Welcome to UNCTAD Tutorials on the application of its Guidance on core indicators for entity reporting on contribution towards implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (GCI). This is a self-learning online tool developed by UNCTAD as an additional aid to enhance the understating of the GCI Training Manual and as means to facilitate implementation of the GCI.
What is the GCI?
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, UNCTAD has been working to enable further advancements on SDG/sustainability reporting by companies by enhancing its harmonization and comparability. Towards this objective UNCTAD has developed and published the GCI. It objective is to assist companies in providing data on a limited number of universal and core SDG baseline indicators in economic, environmental, social and institutional areas of enterprise activities. The GCI also aims to assist governments to design policies and build institutional mechanisms to collect such data from companies’ reports with a view to enable them to reflect the private sector’s contribution to the SDG implementation in a consistent and comparable manner and to report on the SDG 12.6.1 “Number of companies publishing sustainability reports”. More details on the GCI could be found here .
What is the GCI Training Manual?
More than 20 company case studies on the GCI application conducted in different countries, various industries and companies of different sizes demonstrated that most companies were able to provide data on the majority of the core indicators. However, the case studies also reflected a lack of technical expertise in the area of the SDG reporting by companies and the need for capacity building. Responding to this challenge UNCTAD developed the GCI Training Manual.
The Training Manual consists of 4 chapters, covering economic, environmental, social, and institutional core SDG indicators. Detailed explanations are provided on each indicator definition, measurement methodology and potential sources of information for the accounting data needed for calculation of the indicator. Illustrative examples of each indicator calculations are also provided, as well as references to how these indicators have been already disclosed by other companies1. In addition, each chapter contains self-assessment questions and solutions, and a list of selected references to deepen the understanding of these issues. The GCI Training Manual can be accessed here.
1NB: examples in the Manual in tutorials are used for illustrative purposes only and taken from publicly available websites and annual reports of different companies. UNCTAD assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information and/or any errors or omissions included in it.
Following the structure of the Training Manual the Tutorials are also divided in 4 booklets containing slides that provide key points on each of the core SDG indicator in economic, environmental, social, and institutional areas. The Tutorials are intended to support users in carrying out their further self-paced studies based on what they have already learned in the GCI and the GCI Training Manual. The booklets can be accessed at the links shown below:
