A coalition of analysts at 17 investment firms, representing over $147 billion in assets, met yesterday in Washington. D.C. to urge publicly traded companies around the world to meet a higher standard of reporting on corporate governance, environmental, labor and other key issues.

In a joint statement, the analysts recommend that companies start reporting annually on their key social and environmental policies, practices and performance. The statement notes that companies are facing a growing number of questions and request for reports about these issues from investors, customers, environmental and labor groups, and the public. However, the manner in which companies provide such information now varies widely.

The coalition of analysts suggested that companies base their reporting on the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The GRI is an independent institution that has developed standardized sustainability reporting guidelines with the active participation of representatives from business, accounting, investment, environmental, human rights, research and labor organizations from around the world.

GRI indicators include measures of economic performance (such as total payroll and community donations); environmental performance (such as greenhouse gas emissions and water use); labor practices (such as worker health and safety and diversity); human rights (such as policies around child labor and indigenous rights); society (such as community impacts, bribery, and political contributions); and product responsibility (such as customer health and safety, advertising, consumer privacy).

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