The Arabia CSR Network - a professional group based in the UAE - conducted the Middle East's first sustainability reporting training based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. The training was attended by representatives from private companies, government institutions as well as non-profit organizations based in several Arab countries and Africa.
Over the years, GRI has emerged as the leading reporting framework designed specifically for companies that wish to report on their sustainability strategies and initiatives. Complementing the traditional business practice of developing financial reports, GRI addresses non-financial aspects of economic, environmental, and social performance of organizations.
During her opening speech at the training session, Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, President of the Arabia CSR Network, stated that the Arabia CSR Network, by providing trainings on how to utilize GRI reporting guidelines, plays a very valuable role in raising the quality and efficacy of CSR, sustainability, transparency and business ethics in the Arab world.
The training was conducted bys former Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Ralph Thurm, who has more than 20 years of experience in development of sustainability strategies. Mr. Thurm dedicated all three days of the training session to closely examine and explain how organizations in the Arab world can customize the GRI guidelines to improve their sustainability management and measurement. Mr. Thurm claimed that transparent and honest reporting was the first step towards achieving sustainability, which is why the GRI guidelines are so valuable today.
The participants, who were a mix of HR professionals, CSR consultants, lawyers and senior management, were all left with significant information to ponder upon. Mr. Thurm engaged the participants through a series of individual and group activities, most of which were focused upon asking the right questions to prepare an honest and complete sustainability report based on guidelines. The participants were also taken to the Jumeirah Emirates Towers to observe how the luxury hotel brand has been able to successfully create business value through effective CSR strategy and initiatives.
It is expected that the participants of the GRI training will significantly assist their respective organizations, not only by generating sustainability reports, but also in the process of facilitating their teams to actively manage and measure their sustainability practices so that they are strongly ingrained in every activity of the organization.
There are many organizations that can benefit from GRI training, such as those related to the Environmental Health and Safety sector, Oil and Gas, Construction, Environmental Compliance, Transportation, Accounting, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Banking, Hospitality; Service sector organizations; relevant Government departments; Non-Government organizations; and many more. Over the coming years, it will become imperative for all companies to measure and disclose their contributions/impact to sustainable development. As a result, GRI will become an essential component of any integrated strategy to sustainable business.