GRI and Australian Government to Accelerate Investment in the Indo-Pacific

Starting in June, GRI and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are launching a new program, ‘Sustainable Trade and Investment through Reporting’ in the Indo-Pacific (STIR Indo-Pacific). The program will target five developing countries in Asia: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. ​ The program will pursue two means of contributing to greater stability and poverty alleviation in the region: 1) fostering smart policies that increase market transparency and 2) promoting supply chain transparency by building domestic capacity for sustainability reporting.

Through the program, GRI will also establish a network of Indo-Pacific organizations that are committed to leveraging transparency to help create the conditions for sustainable development. The STIR Indo-Pacific program follows the success of the first phase of DFAT’s investment in GRI’s work, which was concluded in 2016, and focused on accelerating sustainable and inclusive development in the region.

“The STIR Indo-Pacific program is the next step in GRI’s continuing commitment to promoting sustainable business practices in the Indo-Pacific and helping Asia take a leading role in corporate transparency,” said GRI Deputy Chief Executive Teresa Fogelberg. “Sustainability reporting helps companies identify and communicate about longer-term risks and opportunities, thus attracting investors and opening up new lines of business. This will empower companies in the target countries to make positive contributions to sustainable development, as they create inclusive economic growth in the region. We are pleased to have the continuing support of the Australian government, which makes this groundbreaking work possible.”   Through the STIR Indo-Pacific program, GRI will engage with policy makers and regulators to help create an environment that is conducive for more companies to start reporting their sustainability impacts. In particular, stock exchanges are well-positioned to promote sustainability reporting, in the form of listing requirements and recommendations. Also, as part of this program, GRI will focus on building reporting capacity among first and second tier companies that are part of the value chains of multi-national enterprises, which are increasingly demanding sustainability information from their suppliers.   For more information on the Sustainable Trade and Investment through Reporting in the Indo-Pacific program and GRI’s ongoing work in the region, please contact GRI Media Relations Manager Davion Ford at ford@globalreporting.org. To subscibe for the monthly GRI Newsletter, please click here.