Both the associate professor of international business and alumna finished the GRI Academy coursework, which covers global best practices for sustainability reporting.
Carri Reisdorf, associate professor of international business in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, and Rosalyn Allen ’22 completed the GRI Academy offered by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an independent, international organization providing the world’s most widely used standards for sustainability reporting – the GRI Standards.
Reisdorf and Allen completed the online coursework, which covered an introduction to sustainability reporting, the GRI Standards 2021 update, reporting on human rights, and integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into sustainability reporting.
After completing the academy, Reisdorf passed the certification exam to become a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional.
“Obtaining the GRI professional certification is beneficial for my current and future classes here at Elon, as well as for current and future collaborations on research projects and potential consulting opportunities in our community,” Reisdorf said. “It gave me an opportunity to examine the SDGs and how firms are working towards a better future utilizing the GRI framework.”
Allen, an Odyssey Scholar and environmental studies major, became interested in learning how businesses can become more sustainable while taking Reisdorf’s COR 4550: Sustainable Development course in fall 2021.
“I knew [sustainability] was a difficult and vast problem, that urgently needed a solution,” shared Allen, who is currently an administrative associate at Freedman Consulting, LLC. “Taking the GRI course gave me some insight into where to start and what sustainability reporting looks like.”
Allen and Reisdorf decided to complete the GRI Academy during spring 2022, checking in with one another regularly. The Love School of Business and the Odyssey Program co-sponsored Allen’s GRI coursework.
The pair continues to virtually meet with one another to build on this experience and collaborate on a paper exploring how the GRI Standards help multinational firms better integrate the SDGs into their sustainability reporting.
“I’m excited to use my knowledge of the GRI Standards and passion for the environment in whatever endeavors I find myself in going forward,” Allen said. She plans to take the exam to become a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional in the next few months.