Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and 3BL Media Partner to Raise Awareness of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) December 22, 2010 - Northampton, MA - Today 3BL Media announced that they have entered into an agreement with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to provide packaged report services to companies that wish to bring broader exposure to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reports.

The growth in CSR and sustainability reporting has created an opportunity for this partnership to help reporting companies better tell their story and drive stakeholder engagement. Although both GRI and 3BL Media offer their own services to companies, the objective of the packaged service offering is to increase exposure of report announcements. The new packaged service offering will be available from 1 January 2011.   Greg Schneider, CEO and Co-Founder of 3BL Media said, “We are proud and honored to be partnering with the Global Reporting Initiative to promote CSR and sustainability reports. We look forward to working with companies and other organizations worldwide to help distribute the contents of their GRI-based reports to both the CSR-focused and mainstream audience.”   This partnership comes on the heels of both GRI’s and 3BL Media’s announcements about their international expansion. In October 2010, Amsterdam-based GRI launched its ‘Focal Point USA’ in New York, where it is working to increase the quality and quantity of sustainability reports being produced by US companies. This month US-based 3BL Media announced the opening of an office in Liverpool, England to serve the communications needs of CSR-focused organizations in the UK and throughout Europe.   3BL Media is an Organizational Stakeholder (OS) of GRI and stands in support of its mission to further promote sustainability reporting by all companies.   Marjella Alma, Report Services Manager at the Global Reporting Initiative, said: “The number of people using sustainability reports is increasing. Investors, stakeholders and consumers are demanding more information from companies about their sustainability performance. We are excited about this new partnership with 3BL Media, which will help companies that use the GRI Guidelines to promote their reports on sustainability and environmental, social and governance performance. We look forward to working with 3BL Media to help meet the increasing demand for accessible sustainability performance information.”     About 3BL Media   3BL Media is a leading distributor of CSR and ESG news and content for corporations, non-profits and SMEs worldwide. 3BL Media helps organizations ensure that their press releases, news, multimedia and other important announcements reach the widest possible audience of media, professionals, investors, practitioners and consumers. Through a combination of both traditional and social media distribution channels, 3BL Media provides their clients with broadest possible reach, impact and influence among stakeholders.   Website: http://3blmedia.com   About the Global Reporting Initiative

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based non governmental organization that aims to drive sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. GRI produces the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework to enable this drive towards greater transparency. The framework, incorporating the ‘G3 Guidelines’, sets out the principles and indicators that organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance. GRI is committed to continuously improving and increasing the use of the Guidelines, which are freely available to the public.

GRI was founded in the US in 1997 by CERES and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and was originally based in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2002, GRI moved its central office to Amsterdam, where the Secretariat is currently located. GRI also has regional ‘Focal Points’ in Australia, Brazil, China, India and the USA.

Website: www.globalreporting.org

  For more information or press inquiries, contact:   3BL Media, US Greg Schneider, CEO 866-508-0993 x113 gschneider@3blmedia.com   3BL Media, UK/Europe David Connor, Managing Director +44 (0) 151 808 0119 dconnor@3blmedia.com   Global Reporting Initiative Lucy Goodchild, Media Relations Manager Phone: +31 (0) 20 531 0067 Out of hours phone: +31 (0) 6303 99531 goodchild@globalreporting.org   3BL10938