Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Dutch organization releases free guide about disability in sustainability reporting

Press release from GRI:

AMSTERDAM - GRI, the architect of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standard, and Fundación ONCE, the leading organization of the European Network for CSR and Disability (CSR+D), announce the launch of Disability in Sustainability Reporting, a guide to help organizations communicate their commitment to respecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities.
“People with disabilities constitute the world’s largest minority group. To a large extent these individuals are marginalized in our societies, in particular when it comes to employment,” said GRI’s Chief Executive Michael Meehan. “Disability in Sustainability Reporting is designed to empower organizations’ understanding of what activities can have an impact on the rights of people with disabilities and which GRI disclosures can be used as the basis for reporting on those impacts.”

"This guide is a milestone for the integration of the issue of disability in sustainability reporting,” said Alberto Durán López, Executive Vice-President of Fundación ONCE.  “The publication is born from the collaboration of two leading organizations and is a clear example of creating shared value."
 
This unique guide can enhance organizational understanding of the value of transparency on disability, in terms of creating inclusive workplaces, as well as taking advantage of the business case of disability for the development of new products, services and physical environments. Additionally, the guide features a number of case studies from businesses all over the world that are making commitments and working to improve their disability related impacts. Disability in Sustainability Reporting is also the result of an inclusive and collaborative effort on the part of a number of disability experts, who provided feedback and support.
 
Over the course of 2015, GRI and Fundación ONCE will continue collaborating to provide additional support to organizations in communicating their commitments to respecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities.
 
To download a copy of Disability in Sustainability Reporting in English click here or to download in Spanish click here.  A global webinar will be organized during the second quarter of 2015 to present the publication. To find out more please click here to sign up for GRI’s monthly newsletter. For additional information please contact Davion Ford, GRI Media Relations Manager (ford@globalreporting.org).
 

 
About GRI
GRI is a non-profit organization working in the public interest towards a vision of a sustainable global economy where organizations manage their economic, environmental, social, and governance performance and impacts responsibly. Thousands of corporate and public sector reporters in over 90 countries use the GRI Guidelines. More than 22,000 reports have been registered in GRI’s Sustainability Disclosure Database and 25 countries and regions reference GRI in their policies. GRI’s activities are two-fold: firstly the provision of sustainability reporting guidelines and secondly, the development of engagement activities, products and partnerships to enhance the value of sustainability reporting for organizations.
 
About Fundación ONCE
The ONCE (the National Organization of the Spanish Blind) created the Fundación ONCE in 1988 to ensure quality of life and social inclusion of people with all kinds of disabilities and their families. The Fundación ONCE centers its efforts around two areas: training and employment, and universal accessibility of facilities, products and services, contributing to extend the concept of “design for all”. The work of the Fundación ONCE is directed by a Board of Trustees which, in addition to ONCE and the Foundation itself, represents the country’s main organizations of persons with disabilities. In 2013 the Fundación ONCE celebrated 25 years of existence, a period in which it has managed to generate over 80,000 jobs for people with disabilities.