About Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The Global Reporting Initiative is an international independent organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and communicate the impact of business on critical sustainability issues such as climate change, human rights, corruption and many others (source: GRI 2016).
GRI reports can be found in the Sustainability Disclosure Database. Here you can find 1000s of sustainability reports and the database enables users to search for and locate the needed information. This database provides users access to all types of sustainability reports, whether GRI-based - G4, G3.1, G3, G2 - or otherwise, and relevant information related to the reporting organizations.
On WikiRate users will find the G4 guidelines, the latest version GRI have produced. You can view the full list of metrics on WikiRate here.
How to search for metric values
Companies who align reports to GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Standards often include a GRI Content Index or Annex where GRI disclosures, with GRI codes, are listed. Researchers can use this index to find out roughly where to look for the information or use CTRL/Command F to search for this index and metrics within the report.
When searching the report, use the G4 codes or keywords to quickly find values, keeping in mind that some companies report on the metric using different terms, e.g. G4-EN16 or EN16 and Greenhouse Gas Emissions or GHG Emissions.
Further guidance on adding, editing and checking metric values is available here.
Conversions and Calculations
There are a variety conversions and calculations researchers may need to carry out prior to adding the value to WikiRate. When adding a new value always check the metric question and methodology for information on the unit of measure or currency.
Here are some examples of calculations or conversions you may need to carry out:
Simple conversions - when values are reported using different measurements or units, use a conversion tool to convert the data
Monetary conversions - monetary values must be converted to US Dollars. If the value is reported in a currency other than US dollars, please consult this page for details of how to convert it to dollars and the conversion rate to use
Percentages and quantities - if the metric requires a quantity (e.g. kg, joules, litres) but a percentage is reported, see if you can find the total and calculate the quantity that the percentage equates to, e.g. if a company produced 1000 tons of waste and 23% was recycled, multiply 1000 by 0.23 to find the amount of recycled waste (230 tons)
Remember, if you make calculations or conversions like these, please describe them as a comment on your metric value!
Checking metric values
Checking the accuracy of metric values is very important if we are to have confidence that the data WikiRate holds on companies is correct.
When checking metric values here are some easy steps to follow:
Select a metric value - this could be via a company profile page, metric page or project page
Review value details - click the drop down arrow next to the value to view the source and comments (comments should include details of where the value was located within the report and any calculations or conversions made to determine the metric value)
View metric methodology - depending on your familiarly with the metric question it is always good practice to refer to the metric methodology to ensure you fully understand what is being asked
View source and check value - see tips on how to search for metric values
Verify metric value - once you have located the accurate metric value in the source either:
Click 'Yes, I checked' - to verify correct metric values, when a value has been checked a small blue tick will appear next to it, or
Click ‘No, I’ll fix it’ - to change incorrect metric values and include details in the comments
If you have doubts about a metric value's accuracy or it's source, please leave a comment to this effect.
Adding comments
As with all metric research on WikiRate, it really helps if researchers make a comment describing exactly where within the source you found the information.
When adding, editing and checking data please consider including the following details:
Page number - where the metric value was found in the report
Conversions - include details of any simple or complex conversions made to determine the metric value
Calculations - include details of any simple or complex calculations made to determine the metric value
Company methodology - include details of the companies methodology used to determine the value reported (if reported)
Include any additional information relating to the metric value in the comments so other users can easily understand the answer.
For GRI metrics in particular, the sources can be very large documents, and if another researcher would like to check the metric value this information makes life much easier!