Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting / GRI

Get Ready for First-Time Sustainability Reporting ... 2018 GRI Reporters’ North America Summit / Program and Speakers

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Get Ready for First-Time Sustainability Reporting https://www.globalreporting.org/information/events/reportersummit/Pages/Speakers.aspx

It doesn’t have to be that bad.

At this week’s 2018 GRI Reporters’ North America Summit, participants geeked out on all the best ways to improve their sustainability reporting with increased materiality, stakeholder engagement and communications. But the conference also served newer reporters, sharing tips and tools for those just getting started with reporting. Stewart Rassier from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, an experienced consultant with multiple “first reports” under his belt, together with Jamie Jones Ezefili from Northern Trust, an accomplished first time reporter, shared some best practices for first time reporting.

“The first report is hands down the most difficult report you’ll have to do,” Rassier explained, which was oddly reassuring. The first one is always the hardest. But the most important thing is to get started, because each subsequent reporting cycle allows a company to get a little more transparent with each cycle.

The reason it’s the hardest is that reporters generally underestimate the legwork involved. That’s because a sustainability report isn’t just a collection of good deeds, although those are nice. In addition to being a communications document, “A GRI report is tool for organizational change,” Rassier noted. By following the GRI reporting methodology, a company is encouraged to talk to a few more stakeholders, bench mark a bit more, collect and analyze more data and share a bit more. Each of these steps requires a little bit more buy-in from a few more co-workers. Indeed, the GRI methodology provides a detailed roadmap for producing a comprehensive sustainability report.

Host a kick off meeting

The very very first step for an intrepid reporter is to host a kick off meeting with key stakeholders: people who want to be involved (leadership and key advocates) and people who need to be involved, who own data you will need to access. Jones explained that bringing everyone together allowed the team to feel like a group. After one passthrough the reporting cycle, Jones made sure to publicly congratulate everyone who helped her. Northern Trust uses an internal rewards system. She also made sure to communicate with all the relevant managers and management group.

This year, “Everyone accepted my kickoff meeting request right away. No one tried to delegate so it seemed to work really well.”

Each year the number of important parties may evolve as a reporter better understands the stakeholders and the information they want. This can inform future reports. “I get letters all the time from shareholders and stakeholders and that informs us,” she explained. “If people ask how many women on the board, I need to make a point of disclosing.”

Collect data

After the kickoff comes collecting data. Rassier suggests collecting what is available. Try to get it all — even if data owners are not ready to disclose. “Promise colleagues that you won’t disclose anything without their permission. Tell them you are just collecting for now, and there will be many chances to review.” He offered. This allows the team to get a lay of the land and see what is possible. Ultimately, the company will likely not be able to share everything and that’s ok. But the comprehensive data collection allows for a “lay of the land” assessment and future benchmarking if need be. If colleagues balk at sharing certain data, take a look at what competitors are sharing and offer that as an example. Remind colleagues of how few lawsuits have actually come from corporate responsibility disclosures.

Rely on data that already exists

While the sustainability reporting process will likely involve tracking new data, a lot will already be available. Jones found that 40 percent of the data in the sustainability report came from the annual report. Using these existing public data, especially those that have already been vetted, is a great way to build out a first report. Then building can happen over time.

Focus on nerds, punters and employees

When it comes to the actual writing, Rassier recommends remembering three main readers: sustainability nerds like the readers of this article, punters who are interested in a specific element of your company and employees. What do they care about? To tell the best stories, balance hard numbers with context and individual stories to add color and create meaning for all these readers. Rassier also recommends that reporters look for “microcosms of goodness” to feature: teams or buildings that have an innovative solution to a waste, energy or employee engagement challenge. By featuring these success stories, a reporter lays the case for replicating those wins in other parts of the company, to increase impact.

What do you wish you’d known as a first time you reported? Share your tips in the comments!

