Sustainable Brands Partners with GRI’s Focal Point USA for G4 North American Release

May 14, 2013 5:30 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO, May 14, 2013 – Sustainable Brands® announced today a partnership with Global Reporting Initiative’s Focal Point USA for its G4 Guidelines release in North America to follow its official launch in Europe this coming May, 2013. The North American G4 Masters Class Series will make its debut as the official “Local Launch of G4” during the Sustainable Brands 2013 (SB’13) conference on June 3, 2013 in San Diego, CA. This will mark the first opportunity for individuals to receive an acknowledgment from GRI for those who have completed the unique G4 Master Classes.

GRI’s Focal Point USA has organized a North American G4 release campaign that includes a series of three (3) GRI Master Classes to educate companies and other stakeholders on their new Guidelines. All Master Classes will be organized by GRI, its Certified Training Partners, Sector Leaders and a G4 Campaign Sponsor. Sustainable Brands 2013 will feature Master Class sessions 2 and 3, running back-to-back pre-conference workshops on June 3rd.  Master Class session 1 is being offered remotely and online. Conference attendees who complete all 3 Master Classes in the series will be among the first to be acknowledged for completing all three by GRI in North America. “We are excited to partner with Sustainable Brands on this” states Mike Wallace, Director of GRI’s New York office, “It is great to see how GRI can work through collaborations network –we are happy to join hands for their inspiring Conference program in San Diego. This is the beauty of GRI’s multi-stakeholder nature”.

“As a GRI Organizational Stakeholder, Sustainable Brands is proud to be the first to offer the North American Master Class series to our diverse stakeholder community,” states KoAnn Skrzyniarz, Founder of Sustainable Brands. “Our community of change makers is sitting at the forefront of sustainable business and brand innovation and GRI’s next generation Reporting Framework will create a stronger link between global stakeholders who are working towards achieving full transparency in sustainability reporting.”

The Sustainable Brands® community gathers each year to share current perspectives, future-shaping trends and brand innovations that are driving positive business results. This year’s conversation theme in San Diego, From Revolution to Renaissance, will focus on positive shifts in business and society that are already taking place, as well as provide examples of purpose-driven brand innovation that is reinvigorating global and local economies.

The conference runs June 3-6th at Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, CA. The GRI Master Class Series is being offered during pre-conference activities at SB’13. Registered Master Class attendees will learn GRI’s new guidance for governance and remuneration, discuss new disclosures created for GHG, anti-corruption and supply chain reporting, and learn how to apply G4 to the US context. Class size is limited. To learn more about SB’13, visit the conference website or call the conference organizers at 415.626.2212. Discounted conference and 1-day tickets are being offered through GRI’s Focal Point USA. Please send inquiries to mailto:griusa@globalreporting.org or find the discount code on the GRI website.

 

About Sustainable Brands

Sustainable Brands® is the premier global community of brand innovators who are shaping the future of commerce worldwide. Since 2006, our mission has been to inspire, engage and equip today’s business and brand leaders to prosper for the near and long term by leading the way to a better future. Digitally published news articles and issues-focused conversation topics, internationally-known conferences and regional events, a robust e-learning library, and peer-to-peer membership groups all facilitate community learning and engagement throughout the year. Sustainable Brands is hosted by Sustainable Brands Worldwide, a division of Sustainable Life Media headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

 

About GRI Focal Point USA

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Focal Point USA was launched in October of 2010 with the aim of helping US companies tell the world about their sustainability impacts. Focal Point USA has been boosting the number of American companies that produce sustainability reports ever since. With staff on the ground led by Director Mike Wallace in the United States, GRI has been able to support companies producing ESG reports, by helping identify best practices tailored to US companies’ needs while connecting US organizations with the global GRI network.

 

 

Contact:

Katherine Arnett

Saatchi & Saatchi S

415.871.2005

katherine.arnett@saatchis.com