4.5.6 References to CSR reports

It was found that companies which had prepared a separate, voluntary 'sustainability report' or 'CSR report', mostly followed the 2006 GRI Guidelines.

The GRI is an independent international organisation1 that promotes and develops the use of a worldwide standard for voluntary sustainability reporting. This standard is a framework that consists of (i) sustainability reporting guidelines, (ii) sector supplements (special indicators for different industry sectors), (iii) protocols (reporting guidance) and (iv) national annexes (country specific information). Companies use this framework when producing a sustainability report. The framework itself has been established by the GRI with the input of participants from business, civil society, labour and professional institutions. Presently, more than 1,000 companies from over 60 countries generate CSR reports, predominantly large multinationals based in Japan or Western Europe, but also Indian and Brazilian companies.2