Image credit: Jenni C, Flickr

Jen Boynton Jen Boynton is editor in chief of TriplePundit and editorial director at 3BL Media. With over 6 million annual readers, TriplePundit is the leading publication on sustainable business and the Triple Bottom Line. Prior to TriplePundit, Jen received an MBA in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School. In her work with TriplePundit she's helped clients from SAP to PwC to Fair Trade USA with their sustainability communications messaging. When she's not at work, she volunteers as a CASA -- court appointed special advocate for children in the foster care system. She enjoys losing fights with toddlers and eating toast scraps. She lives with her family in sunny San Diego. FOLLOW JEN BOYNTON @JENBOYNTON
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SPEAKERS Take a look at our expert speakers who will be guiding you through best practices in sustainability reporting, sharing tips and tools for you to implement directly in your own work.
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SPEAKERS Expand-Collapse
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Sue Allchurch Chief of Participant Relations and Communications, United Nations Global Compact Sue works with the business community to help make progress towards meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development goals through bold innovation and through more responsible business practices encompassing labour, human rights, environment and anti-corruption. Sue spent most of her career running consumer brands, latterly Lipton tea, Surf and Skip detergents and Laundry Innovation globally. In all roles Sue led sustainable development and social purpose as a core part of the brand development with a key focus on product, supply chain and idea development. Prior to these roles, Sue was Global Vice President of the Unilever Marketing Academy and head of marketing for Save the Children UK.
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Dunstan Allison-Hope Managing Director, BSR Dunstan leads the team of directors that oversees BSR’s six core areas of expertise—human rights, climate change, inclusive economy, women’s empowerment, sustainability management, and supply chain. Previously, Dunstan led BSR’s information and communications technology and heavy manufacturing practices. Dunstan facilitated the multi-stakeholder process of developing global principles on freedom of expression and privacy, which led to the launch of the Global Network Initiative in October 2008. He also helped create the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, a collaborative initiative of more than 100 ICT companies improving conditions in their supply chains. Prior to joining BSR in 2004, Dunstan was part of British Telecommunications' corporate responsibility team. Dunstan has an M.Prof. in Sustainable Development from Forum for the Future.
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Diane W. Biagianti Vice President, Chief Responsibility Officer, Edwards Lifesciences LLC Diane W. Biagianti is Vice President, Chief Responsibility Officer at Edwards Lifesciences LLC (“Edwards”) where she has responsibility for the Company’s global Ethics and Compliance program, Global Information Security, and Legal Regulatory, including development of the Company’s policies and procedures; provision of organizational guidance, support and training; auditing, monitoring and investigations; oversight of the global HCP transparency program, and clinical trials and regulatory support. In 2013, Diane received the PricewaterhouseCoopers Award for Leadership in the Advancement of Ethics in the Medical Device Industry. Prior to joining Edwards, Diane served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (”AMO”) from 2002 to 2009. In 2009, Abbott Laboratories acquired AMO. After the acquisition, Diane served as Divisional Vice President, Legal, for Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. Prior to joining AMO, she was Vice President, Assistant General Counsel of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. from 1997 through 2002 and was an associate with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP from 1991 to 1997, where she practiced as an employment litigator. She received her J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1991 and graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Business Administration in 1984. She is also a certified public accountant, previously licensed to practice in Arizona.
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Christopher Boone Dean, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University Christopher Boone is the Dean of the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. His research contributes to ongoing debates in sustainable urbanization, environmental justice, vulnerability, and global environmental change. He is a co-PI for the urban Long Term Ecological Research projects based in Baltimore and Phoenix, both supported by the National Science Foundation. At ASU, he has taught classes on sustainable urbanization, urban and environmental health, principles and methods of sustainability, environmental justice, sustainable design and innovation, and interdisciplinary methods for socio-ecological research. Boone serves on the Executive Committee for the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, part of the National Council on Science and the Environment. He has a PhD from the University of Toronto and was a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University.
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Lex de Bruijn Managing Director, FIRA Sustainability B.V. Over the past 20 years Lex has been engaged in international business development, expanding on topics such as corporate responsibility, EHS management and assurance. Among other jobs Lex has been active as Auditor and Lead Assessor Management Systems for many years. Throughout his career Lex has been accustomed to work for multinational clients such as The Coca-Cola Company, Mohawk Industries, Sun Microsystems (Oracle), Bacardi GE Plastics and many others. Lex started the FIRA Sustainability in 2010, a CSR assurance provider including an online register in which suppliers display their CSR practices to buyers. Lex is one of the authors of ISO 20400, guideline for sustainable procurement. Lex firmly believes sustainability can be accelerated by appealing to business drivers.
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Bastian Buck Standards Director, GRI Bastian is responsible for the all standard setting activities at GRI. Bastian has extensive experience with the development of the GRI reporting guidance, the ins and outs of global multi-stakeholder processes, having been with GRI for more than a decade.
