GRI Reports in Singapore and Malaysia
Sustainability reporting
Sustainability reporting, or corporate responsibility reporting, enables organisations to report on their environmental, social and governance information beyond the scope of traditional financial reporting. Parts of it will be familiar to organisations in Singapore and Malaysia already, such as reporting safety statistics, human resource practices and environmental management systems. Community investments are also included, but contrary to what some may think, form a small part of what sustainability or sustainability reporting is about.
Far from being a ‘feel-good’ portion of the report, these extra-financial (or sometimes referred to as non-financial) information are increasingly used by investors to assess externalities which will be reflected in stock performance in the long term. For example, a company which has strong environmental management practices is less likely to incur litigation risk and also continuously improve on operational efficiencies. A company with strong emphasis on safety and talent retention will likely incur lower hiring and training costs from lower turnover rates.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
What the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) aims to do, is to establish a framework such that organisations may report on data which is comparable – much like IFRS equivalent for financial reporting. GRI guidelines are the most established framework used. More than 5000 companies adopt GRI guidelines (GRI, 2012), including 80% of Global Fortune 250 companies (KPMG, 2011).
Singapore and Malaysia
The number of GRI reports in Singapore and Malaysia have grown steadily over the past 5 years, with more than 5 times the number of reports today than in 2008.
In 2008, the Malaysian Stock Exchange Bursa Malaysia made it mandatory for all listed firms to disclose corporate social responsibility (CSR) information.
In 2012, Singapore Exchange (SGX) has announced an intention to move towards a comply-or-explain approach for its listed firms, following its release of a Policy Statement and Guide to Sustainability Reporting in 2010 and 2011 respectively. SGX has also organised various initiatives, including revising the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance to explicitly mention environmental and social considerations for Board and releasing an Investor Guide to Reading Sustainability Reports. Read more about SGX’s recent key initiatives here.
The following graphs aim to give a quick snapshot of the sustainability reporting scene in Singapore and Malaysia.
Below are the 23 GRI reports published in Singapore in 2012.
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# |
COMPANY |
REPORT NAME AND LINK |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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5 |
Towards Sustainability: First Resources Limited Sustainability Report 2011 |
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6 |
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7 |
Preserving the Present Ensuring the Future: Sustainability Report 2011 |
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8 |
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9 |
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10 |
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11 |
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12 |
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13 |
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14 |
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15 |
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16 |
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17 |
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18 |
The Asian Gateway: Singapore Exchange Annual Report 2012 July 2011 – June 2012 |
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19 |
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20 |
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21 |
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22 |
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23 |
Source: GRI Database & Paia Consulting (3 Oct 2013)
Below are the 17 GRI reports published in Malaysia in 2012.
Paia is the appointed GRI Data Partner for Malaysia. If your report is not reflected here or the GRI Database, please email us at reports@paiaconsulting.com.
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# |
COMPANY |
REPORT NAME AND LINK |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
DiGi.Com Berhad Sustainability Report 2011 – Transforming to Deliver Internet fo |
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5 |
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6 |
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7 |
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8 |
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9 |
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10 |
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11 |
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12 |
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13 |
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14 |
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15 |
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16 |
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17 |
Source: GRI Database (3 Oct 2013)
Paia Consulting is a leading sustainability consultancy established since 2002. We helped produce Singapore’s first GRI report and many award-winning reports. Beyond reporting, many of the companies leading sustainability locally are our clients.
Drop us a note at info@paiaconsulting.com to discuss how we may support your sustainability journey.
