Non Governmental Organization’s Use of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting

This report, a collaboration between the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), examines the experiences of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in adopting the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. It details the organizational benefits, implementation barriers, and specific case studies of CEDHA and IISD, ultimately recommending that the GRI develop a dedicated sector supplement for CSOs or service-providing organizations to better address their unique operational realities.

• The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, first released in 1999 and updated in 2000 and 2002, provide a framework for organizations to report on their economic, environmental, and social performance. While designed primarily for business organizations, they allow entities to compare sustainability contributions over time.
• CSOs realize both general benefits shared with businesses—such as improved stakeholder engagement and sharpened management assessment of capital—and unique benefits. These include establishing quantified baselines for performance monitoring, stimulating internal sustainability discussions, and identifying gaps between organizational objectives and internal processes.
• Implementation of the Guidelines presents significant barriers for CSOs because the indicators are tailored for large, resource-based industries. Specific challenges include the irrelevance of certain environmental indicators (e.g., IUCN Red List species or product reclaimability), the need to redesign economic indicators like 'Net Sales' for non-profits, and difficulties in collecting utility data when operating out of shared office buildings.
• The Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) found that GRI reporting increased staff consciousness regarding institutional impacts and provided a tool to identify gaps between policy and actual activities. However, the organization faced internal resistance due to the significant time commitment and a lack of pre-existing data collection processes.
• The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) utilized GRI's incremental approach to phase in indicators as resources allowed, starting with five indicators in 2001-2002 and increasing to eleven by 2003-2004. This process led to concrete sustainability actions, including the purchase of carbon offsets and the development of an internal carbon management strategy.
• The authors recommend that the GRI create a 'CSO sector supplement' or a general 'service sector supplement'. Such a tool would provide clear templates and guidance on budgetary limitations, as CSOs often lack the 'own funds' required to monitor complex indicators like greenhouse gas emissions, which are typically funded by project-specific donor grants.

APA

Taillant, J. D., Wahba, A., Clarke, P., & Roy, M. (2005). Non Governmental Organization’s Use of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/non_gov_global_reporting.pdf

Chicago

Taillant, Jorge Daniel, Andrew Wahba, Pepe Clarke, and Marlene Roy. Non Governmental Organization’s Use of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2005. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/non_gov_global_reporting.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Taillant |first1=Jorge Daniel |last2=Wahba |first2=Andrew |last3=Clarke |first3=Pepe |last4=Roy |first4=Marlene |title=Non Governmental Organization’s Use of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=January 2005 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/non_gov_global_reporting.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{taillant2005non, author = {Taillant, Jorge Daniel and Wahba, Andrew and Clarke, Pepe and Roy, Marlene}, title = {{Non Governmental Organization’s Use of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2005}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/non_gov_global_reporting.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }