Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a not-for-profit (NFP) organisation that provides a framework for sustainability reporting around the world. Ability Options recently used GRI’s guidelines to release their annual and sustainability report.

Sustainability reporting requires companies and organisations to demonstrate their corporate responsibility by publicly reporting against economic, social and environmental – or people, planet and profit– values or criteria on an annual basis.

Ability Options’ Chief Executive Matt Donnelly says that by taking a proactive role to collect data, measure and track specific issues through sustainability reporting, Ability Options aims to further improve the lives of the people with disability and their families.

“Sustainability reporting gives us a way to ensure we will operate more effectively in this future landscape and helps us create a meaningful dialogue with all our stakeholders in determining Ability Options’ direction and what that future needs to look like,” said Donnelly.

“Hence, adopting an internationally recognised reporting approach that increases our transparency, engagement and accountability makes great sense to us.”

GRI figures suggest a global upwards trend in sustainability reporting in the NFP sector. There were 42 NFP organisations that submitted a report to GRI in 2010, compared with 32 in 2009. There was also an increase of 22 per cent in the number of reports registered on the GRI Reports List for all sectors during 2010, rising from 1491 in 2009 to 1818 in 2010.

“NFP organisations have an important role to play in helping drive change to a sustainable global economy,” said Manager of GRI’s Focal Point Australia Lena Geraghty.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of sustainability reports being published every year, including in the NGO sector.”