required data is collected and then GHG emissions are calculated using emission factors. GE3S specializes in carbon footprint calculation. The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard provides guidance for companies preparing a corporate-level GHG emissions inventory also known as carbon footprint. GE3S has experienced Consultants who help the clients in calculating Carbon Footprint for their company. We have developed carbon footprint for several companies using The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.

It was updated in 2015 with the Scope 2 Guidance, which permits companies to reliably measure and report emissions from acquired or acquired electricity, heat, steam and cooling.

GE3S has experienced Consultants who help the clients in calculating Carbon Footprint for their company. We have developed carbon footprint for several companies using The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard offers desires and regulation for corporations and other organizations preparing a GHG emissions inventory also known as carbon footprint. It was designed with the following purposes in mind:

·         To help corporations prepare a carbon footprint that signifies a true and fair account of their emissions through the use of standardized methodologies and values

·         To make simpler and reduce the costs of compiling a GHG inventory

·         To provide business with information that can be used to build an actual strategy to manage and reduce GHG emissions

·         To increase regularity and transparency in GHG accounting and reporting among various companies and GHG programs

GE3S helps in reducing their GHG emissions and move towards zero carbon.

Carbon Footprint/ Carbon Neutral

A carbon footprint is the measure of the Green House Gas emissions of an organization, process, person or event in a given time period. It is calculated in units of tons carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). GE3S helps it’s clients to establish a process, build organisational capacity to measure, analyze and monitor their GHG emissions that help organizations to realize their Carbon Footprint and build climate change mitigation strategy. We have successfully completed carbon footprint projects for several clients in UAE. An organization’s carbon footprint can be measured by undertaking a GHG emissions assessment.

The carbon footprint estimation involves setting the physical boundary and the time period for which it has to be calculated. It is followed by identifying significant GHG emission sources. Some of the common GHG emission sources are electricity consumption, fuel consumption, refrigerant leakage, anaerobic decay of waste in landfills, travel in fossil fuel run vehicles etc. Once these sources are identified, required data is collected and then GHG emissions are calculated using emission factors. GE3S specializes in carbon footprint calculation.

The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard provides guidance for companies preparing a corporate-level GHG emissions inventory also known as carbon footprint. GE3S has experienced Consultants who help the clients in calculating Carbon Footprint for their company. We have developed carbon footprint for several companies using The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. GE3S has experienced Consultants who help the clients in calculating Carbon Footprint for their company. We have developed carbon footprint for several companies using The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.

Carbon neutral is a term that arose from the idea of ​​achieving equality between the following two exchanges: What is added to the atmosphere from carbon are products of energy use and natural biological processes such as breathing of living organisms and others, and what is consumed of carbon as photosynthesis processes in the plant.

Organizations and companies use the term carbon neutral or carbon neutral, when they take measures to remove the largest amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere whenever they put carbon dioxide in it. The goal is to keep the carbon from increasing in the atmosphere to achieve a zero carbon footprint.

Carbon Footprint

Today, it is becoming common to hear about climate change, a topic that many people talk about, but few realize the impact of this phenomenon. As the causes of the phenomenon of climate change are attributed to the high levels of human industrial activity in particular, and consequently, the percentage of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rises with it.

Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from diverse human activity are directly related to the degradation of the world environment. Accordingly, it is essential to measure the rates of carbon dioxide emissions from these activities, from which the extent of negativity contributes to increasing environmental loads.

A carbon footprint can be defined as an indicator by which the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production, use, and end of a product or service is expressed. It includes carbon dioxide – the gas most emitted by humans – and others, including methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases that trap heat in the atmosphere causing global warming.

The carbon footprint is used at several levels, where it is used to express the rates of carbon dioxide emissions at the level of the individual, institutions, countries or even at the level of the production of a specific product or at a particular level of activity, and is often expressed in units of tons of carbon dioxide emissions )Ton / Year(.

Currently, organizations are moving towards achieving a sustainability strategy through their responsible sense of the environment.

As companies around the world measure their carbon footprint, inform stakeholders, and use the results to communicate their sustainability measures.

The idea of “sustainable consumption” has emerged, which depends on the idea that both individuals and institutions consume goods and services that have little impact on the environment.

The carbon footprint can be calculated by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a specified period, usually on an annual basis, as the data must have a fixed period. Data is collected from a variety of different sources, which differ from one institution to another, including travel, logistics, and operations, to obtain a complete and accurate footprint.

Also, the appropriate emission factor must be determined for each emission source to calculate the tons of carbon dioxide (tCO2e).

After analyzing the results of the carbon footprint, organizations are working on a strategic approach to reduce these emissions and set sustainable environmental goals. It can include ways to reduce the carbon footprint of enterprises, such as driving more energy-efficient cars, and where employees use public transportation, and the use of energy-saving devices in the enterprise.

An insulator can also be installed in the organization’s offices to reduce heating and air conditioning costs, and urge employees to consume food that does not require a significant amount of transportation and others.

Organizations can also offset CO2 emissions by investing in projects such as tree planting or investing in renewable energy.