GRI Sustainability Disclosure Database upgraded to track new UN Development Goal

Sep 25, 2015 1:05 PM ET

GRI Sustainability Disclosure Database upgraded to track new UN Development Goa…

​GRI has upgraded its Sustainability Disclosure Database. The UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.6 – Live Tracker, provides information that governments and other corporate stakeholders can use to understand how the uptake of sustainability reporting is progressing around the world. The Target 12.6 – Live Tracker can be found now on GRI’s Sustainability Disclosure Database.

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​UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 12.6 lays out a global ambition for governments to develop initiatives that stimulate businesses to report on their sustainability impacts. Specifically, Target 12.6 calls upon UN Members States to “encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.” As a result, over the next 15 years, the UN and all UN Member States are tasked with not only cultivating a business climate in which more companies report on their contributions to the SDGs, but they should also monitor and track these efforts. GRI developed the SDG Target 12.6 – Live Tracker, in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services, to assist governments in monitoring and tracking progress.

“By explicitly acknowledging the critical role companies must play in creating the conditions for sustainable development, the SDGs are an important leap forward from the Millennium Development Goals, which they now succeed,” said GRI’s Deputy Chief Executive Teresa Fogelberg. “In order for governments to develop initiatives to increase sustainability reporting, they first need to understand the current state of play within their respective jurisdictions. The SDG Target 12.6 - Live Tracker will provide an overview of sustainability policies and reporting practices by companies around the world. This will enable smart policy and drive the innovation needed to achieve the SDGs.”

GRI supports decision makers who are committed to achieving the SDGs. GRI’s work in this area is focused on the sustainability reporting process, the value of the information that comes from it and getting this data into the right hands. By helping companies report their contributions to the SDGs, GRI facilitates the creation of data, which governments can use to track progress toward the SDGs and inform better decision making.