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Sarah Corrigan Senior Consultant, BrownFlynn A Senior Consultant at BrownFlynn, Sarah delivers in-depth analysis and synthesized project results. Through the Firm’s external training programs, she teaches practical approaches to reporting frameworks, materiality, and other topics of interest. Sarah helps to keep BrownFlynn on the cutting edge of market developments and leads the Firm’s analysis of sustainability ratings and industry benchmarking. Throughout her work, Sarah aims to communicate the value of reporting and to expand the integration of sustainability performance with traditional financial analysis. Her clients have included companies in the health care, financial services, consumer packaged goods, and industrial manufacturing industries. Prior to joining BrownFlynn, she served in the Office of General Counsel at the Federal Trade Commission. Her other experiences include CSR Asia in Hong Kong, where she analyzed the sustainability practices of companies listed on the Hang Seng Index. CSR Asia published her research in collaboration with Oxfam HK.
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Jennifer Eastes Principal Consultant, ERM Jennifer is a Senior Sustainability Consultant with 11 years of experience assisting Fortune 500 companies with the development of their corporate sustainability strategies. Jennifer’s particular area of expertise lies in transparency, disclosure and communications, where she helps companies to articulate their sustainability vision, strategy and performance. Jennifer has developed more than 100 sustainability reports. Since the launch of the SDGs, Jennifer has worked with many organizations to both map their current programs against the SDGs, as well as to strategically identify focus areas within the SDGs.
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Linden Edgell Global Sustainability Director, ERM Linden is the Global Sustainability Director and a Partner with ERM. She leads ERM’s corporate approach to sustainability and reporting and the ERM Foundation, and is responsible for key elements of the company’s strategy focusing on ‘the business of sustainability’. Linden leads ERM’s engagements with key global organisations including the UN Global Compact, GRI and World Business Council for Sustainable Development. She has been involved in many UN events, and has co-ordinated ERM’s engagement in various UNFCCC meetings and SDGs development and implementation.
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Jamie Ezefili VP and Senior Project Manager, Northern Trust Jamie is currently the Vice President and Senior Project Manager for the Corporate Social Responsibility program at Northern Trust. In this role she is responsible for delivering the annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report as well as managing assessments such as DJSI, CDP and FTSE4Good. Jamie joined Northern Trust in 2008 as Team Lead in the Corporate and Institutional Services. Jamie serves at Girl Scout Trooper leader for Daisies in Chicago and is a Certified Corporate Responsibility Executive candidate through ACCP.
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Suzanne Fallender Director, Corporate Responsibility, Intel Corporation Suzanne Fallender is Director of Corporate Responsibility for Intel Corporation. In her role, Suzanne collaborates with key stakeholders across the company to integrate corporate responsibility into company strategies, policies, communications, and governance processes. Suzanne leads a team of experienced professionals who regularly engage with internal and external stakeholders to review and provide input on Intel’s corporate responsibility performance, approach to human rights, and shared value opportunities to apply Intel’s technology to address social and environmental challenges. She also leads Intel’s corporate responsibility reporting and communications strategy, and works closely with Intel’s investor relations and corporate governance groups. Suzanne has more than 20 years of experience in the field of corporate responsibility and corporate governance. Previously, she served as Vice President at Institutional Shareholder Services where she led the company’s socially responsible investment research division. She holds an M.B.A. from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and a B.A. from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and has served on many industry advisory boards and committees on sustainability and corporate responsibility over the past decade.
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Katie Fedosenko Senior Communications and Reporting Specialist, Teck Resources Katie Fedosenko is responsible for Teck’s award-winning sustainability report, engagement with ESG ratings and rankings, and storytelling related to sustainability. Prior to joining Teck, Katie was a freelance writer and communications manager for an environmental NGO. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English from the University of British Columbia. She was recently named to the 2017 Greenbiz 30 under 30.
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Juliette Gaussem Guidance & Practice Senior Manager, GRI After graduating from Business School, Juliette worked for a French social business focussed on answering a social need. Looking to participate in an international challenge, she worked for the Impact Hub Amsterdam and then applied to become a “changemaker” on GRI’s side. Her main expertise is network relations, marketing and business development. As the Guidance & Practice Senior Manager, Juliette Gaussem’s first role is to lead GRI’s strategy for knowledge-based services and related content development and oversee the work of the team in developing and delivering a series of knowledge assets to respond to demand from the network and generally build capacity for better quality reporting based on the GRI Reporting Standards. Juliette holds a Master in Management from the Reims Management Business School (France) and the International Business Linkage Program Degree from Aalto University (Finland). She was born in Paris (France) and now lives in Amsterdam. Juliette speaks French, English and Spanish.
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Wesley Gee Director of Sustainability, The Works Design Combining academic expertise with extensive professional experience, Wesley leads The Works’ sustainability practice. He provides guidance in stakeholder engagement, materiality, performance measurement, communications and reporting. Wesley contributed to the development of the G4 Guidelines, served on sector working groups with SASB, and is a judge for CPA Canada’s Corporate Reporting Awards. He also lectures for the CSR certificate and MScSM program at the University of Toronto. Before joining The Works, Wesley was Sustainability Consultant at Stantec and CSR Advisor at Canadian Business for Social Responsibility. He holds a Master’s in Sustainable Business from the University of Leeds.
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Pamela Cooper Griesemer Vice President of Operations, Sustainability Services, KERAMIDA Inc Pamela holds an M.S. in Physical Chemistry from University of Chicago and a B.S. in Chemistry Magna Cum Laude from Ball State and has completed coursework in Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment at Harvard University. Pamela is an ISI ENVISION Sustainability Professional and a GBCI certified LEED® Green Associate. She earned SASB’s Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting credential, and secured KERAMIDA’s status as a CDP USA Silver Education and Training Partner, a GRI Certified Training Partner, and a STAR Community Affiliate. Pamela teaches Urban Sustainability and Environmental Justice for Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In her role as KERAMIDA’s Sustainability Services business unit leader, Pamela assists clients in developing, operationalizing and optimizing programs, and their accompanying suite of procedures and tools, to improve environmental, health and safety performance.
