GRI Focal Point in India
The GRI Focal Point India provides guidance and support
to local organizations, driving GRI’s mission to make sustainability
reporting standard practice.
Giidance on alignment in G 3.1
RI undertook a joint initiative with IICA-GIZ BR Initiative
on creating the Linkage Document between the National Voluntary
Guidelines (NVGs) released by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
Business Responsibility Report (BRR) and the GRI Guidelines.
DOWNLOAD THE LINKAGE DOCUMENT
Download the Guidance on Alignment of the GRI G3.1 Guidelines,
NVGs and BRR.
Further information on the GRI-NVG-SEBI BRR Linkage Document
may be obtained from:
Dr. Aditi Haldar (Director- GRI Focal Point India)
haldar@globalreporting.org
Reporting in India
The development of corporate governance standards is maturing.
India’s business and investment communities are beginning to
recognize the benefits of sustainability reporting and organizational
transparency. Over the last decade, Indian businesses were recognizing
the challenge of going global and also operating nationally
with evolving regulatory requirements around environmental and
social performances. There were also many players like the regulators,
the business chambers, enthusiastic civil societies who were
pushing the agenda of sustainability through diverse mandatory
and voluntary requirements and focusing on various issues of
pollution, energy, climate change safety, labour practices.
Sustainability reporting was initiated ten years back by small
percentage of companies steadily growing to a reasonable number
in 2011.
Recognizing the contribution of financial institutions including
banks towards sustainable development considering the crucial
role they play in financing the economic and development activities,
the Reserve Bank of India had drawn the attention of banks to
their role in Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development
and Non Financial Reporting in its circular dated December 2007.
Also, the inclusion in the Companies Bill, 2011 to include in
the Board’s Report a CSR Policy and to spend 2% of average net
profit of last 3 years on CSR activities had been setting a
clear forward movement on the agenda. Other recent developments
include the Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility
Guidelines for Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSEs) are
a part of the each CPSEs yearly target with their commitment
to implement them along with their financial and business targets.
This was followed by the launch of the National Voluntary Guidelines
on Social, Environmental & Economic Responsibilities of
Business on 8 July 2011 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
Government of India. The Guidelines provide a robust framework
that may be adopted voluntarily by companies to address interests
of various stakeholders, including employees, customers and
investors. In most recent times the Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) mandate from November 2011 that the 100
top listed entities must submit Business Responsibility Reports,
as a part of their annual reports.
GRI Focal Point in India
India is a newly industrialized country and a key market for
boosting the practice of sustainability reporting. By having
an office on the ground, GRI can help change the sustainability
reporting landscape and improve overall transparency. Since
the Focal Point was established, the number of reporters in
India has increased. The support of the GRI Focal Point India
provides Indian corporations a chance to shape GRI’s continuously
developing Sustainability Reporting Framework, as well as standards
and the emerging regulatory landscape for sustainability reporting
in India.
The Focal Point India was established in January 2010, and
is hosted by the German International Corporation, India (GIZ)
until December 2013. The Focal Point has advised GIZ on the
development of national voluntary disclosure frameworks as part
of the IICA-GIZ Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative,
which facilitated the developmental process of the National
Voluntary Guidelines launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
in 2011.
Focal Point India operates at the heart of the CSR and sustainability
landscape in India. The Focal Point has an important strategic
collaboration with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs
(IICA), an independent think tank under the Ministry of Corporate
Affairs, Government of India through the IICA-GIZ CSR initiative.
The Focal Point maintains close working and collaborative engagements
through capacity building, policy advocacy, research and consultations
with Ministries, regulators, business, industry associations,
financial market players, B-Schools and civil-societies from
India and South Asia. Given the growing importance of sustainability
topics, GRI Focal Point India will soon publish two research
studies. One would be on the trends and practices of Sustainability
reporting in 8 economically important sectors and the other
on Non Financial Reporting Preparedness of Banks in India.
The Indian Focal Point also has a strategic collaboration with
the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA). SAFA has member
bodies from both the accounting and the cost and works institutions
of each of the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. GRI’s Focal Point
India also contributed to the South Asian agenda by collaborating
with ACCA, Sri Lanka, CIM Sri Lanka, ICAB, Bangladesh, CSR Centre
for Bangladesh.
GRI FOCAL POINT INDIA STAFF
The Focal Point India consists of a Director and a Coordinator.
DR. ADITI HALDAR
Dr. Haldar is an expert in corporate sustainability management,
with almost twenty years experience with leading companies and
global institutions in the areas of environment and sustainable
development.
Dr. Aditi Haldar
Director- GRI Focal Point India
haldar@globalreporting.org
Tel: +91 93 12607544
RUBINA SEN
With a Sociology background, Rubina has four years’ experience
in the development sector. Before joining GRI she worked as
Programme Coordinator for the United Nations Global Compact
Network India (GCNI). She has experience in CSR, media research,
data management and training.
Ms. Rubina Sen
GRI Focal Point India Coordinator
sen@globalreporting.org
(M) : +91 989 957 3283
Tel (D) : +91 11 4949 5353 (extn 1310)
Fax: +91 (0) 11 2671 5967
For emergencies contact 011 49495353 (extn. 1312).
