GRI announces start of Public Survey for Construction & Real Estate and Event Organizers Sector Supplements

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Amsterdam - 29 April 2010 - The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announces the opening of the Public Survey for the GRI Construction & Real Estate Sector Supplement (CRESS) and invites all stakeholders to submit their feedback via the online survey: The Global Reporting Initiative.  

GRI Construction & Real Estate Sector Supplement The CRESS Public Survey takes place from 29 April to 30 June 2010. This Sector Supplement addresses specific sustainability issues that are unique to the Construction and Real Estate industry such as product and service labeling including building and materials certification, building energy intensity, water intensity and CO₂ emissions related to buildings in use, management and remediation of contaminated land, labor health and safety issues when operating in insecure environments, and contractor/subcontractor labor supply chain issues. The importance of sustainability issues for this sector is reflected by the large number of reporters: GRI’s 2009 reporters database contains 70 sustainability reports from Construction and Real Estate which represents 5% of all reports. “This Sector Supplement will enable Construction & Real Estate companies to better measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance, which is an important step towards more transparency in this sector”, said Ernst Ligteringen, GRI’s Chief Executive.   GRI Event Organizers Sector Supplement For the Event Organizers Sector Supplement the Public Survey period is scheduled from 26 May to 4 August 2010. The sector-specific indicators include CO₂ emissions by travelling to and from an event, issues related to the development of infrastructure such as loss of biodiversity, and the impact that the proximity of an event venue can have on local communities and neighbourhoods.   Participants of the 2010 Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency will have the opportunity to learn more about these new GRI Sector Supplements and provide feedback during dedicated Briefing and Q&A sessions. The Event Organizers session will take place on Thursday 27 May from 14:00 to 14:30. The Construction & Real Estate briefing is scheduled for Friday 28 May from 11:00 to 11:30.   About The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The Global Reporting Initiative has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used Sustainability Reporting Framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. This framework sets out the principles and indicators that organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance. www.globalreporting.org   About the GRI Sector Supplements The GRI Sector Supplements contain tailored reporting guidance including sector specific issues that are not adequately addressed by GRI’s G3 Guidelines. They are intended to help organizations produce sustainability reports that address the main sector specific impacts in an internationally comparable way. After a first Public Survey for the draft indicators, the international Working Group reviews all survey responses and incorporates the feedback using a consensus based approach. The process is finalized by a second public feedback period for the final draft version, the 90-day Public Comment. Sector Supplements currently available include the Financial Services, Electric Utilities and the recently launched Mining & Metals Supplement. www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/SectorSupplements/   About The Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency From 26 to 28 May 2010, Amsterdam will play host to the world’s largest gathering of leaders, thinkers and doers in the field of sustainability reporting for the third time. This years’ timely theme is ‘Rethink. Rebuild. Report.’ The conference will explore how to reach GRI’s vision that disclosure on environmental, social, and governance performance is as mainstream as financial reporting by the year 2020. Close to 200 speakers from business, finance, politics and civil society will share their views and debate in more than 50 sessions on how to achieve a transition to a sustainable economy. www.amsterdamgriconference.org 

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Global Reporting Initiative Gudrun Döhl
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