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Eric Hespenheide Chairman, GRI Board of Directors Eric is Chairman of the GRI Board of Directors. Previously Eric chaired GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), as well as GRI’s Technical Advisory Committee. Prior to retiring in 2013, Eric led Deloitte’s global sustainability reporting and assurance practice for a number of years. In addition to GRI related activities, Eric is the Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Sustainability Assurance and Advisory Task Force, a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Global Advocacy Committee, a member of the Board of Advisors for E-Revalue and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee at Louisiana State University and the University of Detroit Mercy. Eric previously served on the Working Group of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) during the development of the Framework.
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Cara M. Johnson Attorney, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Cara Johnson is a transactional attorney who focuses her practice on a mix of M&A, joint venture and other business transactions, and general corporate and social impact work. She is particularly interested in working with socially and environmentally responsible companies and investors to: set up benefit corporations and benefit-driven LLCs; complete B Corp impact assessments; draft annual sustainability reports based on GRI metrics; develop environmental, social and governance policies; form impact investment networks and funds; connect socially responsible investors to socially and environmentally driven companies. Cara lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her wife, Tanya, and their daughter, Lena.
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Monika Kumar Environmental Specialist, Corporate Responsibility Program, World Bank In addition to supporting the Program’s corporate climate commitment efforts, Monika reports on the Bank’s sustainability policies and practices to the various stakeholders via the Sustainability Report website, and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index. Monika is currently coordinating the assessment of corporate policies and processes to develop a strategic framework and a Sustainability Management System (SMS) that guides the WBG’s corporate sustainability initiatives. She earned a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and has worked as a Sustainability Strategist in New York before joining the Bank.
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Crystal Lassiter Senior Director, Global Sustainability and Environmental Affairs, UPS Crystal Lassiter is the Sr. Director, Global Sustainability & Environmental Affairs at UPS. Her responsibilities include developing and driving the strategies, initiatives, and reporting activities that advance UPS’s sustainability goals. She began her career in 1996, spending most of her years at UPS in facility maintenance leading teams in Engineering and Facilities functions across the company’s operations. Through her experience leading facility expansions, she oversaw the implementation of natural gas fueling stations, lighting upgrades and other sustainability projects. Outside of work, Crystal loves hiking, dancing, traveling and practicing Spanish.
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Nancy Mancilla CEO & Co-Founder, ISOS Group Nancy is recognized through her leadership at ISOS Group as a GRI Certified Training Partner, CDP Educational Partner, ISO26000 and GPM (for Sustainability Project Management) Training Partner, as well as a TSC Service Provider. In her capacity, Nancy has orchestrated 300+ trainings, serves as a thought leader, speaker and expert in the non-financial reporting space. Through her practice, services extended to clients include reporting strategy, guidance and external assurance. In addition to online SA8000 web tutorials, Nancy has completed courses from the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute and is registered as a Certified Sustainability Assurance Practitioner (under AcocuntAbility). Her work has earned her a position in the 2016 Leadership California cohort, the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern California Sustainable Business Council and finalist status in the 2014 San Diego Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award. She also teaches Masters courses at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability.
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Mékell Mikell Manager, Disclosures and Reporting, Lockheed Martin Mékell Mikell serves as Manager, Disclosures and Reporting at Lockheed Martin. She manages environmental, social and governance corporate disclosures. Prior to this role, she was the corporate communications lead for Sustainability and Environmental Remediation. Before joining the corporation, Mékell led stakeholder engagement for a $2 billion international clean energy program as an acting director in the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy. Mékell holds a Bachelor’s in Broadcast News from the University of Georgia. She also has a Master’s in International Studies and a PhD in Political Science from the University of South Carolina.
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Cora Lee Mooney Director, BrownFlynn As a Director at BrownFlynn, Cora Lee leads the Firm’s training programs on materiality, the GRI Standards, stakeholder engagement, and other ESG topics. She also serves as an advisor to her clients in manufacturing, consumer goods and services, health care, insurance, and real estate. She develops corporate responsibility strategies, white papers, internal training programs, public disclosures, investor responses, practical roadmaps, and compelling presentations. A philosopher by training, Cora Lee has the ability to take an extremely complex subject and break it down into simple concepts that are easily understood. She enjoys the pressure of making a good argument and provides a healthy skepticism that demands the business case for any sustainability project. Cora Lee’s professional background includes work in corporate training, regulatory auditing for K-12 Charter schools, industrial supply chain management, and 12 years’ experience teaching at the college level.
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Laura Nelson Consultant, Antea Group Laura Nelson has a diverse background in sustainability consulting, and currently leads Antea Group’s Corporate Reporting and Disclosure service offering. She has specific expertise in corporate sustainability reporting and materiality assessments; water risk assessments; sustainability program management and implementation; data management for benchmarking initiatives and target setting; and design and implementation of EHS management systems. Laura currently manages the water and energy benchmarking studies for the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable, and is Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Certified.
