(Photo from sd3)

The Global Reporting Initiative ... that's the question of the day over at Social Funds, as Canadian SIO lines up for amending the Canada Business Corporations Act to mandate annual GRI reporting:

While this question has been bandied about informally for a long time, the Social Investment Organization (SIO) in Canada recently formalized the notion in its submission to the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility last week. The Roundtables, established by the Canadian government to improve CSR practice specifically in the Canadian extractive sector operating in developing countries, are convening between June and November 2006 in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal. SIO used the opportunity to make an unprecedented recommendation that the Canada Business Corporations Act be amended to mandate annual GRI reporting.

"As far as I know, this is the first time that there has been a recommendation to mandate GRI reporting," said Eugene Ellmen, executive director of SIO.

It will be interesting to see if others follow suit.

In other CSR news ...

*TIAA-CREF Creates $100 Million Global Microfinance Investment Program, at CSRWire.

*Get more proactive not reactive to CSR, experts tell Indian business leaders.

*Growing friction in Europe over corporate responsibility, via RawStory.

*At Brand Republic: Corporate responsibility ... Why don't they trust you with CSR?

*"Farmers question value of "responsible" coffees" via Newsdesk.

*Catholics get behind CSR: "The Good Company: Catholic Social Thought and Corporate Social Responsibility in Dialogue" is the theme of a conference to take place in Rome from October 5th through 7th.

*And from Peter at Credo Advisors, ideas on the new corporation: Corporation 2.0