Reporting guidance on HIV/AIDS: a GRI resource document

This is part of the wider reporting guidelines produced by the GRI to assist companies in reporting on issues of accountability and to become more transparent. The document offers a practical reporting framework for:

• organisations that want to report on their performance - including policies and practices - with respect to HIV/AIDS
• stakeholders that require a reputable reporting benchmark to measure or compare organisations’ HIV/AIDS performance.

The document describes the need for HIV reporting. It states that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is threatening productivity and stability in economies and organisations worldwide. In many cases, however, management, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders are not cognisant of the full impact of the disease. Many are unaware of the programmes and policies available to assist a response, the effectiveness of various interventions, or the availability of reporting indicators to monitor the progress of organisations in management and prevention. Current information regarding corporate action on HIV/AIDS is inconsistent and incomplete. Case studies profile various interventions by the business community, yet information is not yet comprehensive. Consequently, it is difficult to compare and benchmark corporate performance on HIV/AIDS and to verify the accuracy of reported information.

This document therefore offers a set of HIV/AIDS reporting indicators as a practical contribution toward a detailed globally accepted standard for reporting. It was developed for South Africa so has a focus on that country, but GRI plan to test the guidelines for applicability elsewhere. The document outlines South African and international initiatives to improve HIV company reporting.

Indicators to be used in reporting are arranged under the following headings:

• Good Governance: policy formulation, strategic planning, effective risk management
• Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation: prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS, actual and estimated costs and losses
• Workplace Conditions and HIV/AIDS Management

Indicators are presented for incremental use, with basic level and progressively more demanding indicators being provided.

[Adapted from authors]