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Barbara O’Brien Brown Principal and Co-founder, BrownFlynn Barbara O’Brien Brown is principal and co-founder of BrownFlynn, a leading corporate sustainability and governance consulting firm. BrownFlynn is celebrating its 22nd year in business and aspires to create a world where all companies operate in a manner that enables current and future generations to thrive. Barb is a 25+ year veteran in the field of corporate responsibility and sustainability. As one of BrownFlynn’s co-founders she has guided the Firm’s evolution to respond to market trends, leading the development of service offerings to ensure clients have the tools they need to respond.
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Katharine Partridge President and Managing Partner, Stakeholder Research Associates Katharine is President and Managing Partner of Stakeholder Research Associates Canada. Since 2005, she has worked with CSR teams to support corporate transparency and disclosure on material issues. Katharine has provided reporting strategy and has curated and written content for sustainability reporters including Visa, CVS Health, Merck, Kimberly-Clark, Chevron, Kinross Gold, Clarke and others. As a judge for the Ceres/ACCA annual reporting awards for seven years, she also helped advance the development of the North American reporting community. Katharine builds on 20 years in journalism, a sustainability-focused MBA and GRI G4 Certification to contribute knowledgeable and balanced content curation and compelling storytelling.
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Laurel Peacock Senior Manager, Sustainability, NRG Energy Laurel is a Senior Manager of Sustainability for NRG Energy, a U.S. based independent power producer. In this role, Laurel leads all voluntary sustainability reporting processes to foster industry leadership and create shareholder value. Laurel’s experience spans a broad range of industries and sustainable strategies, including energy, sustainable agriculture, waste reduction, recycling, valuation of ecosystem services and greenhouse gas reduction. Laurel helped set industry-leading, science-based carbon reduction goals and led practical, innovative initiatives that address tough societal and environmental issues. Laurel is a co-chair of the Voluntary Reporting Working Group within the Electricity Producers Research Institute’s Energy Sustainability Interest Group, co-chair of the CRA Ratings & Rankings Thought Leadership Council as well as on the Advisory Board for the Corporate Responsibility Association. She represents NRG in the SASB Alliance, GRI GOLD Community and CDP stakeholder networks.
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Daniel Perry Senior Account Executive, EcoVadis Daniel Perry is a sustainable procurement advocate and professional storyteller, with a passion for driving exponential change within global supply chains. Through his work at EcoVadis, Daniel helps large multinational corporations develop strategies to achieve tangible impact in the environmental, social and ethical practices of their supply base. Daniel originally hails from New Zealand, and now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Stewart Rassier Director, Executive Education & Advisory Products, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship Stewart is Director of Executive Education at the Center; he has more than 11 years of corporate citizenship education, communications, and advisory experience working with leading companies across the globe. Prior to the Center, Stewart was the regional head of North America at AccountAbility, a sustainability advisory, research, and standards organization, and was a director at Saatchi & Saatchi Sustainability, a sustainability strategy consultancy. Stewart has worked with leading companies across the globe including Disney, Walmart, Fidelity, McDonald’s, ING, Hess, Accenture, Saudi Aramco, Vestas Wind Systems, Alston + Bird, WellPoint, Kellogg’s and Frito Lay.
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Jeannie Renné-Malone, LEED AP, ENV SP, GGP VP Sustainability, Prologis Jeannie joined Prologis in January 2015 to guide, develop and implement a global sustainability strategy for the company, including establishment of policies and programs to work towards meeting global sustainability goals. She manages the Sustainability Team, and is responsible for coordination with Europe, Asia and the Americas on sustainability initiatives and communication with key stakeholders. She also manages the annual GRESB survey response. She has over 15 years of experience in sustainable development, technology transfer, renewable energy, climate change, greenhouse gas accounting, and sustainability planning and reporting in the US and in Latin America. She is fluent in Spanish.
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Melanie George Smith Politician and a Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives Melanie George Smith is an attorney at Richards, Layton & Finger, where she began her career practicing in the firm’s business and alternative entities department after clerking for Justice Carolyn Berger in the Delaware Supreme Court. Representative Smith also serves as State Representative of the 5th District of Delaware. Representative Smith chairs the House Appropriations Committee and the Joint Finance Committee, and she is the immediate past chair and current vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Representative Smith's interest in global sustainability arose out of her pro bono legal work in the community. She provides pro bono assistance to veterans, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence, and she serves as a guardian ad litem for children in foster care. Representative Smith has also worked with the Combined Campaign for Justice, which raises money for legal aid groups in Delaware. Representative Smith earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A., magna cum laude, in economics from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.
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Bianca Wilson Tamagnini Manager, Sustainability, Pearson As part of Pearson’s sustainability team, Bianca works to embed social and environmental issues into business strategy and operations to drive long-term corporate growth and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She leads Pearson’s annual sustainability reporting process and related communications, develops programs to advance the company’s 2020 Sustainability Plan and engages key stakeholders. Before joining Pearson, Bianca spent nearly seven years at the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, where she held roles focusing on strategic communications, sustainability thought leadership, and organizational strategy. Previously, she advised PepsiCo’s South American Foods division on sustainability in the potato chip supply chain. Bianca holds a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University.
