GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE WILL FOSTER CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL IN MESSAGE TO OFFICIAL INAUGURATION

GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE WILL FOSTER CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY

SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL IN MESSAGE TO OFFICIAL INAUGURATION

Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, delivered on his behalf by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, to the official inauguration of the Global Reporting Initiative in New York on 4 April:

I am delighted to convey my warmest wishes to the official inauguration of the Global Reporting Initiative, which brings together actors from all sectors of society in a coalition for greater sustainability, respect for human rights and labour standards.  By offering guidelines that enable companies to report on their work to improve environmental and social conditions, the GRI has a unique contribution to make in fostering corporate transparency and accountability beyond financial matters.

The GRI is an important complement to my own Global Compact initiative, which advances universal principles in the same areas, and provides a value-based platform for efforts to foster good corporate citizenship through learning, projects and dialogue.  I commend the close collaboration between the GRI and the Compact, and the key role played by the United Nations Environmental Programme in both.

Companies participating in both initiatives recognize that the GRI is a practical expression of the Compact, and that companies which report under the GRI fully meet the Compact’s reporting requirements.  I hope that over time, all Global Compact companies will make use of the GRI and, conversely, that all GRI companies which do not yet support the Compact will do so soon.  Above all, I look forward to a long and fruitful partnership between our two initiatives, as we work towards our common cause.

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