The Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability reporting guidelines are a widely applied, but often misunderstood tool, writes AccountAbility.  Among their Top Five Top Five Misconceptions About GRI Reporting is a subject near and dear to our hearts – impact measurement.  Reporting on indicators does not always equal reporting on impact: 

[Misconception] 5. GRI is the best tool for measuring impact

The GRI Guidelines and respective indicators help an organization describe its economic, environmental and social footprint, but the GRI indicators don’t always provide a way to accurately or comprehensively measure the impact of an organization’s unique programs or initiatives (though there are GRI indicators which help to aggregate and enable reporting on these top level impacts).

Companies’ CR strategies should include a process to determine indicators that allow them to quantify the impact of their proactive environmental and social efforts.

CSR measurement like the G3.1 Guidelines promote transparency, but are only powerful if they give businesses and stakeholders enough relevant information to take action. Great performance measurement tools do just that.