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Pierre-François Thaler Co-Founder & Co-CEO, EcoVadis Pierre-Francois is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of EcoVadis, which operates the first collaborative platform, allowing companies to assess the sustainability performance of their suppliers. Pierre-François brings 15 years’ experience in Procurement and business development of innovative solutions for Procurement organizations. He was previously CEO of B2Build SA the first B2B marketplace for the European construction industry. Prior to founding EcoVadis, he was a director of Ariba Procurement BPO business in EMEA. Pierre-Francois has presented on Sustainable Procurement in more than 50 conferences in Europe and USA and is the author of multiple research studies on Sustainable Supply Chain with HEC or INSEAD Business Schools. He’s a member of the strategic advisory board of the Sustainable Procurement Leadership Council (Washington). Pierre-François is an electrical engineer by trade, holding a Master of Science from Supelec and a MBA from Insead.
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Tim Woodall Strategist, Sustainability & CSR, Addison Tim assists Addison’s clients with producing reports that exemplify best-in-class content and design. He has worked with such companies as AB InBev, BNY Mellon, DanoneWave, GE, Kimberly-Clark, Merck, and Nike. With 20+ years in the sustainability field, including experience at Ceres and The Nature Conservancy, Tim has worked with a variety of stakeholders, all with unique viewpoints on sustainability performance and reporting.
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Yuan Yuan Head of Regional Hub: China and SE Asia, GRI Yuan joined GRI in early 2013 and now leads GRI’s activities in the Greater China Region. Yuan is in charge of governmental and corporate relations, as well as partnership with key stakeholders such as stock exchanges and industrial associations, for policy innovation and upgrading. Yuan holds a BA and MSc in International Relations from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Prior to joining GRI, Yuan has taken research roles at Fair Labor Association on labor rights in emerging markets, and the Netherlands Institute of International
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PROGRAM The GRI Reporters' Summit: North America will bring together sustainability reporting professionals to learn best practices and discover solutions to common reporting challenges. Here you can find out more about this event and view the agenda.
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WHY ATTEND? Expand-Collapse ​GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Standards and previous G4 Guidelines are the most widely used and trusted sustainability reporting standards in the world. According to 2017 research by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 85% of reporters studied were using GRI to report. The USA in particular is one of GRI’s top reporting sectors, with an ever growing group of CSR professionals that focus on reporting and disclosure. Even in large corporations however, it can be difficult to secure ongoing support and development for reporting because the skillset is so unique. We hear every day from professionals who want to connect with others and gain practical solutions to challenges in strategy, information gathering, reporting and communications. The GRI Reporters’ Summit is designed to provide this platform. The event is specifically for professionals who direct and manage the sustainability reporting function within their organizations. As a participant you will return to your organization with specific tools, case studies and practical solutions, helping you be a more effective steward of your organization’s sustainability management and reporting journey.
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​Time ​Program ​8:00am-8:30am ​Registration / Breakfast ​8:30am-9:30am Opening Plenary ​9:30am-10:00am ​Morning Break ​10:00am-11:15am ​Workshop Sessions I Best Practices for First Time Reporters - Facilitator: Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship; Case Study: Northern Trust Transitioning from G4 to the GRI Standards - Facilitator: GRI; Case Study: Prologis Effective Management Approach Disclosures - Facilitator: Stakeholder Research Associates; Case Study: UPS 11:15am-11:30am ​Refreshment Break ​11:30am-12:45pm ​Workshop Sessions II Making your Materiality Assessment Work Harder - Facilitator: ISOS Group, Case Study: World Bank Harmonizing GRI with Other Reporting Frameworks - Facilitator: BrownFlynn; Case Study: Edwards Life Sciences LLC Reporting without a GRI Standard - Facilitator: The Works Design; Co-Convener: GRI; Case Study: Pearson ​12:45pm-1:45pm ​Networking Lunch ​1:45pm-3:00pm ​Workshop Sessions III Maximizing Value from Stakeholder Engagement - Facilitator: BSR; Case Study: NRG Energy Managing Data from within your Supply Chain - Facilitator: EcoVadis; Co-Convener: GRI Sustainability Reporting and the Growing Regulatory Environment - Facilitators: KERAMIDA & Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP; Case Study: State of Delaware ​3:00pm-3:30pm ​Networking Break ​3:30pm-4:45pm ​Workshop Sessions IV Sustainability Communications: Getting the Right Messages to the Right People - Facilitator: Addison; Case Study: Intel Corporation From Mapping to Action: SDGs as a Framework for Delivering Transformative Change - Facilitator: ERM; Co-Convener: UNGC Assurance: What it Means and What to Do - Facilitator: Antea Group; Case Studies: Fina Sustainability B.V & Lockheed Martin ​4:45pm-6:00pm ​Cocktail Reception
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GRI Reporters' Summit Opening Plenary The sustainability professional 20 years on: What’s next? 8:45-9:30am GRI, pioneer of the practice of sustainability reporting, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. That means that in the short span of two decades, sustainability reporting has developed from a niche practice, into one now done at the majority of the world’s large businesses. Now, corporate sustainability positions are highly sought-after and exist both inside a corporation and within a variety of allied services, such as strategy consulting, finance, operations and communications. But to continue doing their jobs well in any of these contexts, sustainability professionals need to be masters of an extensive and continuously expanding set of skills. So what are the essential things you need to know to stay on top of your game? What are the next stages in the development of the profession? And what are the best ways to help drive sustainability considerations into the heart of your organization, where it can really make a difference? Moderator – Eric Hespenheide, Chairman of Board of Directors, GRI Panelists: Barb Brown, Principal & Co-Founder, BrownFlynn Katie Fedosenko, Senior Specialist, Teck Resources Pierre-Francois Thaler, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, EcoVadis
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WORKSHOPS

