On the Journey to Adopt GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards

More and more, there is pressure on companies to become transparent about the impacts they have on their community and the world.

International organizations, governments, and investors alike are demanding information and action. And consumers are also becoming more aware and assertive when it comes to production conditions. Nevertheless, understanding and reporting on companies' sustainability impacts cannot only be driven by outside forces alone. Often, companies themselves have an intrinsic motivation to showcase their actions to help the people in their communities, the economy and the environment. And for some, it is part of the core values that drive the organization.

Take Trinseo, a global chemical materials solutions provider, and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber. Trinseo, formerly Styron, published its first Sustainability/CSR report in 2011, with full disclosure of emissions, energy use, water use, and waste and safety performance.

From this year on, the company will begin using the GRI Standards in its 2017 Sustainability report, which will be published in the third quarter of 2018. The company is planning to provide a full GRI-aligned Sustainability Report in 2019. For Trinseo, “Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are intrinsic to who we are,” according to Catherine Maxey, Vice President, Public Affairs, Sustainability and Environment, Health and Safety.

GRI is helping Trinseo enable a more sustainable world, through GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Standards, and the GRI Support Suite, a range of tools and services for report preparers and report users, that covers the whole reporting cycle. “We are excited to be a part of Trinseo’s journey towards adopting GRI's reporting framework: the most used framework worldwide due to its credibility, flexibility and adaptability. As a first step, we will work together with Trinseo and perform the GRI Kick-off Service to set off the reporting process for their first report to be prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards that will be published in 2019.”, said Shivani Rajpal, Director-Services, GRI.

“Our adoption of the GRI Standards as the framework for our public sustainability reporting, redoubles our commitment to transparency. Adhering to the GRI Standards is consistent with Trinseo’s commitment to integrity and accountability, and demonstrates a balanced representation of our contributions and impact on our stakeholders and our world.”, added Maxey.

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