The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based organization that has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework.
What is known as a ‘sector supplement’ has been developed for the events industry.
Sustainability Reporting
The GRI sets down a Sustainability Reporting Framework. It provides guidance for organizations to disclose their sustainability performance. The Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are the cornerstone of the reporting framework. These are what are known as G3 Guidelines.
Reporting your sustainability performance facilitates transparency and accountability by organizations and provides stakeholders a universally-applicable, comparable framework from which to understand disclosed information.
| G3 Category | Aspect |
| Environment | Biodiversity, Energy, Emissions Effluence and Waste, Materials, Transport, Water, Compliance, Products and Services, Communications, Supply Chain |
| Human Rights | Security practices, Community, Investment & Procurement Practices, Non-discrimination, Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining, Indigenous Rights |
| Society | Corruption, Community, Compliance, Investment & Procurement Practices, Non-discrimination, Freedom of Association and collective bargaining, Community, Public Policy, Anti Competitive Behaviour, Economic Performance |
| Economic | Economic Performance, In-direct Economic Impact |
| Labour | Employment, Labour/Management Relations, Occupational Health & Safety, Training and Education, Diversity and Equal Opportunity |
| Product Responsibility | Marketing & Communications, Compliance, Health & Safety |
| Legacy | Including 'hard' legacies such as infrastructure, equipment and financial support, or 'soft' legacies including knowledge transfer and skills creation. |
| Sourcing | Supply chain management, sustainable procurement. |
Why produce a Sector Supplement for the Events Industry?
There are many varied specific sustainability challenges related to the Events industry. Large events often attract crowds from different regions of the world. It is a major challenge to keep the CO2 emissions produced by travelling to and from an event as low as possible.
Other challenges facing the sector can include the development of infrastructure which have their own associated impacts such as loss of biodiversity and the health and safety of workers. Local communities and neighbourhoods can also be affected by the proximity of an event.
While the sustainability impacts for the sector may be known, reporting on these impacts is at a nascent stage within the Events industry.
At the same time, stakeholders such as industry associations, journalists, local authorities, investors, and visitors are no longer content to stand by – they are demanding more information on the sustainability credentials of the events they attend. As such, it is hoped that this new guidance with not only provide guidance to report preparers and facilitate the standardization of sustainability reports in the sector but also drive reporting by the sector.