The Summit will feature a variety of workshops, providing you with expert reporting guidance on the following hot topics:
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Sustainability Communications: Getting the Right Messages to the Right People

Learn how to develop compelling sustainability communications that fit the needs of your audiences. Stakeholder groups have different expectations for the level of detail, and knowing how best to cater to these groups will help to most efficiently convey your messages and data.

Presenters: Tim Woodall, Strategist, Addison; Suzanne Fallender, Director, Corporate Responsibility, Intel Corporation; Sue Allchurch, Chief of Participant Relations and Communications, United Nations Global Compact
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Best Practices for First Time Reporters

If your organization is new to sustainability reporting, or if you have recently joined the sustainability team, this is the session for you. This workshop will cover the elementals of sustainability reporting – quick history and review of current tools. We’ll then dive into the GRI Standards to examine how they are laid out, what the sections mean and how to use them. This session will ensure you have the context and resources available to effectively join the sustainability reporting community.

Presenters: Stewart Rassier, Director, Executive Education and Advisory Products, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship; Jamie Ezefili, VP and Senior Project Manager, Northern Trust
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Harmonizing GRI with Other Reporting Frameworks The GRI Standards are designed to work with complementary frameworks such as CDP, SASB and IIRC. We all love using acronyms, but what does “harmonizing frameworks” mean in practice? Learn more about other major tools and how they may help with improvement of data quality and comparability for your material topics and unique stakeholder groups.

Presenters: Cora Lee Mooney, Director, BrownFlynn; Sarah Corrigan, Senior Consultant, Brown Flynn; and Diane W. Biagianti, Vice President, Chief Responsibility Officer, Edwards Lifesciences LLC.
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Maximizing Value from Stakeholder Engagement

Companies are facing an increasingly uncertain external environment, where the media, government, civil society, and the general public are expressing concern about a wide range of social, economic, and environmental topics. From a reporting perspective, this necessitates stakeholder engagement approaches that are responsive, interactive, and that inform report content. During this session, participants will discuss changes in the dynamics of the stakeholder landscape, ways to identify the right stakeholders with whom to engage, and how to meaningfully use stakeholder feedback to improve report content and quality.

