Introduction
TELSTRA is an Australian corporation that develops and manages telecommunications networks as well as distributes voice, mobile, internet access, pay television, and other goods and services. Most likely, TELSTRA uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), according to its website and the performance reports of this company. TELSTRA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is linked to the GRI framework through the names of the reporting standards that TELSTRTA uses, such as environmental sustainability, or the GRI 1: Foundation 2021 standard. This paper will address the essential characteristics of GRI and its benefits and will outline the features proving that TELSTRA uses GRI.
Discussion
By definition, GRI is a system for reporting created by a non-profit organization to help companies address their business objectives while maintaining high levels of corporate social responsibility. By giving them a universal common language to convey their effects, GRI is an independent international organization that assists corporations, governments, and other organizations in accepting responsibility for their impacts. This organization created the GRI Standards, which are the most commonly used benchmarks in the world for sustainability reporting. With its head office in Amsterdam, and a network of seven regional offices, the GRI Secretariat is able to provide support to organizations and stakeholders all over the world. Therefore, the GRI approach to reports is based on a set of standards created by the GRI organization, and companies can consult with the Secreteriates to address these issues.
The GRI Standards are continually evaluated to make sure they reflect the best practices around the world for reporting on sustainability, assisting firms in meeting new information requirements from regulators and stakeholders. Therefore, the first benefit of GRI is that the GRI organization continuously works on improving these standards of reporting and ensuring that they are up to date with the requirements of the business and social norms. The GRI Standards make it possible for any organization, regardless of company size, sector, or public or corporate status, to comprehend and report on its effects on the economy, environment, and population in a comparable and reliable manner, increasing transparency on its contribution to sustainable development. Thus, the second advantage of the GRI is that these standards are versatile and can be applied by different types of organizations working in various business environments. The Standards are extremely pertinent to a wide range of stakeholders, including reporting firms and investors, governments, capital markets, and civil society. ​Therefore, most companies such as TELSTRA will be able to use the GRI framework to report on their profits and sustainability practices.
The key feature of GRI is that it is a structured yet versatile system that can be adjusted to the needs of a particular organization. The Standards provide an inclusive picture of an organization’s material themes, their connected implications, and how they are managed. They are created as an accessible modular collection, which makes it easy to formulate these reports. All organizations must adhere to the Universal Standards, which have been updated to include reporting on human rights and environmental performance of this business in line with intergovernmental requirements. However, apart from the Universal Standards, there is a different subset that companies can use. The revised Industry Standards allow for more regular reporting on consequences that are specific to each sector. The Issue Standards then provide a list of disclosures pertinent to a certain topic, which have been modified to be utilized with the updated Universal Standards.
TELSTRA takes its company reporting and social responsibility seriously because the company publishes its social responsibility reports on its website. In this report, TELSTRA identifies GRI as the main element of the framework by stating the following: “we develop our sustainability reporting in accordance with industry and sustainability standards including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards)”. The GRI standards might have influenced the TELSTRA’s CSR and reporting by helping the management choose the modules that concern the aspects of operations that TELSTRA wants to report on and by providing prompts for this reporting. An example of this is the different headings in the recent sustainability report, dedicated to factors such as environment, security, social responsibility, and others, which are a standard for GRI. However, the company’s management also notes that they have other standards, apart from GRI, to prepare their reports. One potential reason for this can be that despite the versatility and multiple variations in which this framework can be used, the GRI standards do not cover all the corporate social reporting that this business needs. This need to use additional reporting standards to address all sustainability issues is the main limitation of the GRI.
Conclusion
In summary, TELSTRA uses the GRI framework to report on its sustainability and business success. According to its website and performance reports, TELSTRA most likely uses the GRI. GRI is an independent, global organization that supports businesses in taking ownership of their impacts. The GRI Standards are the benchmarks for sustainability reporting that are most frequently utilized globally. The GRI approach and its Standards offer a comprehensive view of a company’s material themes, their ramifications, and management practices. It is simple to build these reports because they are designed as an easily accessible modular collection. TELSTRA reports on its sustainability and commercial success using the GRI framework.
Reference List
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Fonseca, Albert ‘Barriers to Strengthening the Global Reporting Initiative Framework: Exploring the perceptions of consultants, practitioners, and researchers, Web.
GRI, ‘A Short Introduction to the GRI Standards’, Web.
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TELSTRA, ‘Reports’, TELSTRA, 2020, Web.