The New Year has been proven to be a busy time for the Responsible Business Practice (RBP) team at St James Ethics Centre! As we near the end of Federal Treasury's current funding period for the RBP initiative on 30 June, our team has been drawing together the lessons learned over the past four years of the project.
This quarterly Hub e-newsletter will keep you updated on our progress. Further information can be found at the Hub of Responsible Business Practice in Australia website. Please also feel free to forward any general questions or feedback to rbp@ethics.org.au.
Our focus
During December 2010 to January 2011 the Centre has facilitated conversations and workshops with over 50 of our RBP stakeholders including representatives from government, business, the investment community, professional service firms, consulting and civil society.
The major aims of our stakeholder engagement activities are to assist in:
1. meeting Federal Treasury's funding goals for the RBP initiative to 30
June 2011. This includes consolidating the work to date and
transitioning to sustainable funding; and
2. preparing a responsible business practice recommendations report
for government and business to help continue the momentum
for corporate responsibility and sustainability leadership in Australia.
We are aiming to present this report at the 12th National Business
Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development on 16 and 17 June 2011
at Parliament House in Canberra.
Your views
To help us ensure that St James Ethics Centre's recommendations report is inclusive and representative of our broad stakeholder base, we welcome your views as a subscriber to the Hub of Responsible Business Practice in Australia e-newsletter.
We will shortly send you a link to seek your views in our online survey.
For further information please contact Sarah Davidson, Planning & Development Manager, Responsible Business Practice. |
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We are happy to announce that Global Compact Network Australia is now incorporated!
NETWORK'S HALF YEARLY REPORT
Click through to read the GCNA Stakeholder Half Yearly Report (June-Dec 2010), an overview of the six months of the Global Compact Network Australia following the Inaugural Annual Meeting held on 4 June 2010 in Sydney, documenting a period of significant activity for Network members and Signatories. Including the establishment of a membership fund and 130% increase in non-Signatories becoming engaged in GCNA activities.
FOLLOW-UP:
GCNA HUMAN RIGHTS WORKING GROUP FOR BUSINESS
Our highly successful inaugural meeting of this important Working Group took place in Melbourne on 10 December 2010. Read the media release here. Next quarterly meeting: April 2011, Sydney with dates and details to be circulated shortly. Contact rsain@ethics.org.au.
WA WELCOMES THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT NETWORK AUSTRALIA - Feb 23, 6-8pm
Hosted by Western Power and supported by ERM with presentations from Rio Tinto and Westpac together with a discussion on the formation of a West Australian based community of practice.
BUSINESS FORUM ON LEADERSHIP FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY - hosted by NAB, Melbourne, 1st March 2011
A Business Forum bringing together the best thinking in business and academia and supported by Global Compact Network Australia. Download Program here. Organised by La Trobe University.
KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
FROM THE REGION
16 local networks from the Asia-Pacific region met Feb 10, 11. Key announcements included - planning for the Rio +20 conference (2012), the formation of ASEAN CSR, and the Global Compact China Club. All with opportunities for an Australian Network contribution.
DIFFERENTIATION FRAMEWORK
The Global Compact Office is launching its Global Compact Differentiation Framework to facilitate better assessment of sustainability performance and disclosure of its signatories with three levels of reporting (tools and resources supplied): Basic level - template, Intermediate level - GRI framework encouraged, Advanced level - Global Compact's Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership.
For further information or to join the email list for monthly updates please contact Rosemary Sainty, Head, Secretariat, UN Global Compact Network Australia
more >
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The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. This framework sets out the principles and indicators that organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance.
St James Ethics Centre wishes to thank and farewell Victoria Whitaker who has recently departed on maternity leave from the role of Network Manager for the GRI Focal Point in Australia.
The Centre now warmly welcomes Lena Geraghty back to this role as she returns from her own maternity leave. Lena was the first Network Manager for the GRI Focal Point in Australia in 2009 to 2010, establishing a strong foundation. It is anticipated that both Lena and Victoria will share the role from late 2011 when Victoria returns from maternity leave.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
JOIN US FOR AN UPDATE ON GRI'S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
March 15 Melbourne & March 16 Sydney 2011
Lena Geraghty, GRI Focal Point Australia Network Manager and Nikki McKean-Wood, GRI Organizational Stakeholder Program Manager invite you to join them for a mid-morning seminar to give an update on GRI’s current and future strategic priorities. The seminar will assist report writers and users to understand the latest strategic developments at GRI and how they may influence future reporting in Australia.
The event will be followed by a working lunch exclusively for GRI’s Organisational Stakeholders. Here, topics discussed earlier in the day will be examined in more detail. In addition there will be the opportunity for dialogue about GRI Focal Point Australia’s program of work, and how sustainability reporting can better enable responsible business practices in the future.
To register, click here.
For more information, click here.
RECENT EVENTS:
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING FOR SME'S
Presented on 24th November at Net Balance's Melbourne Office, this morning workshop provided SMEs with a basic introduction to GRI and the G3 framework. Sustainability Reporting for SMEs explored current trends in reporting and demonstrated the role of GRI in assisting organisations to manage and report on their social, economic and environmental impacts.
Current GRI reporters presented case studies of their experience using the GRI reporting tool, outlining the benefits of reporting and the key lessons learnt.
Key speakers included:
SECTOR SUPPLEMENT NEWS:
The Global Reporting Initiative has opened the Public Comment Period on the final draft of the Event Organisers Sector Supplement. The Public Comment Period is open from 16 February 2011 until 16 May 2011.
A PDF feedback form is available for downloading at GRI's website. The feedback form consists of the draft Supplement with the option to provide comments on the sector Performance Indicators, and the commentary to the G3 Guidelines. The feedback form can be filled out, saved and submitted to GRI guidelines@globalreporting.org.
INTERNATIONAL GRI NEWS
For further information please contact Lena Geraghty, Network Manager Focal Point Australia. more >
The Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI) is currently being run directly from the UK by its developer Business in the Community.
The CRI is currently open to Australian and New Zealand companies to participate through confidential benchmarking. The Public Index for 2011 to 2012 will also be launched again in September.
For further information please contact Sarah Davidson, Planning & Development Manager, Responsible Business Practice.
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 | The Good Business Register® (GBR) is an innovative online platform that enables small to medium businesses to build and then communicate their responsible business and sustainability credentials in the supply chain and also to customers, investors, staff and the community.
The GBR has just undergone an extensive review process after a successful one year trial phase. Much thanks to all the online survey participants and key stakeholders who have provided valuable insight and feedback during the review and refinement process over the last four months. Key recommendations have been adopted and are currently being incorporated into the Register and Report tools, communication procedures and the website. We anticipate that updated tools will be launched in early April 2011.
For further information please contact Sophie O'Dwyer, Project Manager, Good Business Register or contact us directly on 02 9299 9566.
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2011 Program of Ethical Intelligence
and Good Decision Making (EIGDM) Workshops open to the public
St James Ethics Centre is delighted to invite you to attend a one day entry level workshop to the world of ethics.
This is a thought provoking and practical workshop which provides an accessible concept of ethics, gives a clear statement of the very different views of what makes something ethical and provides a transparent process for making, or assisting others to make, ethical decisions.
Last year the two programs we offered proved very popular. This year we have increased the number to four. These workshops will be held in Sydney on March 30, June 14, September 15 and November 30 (all Wednesdays).
We are bringing the program to your attention because you may wish to trial it before deciding to use it for managers in your organisation. We can also offer a customised and highly interactive program for your own organisation for up to 16 participants.
For more information please download the product sheet.
If you would like to attend please contact Peter Melser, Project Manager, Ethics Services. | |
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