Presenters: Dunstan Allison-Hope, Managing Director, BSR; Laurel Peacock, Senior Manager, Sustainability, NRG Energy
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Managing Data from within Your Supply Chain

Research shows that most of a company’s impacts occur outside of the direct organization and within its supply chain. But engaging with your supply chain to understand, track and mitigate impacts can be difficult. This workshop will explore the supply chain engagement process and discuss how to use tools such as supply chain mapping. Additionally, participants will consider who to bring to the table in the engagement process, what resources are required to ensure success, and how to establish realistic and trackable metrics.

Presenters: Daniel Perry, Senior Account Executive, EcoVadis and Yuan Yuan, Head of Regional Hub: China and SE Asia, GRI
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From mapping to action: SDGs as a framework for delivering transformative change

Many companies and a few sectors have taken the first step to mapping the SDGs against their existing activities. Making the leap from mapping to strategically using the SDGs to innovate, grow and demonstrate progress has proven a bit more challenging. No one company or sector working alone can deliver the transformative action needed to address the sustainability challenges in the 2030 Framework. In this session, we will share experiences and examples of company and sector initiatives to drive ambitious action for change.

Presenters: Jennifer Eastes, Principal Consultant, ERM and Linda Edgdell, Global Sustainability Director, ERM
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Transitioning from G4 to the GRI Standards

One year ago, GRI evolved its G4 Framework into a set of interrelated, modular standards known as the GRI Standards. During this session, which will be led by a member of GRI’s Standards Division, you will learn why this transition will benefit you and understand what tools are available to assist in the migration. What has changed and what has remained intact from G4? What have we learned from Standards Pioneers? How will transitioning to the GRI Standards affect your organization?

Presenters: GRI Standards Division and Jeannie Renné-Malone, VP Sustainability, Prologis
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Reporting without a GRI Standard

The Materiality Principle states that an organization must report on a material topic even if an existing Standard is not available. The GRI Standards will never be exhaustive, so how do companies disclose impacts on an issue in the absence of a specific standard? Additionally, you'll learn how new GRI Standards are determined and developed for future use.

Presenters: Wesley Gee, Director of Sustainability, The Works Design; Juliette Gaussem, Guidance & Practice Senior Manager, GRI; Bianca Wilson Tamagnini, Manager of Sustainability, Pearson
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Making your Materiality Assessment Work Harder

A robust materiality assessment is the backbone of a company understands its impacts on environmental, social and economic issues. The assessment helps determine report content, but also informs how companies can best prioritize projects, manage risks and engage with stakeholders. Studies show, however, that companies are not maximizing value of this process. This session will focus on what happens after your materiality assessment is complete – how do you use it to drive value and transparency?

Presenter: Nancy Mancilla, CEO and Co-Founder, ISOS Group
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Effective Management Approach Disclosures

Learn to harness the power of management approach disclosures to engage your readers, amplify your credibility, and stand out from other reports by applying this oft-overlooked or underreported disclosure in your next report. This workshop will focus on how to help you move your next report from good to great by mastering the GRI management approach disclosures.

Presenters: Katharine Partridge, President and Managing Partner, Stakeholder Research Associates; Crystal Lassiter, Senior Director, Global Sustainability and Environmental Affairs, UPS
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Sustainability Reporting and the Growing Regulatory Environment

Although the US political climate nationally is leaning towards removal of some ESG-focused regulations, in areas throughout the world companies are seeing an increase of regulations on non-financial reporting and sustainability disclosures. How do foreign regulations affect your North American based organization? And perhaps most interestingly is the growth of voluntary and mandatory reporting regulations at the state level, including new legislation in California and Delaware. This session will teach companies how to anticipate and understand what potential regulations mean for their organization and how your organization can find benefits from disclosure in a complex global economy.

Presenters: Pamela Cooper Griesemer, Vice President of Operations, Sustainability Services, KERAMIDA Inc and Cara M. Johnson, Attorney, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP; Melanie George Smith, Politician and a Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives
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Assurance: What it Means and What to Do

Approximately half of all sustainability reports issued in North America contain some level of externally-assured data. Interest is growing but there remains lots of confusion. What does having an assured report mean? What is the value of external assurance? How should companies estimate time and costs? And how can the company maximize benefits of the learnings that come with having your report assured? These and other questions will be considered as we talk all things assurance.

Presenters: Lex de Bruijn, Managing Director, FIRA Sustainability B.V. and Laura Nelson, Consultant, Antea Group