Pre-conference workshop

INTRODUCTION TO THE GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE( GRI )

13 JANUARY 2009 TUEDAY

Registration commences at 830am and the workshop will start at 9am sharp. There will be morning and afternoon
refreshments. Lunch will be from 1230pm-130pm.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI-G3) is the best practice standard for CSR reporting. It aims to make non-financial reports as clear and comparable as annual financial accounts. Using practical examples from GRI reports around the world, day-two will provide a detailed description of how the GRI works, what data is required and how you can meet the challenges of this new framework.

• The Global Reporting Initiative (G3) Guidelines 每 The International Gold Standard
• Defining report content: What aspects of CSR activities should you report and how?
• Defining report quality: Materiality in CSR reporting 每 what does it mean?
• Setting the boundaries and scope of the report
• Structuring a CSR report for maximum impact

Afternoon Session One: Advanced CSR reporting to GRI-G3 Standards

This session describes the central building blocks of the GRI framework 每 disclosure on management approach, the standard reporting protocols, understanding performance indicators 每 where to find the data and how to present it. The special reporting requirements for specific industrial sectors will also be examined and how the level of reporting can be measured using the GRI Application Level indicators.

• Disclosure on Management Approach 每 DMA
  • Economic
  • Social:
    • Labour Practices and Decent work
    • Human Rights
    • Society - Community
  • Product responsibility
  • Environmental
• Understanding performance indicators
• Sector supplements and application levels

Afternoon Session Two: The final checklist

The final session shows how the final touches can be added to make a world-class report. It covers the requirements and approaches to auditing and verification, how the CSR report can be used as the basis for development of company strategy and some of the best and worst reports available in the market.

• Using assurance and audits check your report 每 the importance of independent verification
• Using the GRI process to identify gaps in CSR strategy and opportunities for improving performance management
• Case studies of good and bad approaches to CSR reporting
• Effective methods for promoting your GRI report

ABOUT OUR WORKSHOP LEADER

Dr Geoffrey Williams - (MA(cantab), MA(oxon), MA(econ), PhD, FRSA) Dr Geoffrey Williams is a founder and Managing Director of Owens, Williams & Wood Consulting in Malaysia and Singapore. He has designed and directed numerous research projects for the UK Government (DTI), European Commission (DG-Research), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the European Standards Agency (CEN), among others. He has also worked with private companies and charities including PA Consulting Group, leading UK law firm Allen & Overy, and the Wellcome Trust UK. He is a member of the EU Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI) CSR Committee. His recent CSR consultancy work has assisted a major industrial conglomerate on CSR management and reporting and companies in the palm oil sector and the forestry industry on sustainability management. Geoffrey has held academic positions at London Business School, Pembroke College University of Oxford and elsewhere. He has published extensively in leading academic journals worldwide. He is an Associate Member of the Centre for Business, Organisations and Society, School of Management, University of Bath, United Kingdom and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 2004. His work has been published in leading academic journals and has had direct impact in the business world. He has received coverage in the media including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC, the Edge (Malaysia), Responsible Investor, Malaysian Business, Management (Malaysia Institute of Management Magazine), the Weekend Mail, Channel News Asia and the Sun newspaper in the UK. His speaking events include the American Economic Association Meeting 2004 (San Diego), chair of a special session on culture and economics; the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) CSR Conference 2006 in KL; the MIA 2006 National Accountants' Conference in KL in a special session on CSR; Malaysia Investor Relations Conference 2007; the International Institute for Research (IIR Middle East) CSR Summit June 2007 in Dubai. He was chair of two sessions at the Sustainable Responsible Investment Conference in Singapore in October 2007 and of a special session on CSR at the Arab Thought Foundation fikr6 Conference in Bahrain in December 2007.