SustainAbility has undertaken a series of benchmark surveys of corporate environmental and sustainability reporting, normally every two years, since 1994. The Global Reporters Methodology has evolved as a result of that process.

The earliest SustainAbility surveys covered environmental reporting, only briefly exploring social issues. In 2000, the methodology underwent a significant revision. As part of that process, we took account of growing consensus regarding various elements of economic, social and environmental reporting as it was emerging through the Global Reporting Initiative and various other corporate sustainability initiatives.

In 2005-06 the methodology underwent significant further evolution. Previously the focus had been on how well a particular report covered a specific set of ‘sustainability topics’ such as water use, emissions to air, diversity and human rights. This approach, however, failed to take account of the relative importance of these issues. In the current version of the methodology the focus has been shifted to assess a set of generic business processes, and to consider the extent to which these processes take account of sustainability impacts and performance.

Please note: This document is the result of many years of investment and development by SustainAbility. It has been released to the public in the spirit of transparency and in the hope of stimulating future improvements in sustainability reporting. The methodology remains the sole property of SustainAbility Ltd/Inc. and may not be used for any commercial purpose without the express written consent of SustainAbility Ltd/Inc.