BRASS Business Guide - BUSINESS ETHICS & CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

This website contains information on non-financial or sustainability reporting provisions including policy, regulation, guidance, frameworks and standards. It is accompanied by a series of reports and associated research conducted since the mid-2000s by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), its Regional Hubs, the Centre for Corporate Governance at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), as well as partners including the UN Environment Programme and KPMG International.

One of the most widely adopted ESG frameworks, the GRI standards for responsible environmental, social, economic, and governance conduct principles are used by businesses, governments, NGOs, and
industry groups.

SASB standards are designed to help companies communicate sustainability data to investors specifically, and therefore the standards
are more financially focused than those in other frameworks.
*In 2021, the IIRC and the SASB announced their merger to form the Value Reporting Foundation in efforts to build a more coherent and standarised
reporting system. Both the Integrated Reporting Framework and the SASB Standards can be used as stand alone or combined tools.

CDP is a global non-profit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources, and protect forests. CDP is one of the oldest and largest ESG reporting organizations, and their framework is used by investors, companies, government agencies, cities, states and regions.

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) merged to form the Value Reporting Foundation. The Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) is established to help businesses and investors to deepen and broaden their understanding of sustainable enterprise value.

The IFRS Foundation is a non-profit, public interest organization established to develop a single set of high-quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted accounting and sustainability disclosure standards—IFRS Standards—and to promote and facilitate adoption of the standards.

A task force governed by the Financial Stability Board whose framework is designed to help organizations “more effectively disclose climate related risks and opportunities through their existing reporting processes.” These climate-related recommendations have been adopted by some
other reporting organizations including SASB and CDSB.

A framework for businesses established by the United Nations with 10 principles related to human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
Participating organisations are required to produce Communication on Progress (COP) reports annually, stating their progress toward achieving the 10 principles of the compact.

Global standards for preventing human rights violations linked to business activity. Under these principles, companies have a responsibility to identify, prevent, and remediate any negative impacts their business activities may have on human rights. Companies may also choose to report on their compliance with these principles.

The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is an international organization that works to promote the incorporation of environmental, social, and corporate governance factors (ESG) into investment decision-making. Their website contains blog posts, investor briefings, research reports, and more. Browse research on various topics on the "Sustainability Issues" page.

The OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct uses RBC standards and recommendations to shape government policies and help businesses minimise the adverse impacts of their operations and supply chains, while providing a venue for the resolution of alleged corporate, social, environmental, labour or human rights abuses.

The SDGs are an extremely high-level set of objectives put forward by the UN as part of a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”.

AccountAbility is a global consulting and standards firm that promotes sustainability practices and corporate responsibility by working with business, governments and multi-lateral organizations to set good governance and responsible standards.

Aimed at all types of organizations, this standard provides guidelines pertaining to principles and practices concerning social responsibility. Being primarily a guidance rather than requirements based standard, ISO 26000 is not meant for certification or regulatory use.

WRI’s GHG Protocol was launched in 2000 to develop internationally accepted greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting standards and promote their broad adoption. WRI accepts SmartWay data and the methodology developed by EPA SmartWay for calculating freight emissions. Other reporting frameworks, including CDP and GRI accept the GHG Protocol and SmartWay data for reporting freight emission estimates.

GLEC is a voluntary partnership of companies and industry associations that have developed a framework for logistics emissions accounting and reporting. EPA’s SmartWay methodology supports the GLEC framework. The framework provides a harmonized system for calculating and reporting carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions across multi-modal supply chains.

ENERGY STAR is a nationally recognized energy rating and benchmarking mechanism in North America that incorporates commercial buildings across a diverse group of building use types.

The go-to tool for greenhouse gas emissions measurement GHG Protocol provides organizations with detailed and multiple standards for greenhouse gas accounting and reporting.

The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting framework is the UK government’s guidance for organizations required to disclose their energy use and and greenhouse gas emissions and related information.

WRAP is an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education. WRAP is the world's largest independent certification program mainly focused on the apparel, footwear, and sewn products sectors. WRAP has a certification program and provides a list of certified facilities.

The leading ESG disclosure framework specifically for real assets, including real estate and infrastructure. Used by property companies, real
estate investment trusts (REITs), funds, and developers.