Sustainability Reporting and SMEs - From ISO 14001 to Global Reporting Initiative

Mileva, Elitsa Ivova

4. Term

Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Master

2013

66

Bæredygtighedsrapportering er en global tendens, hvor virksomheder fortæller om deres samlede økonomiske, miljømæssige og sociale påvirkninger og indsatser. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) er i dag den mest udbredte ramme for sådan rapportering. Det er især store virksomheder, der deltager; små og mellemstore virksomheder (SMV’er) er mindre aktive, selv om de har stor betydning for Europas økonomi, beskæftigelse og miljø. Samtidig er miljøledelsesstandarden ISO 14001 blevet meget udbredt på tværs af brancher og virksomhedsstørrelser. Denne afhandling undersøger sammenhængen mellem ISO 14001 og GRI for at få indblik i, hvordan ISO 14001-certificerede SMV’er kan bruge deres eksisterende viden og erfaringer som springbræt til bæredygtighedsrapportering. Udgangspunktet er en sammenligning af implementeringsprocesser og krav/principper i ISO 14001 og GRI. Desuden analyseres de nuværende praksisser i den ISO 14001-certificerede virksomhed Brunata i Bulgarien for at vurdere, hvordan de kan overføres til bæredygtighedsrapportering og derved gøre en GRI-implementering lettere for SMV’er.

Sustainability reporting is a global trend where companies disclose their overall economic, environmental, and social impacts and efforts. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the most widely used framework for this reporting. So far, large firms lead this practice; small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are less engaged, despite their importance to Europe’s economy, employment, and environment. Meanwhile, the environmental management standard ISO 14001 has become popular across sectors and company sizes. This thesis examines the links between ISO 14001 and GRI to see how ISO 14001-certified SMEs can build on what they already do to start sustainability reporting. It begins with a comparison of the implementation processes and requirements/principles in ISO 14001 and GRI. It also looks at the current practices of the ISO 14001-certified company Brunata in Bulgaria to identify what can be transferred to sustainability reporting, with the aim of easing GRI implementation for SMEs.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

sustainability reporting ; ISO 14001 ; global reporting initiative ; SMEs

Download
View record in AAU Student Projects