The founding director of the U.S. Global Reporting Initiative is joining the Cleveland-based BrownFlynn firm.
Mike Wallace CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In a world hungry for data, corporations are facing increased pressure from investors to report non-financial facts about themselves -- things such as how many women are on their boards of directors, how their employees are treated and how the environment is affected by the business.
Once seen as do-good reporting by oddball companies, corporate social reporting is now standard at more than half of the S&P 500 companies and is often called a sustainability report.
But unlike financial data, which must be reported quarterly using long-established auditing formats, the reporting format of this softer information is less rigorous.
The Global Reporting Initiative, or GRI, is a European-based nonprofit organization that has worked for more than a decade to develop reporting standards.
BrownFlynn, a Cleveland-based corporate consulting firm, became the first U.S.-based GRI training partner in 2009 and has worked to achieve a reputation as a firm that can bring corporate sustainability practices to its clients.
And this week, Mike Wallace, the founding director of GRI's North American operations, GRI Focal Point US & Canada, joined BrownFlynn.
As a managing director, Wallace will work to expand BrownFlynn's North American presence, focusing initially on California.
Margie Flynn, a principal and co-founder of the firm, said the company believes sustainability reporting is becoming institutionalized and predicted that demands for non-financial disclosures will be written into law, stock exchange rules and procurement policies.
Wallace said concerns about energy use, water use, waste and environmental issues "are rippling through the economy."
"Interest in sustainability surrounds us, from mayors, to governors, to corporate CEOs," he said. "Even the federal government is looking at its sustainability footprint."
The movement has accelerated, he said, because "a lot of my sustainability footprint is based on what I buy," whether you are thinking about an individual or a company.
Questions about the sustainable practices of suppliers have become part of the procurement policies not only of major corporations, but also of the U.S. military, he said.
The movement is now intersecting with the concerns of investors "who are interested in transparency, corporate governance and data of all kinds," Wallace explained.
"They want to understand the risks and the opportunities and they want a complete picture, including the sustainability performance of company."
Wallace is an Akron native and graduate of Miami University.