Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
compensatory mechanisms for free access to the indigenous knowledge?
and others, can be addressed at this stage.
Some of the current GRI indicators are well designed for these ques-
tions; others could serve only as rough proxies. A GMO-specific Sec-
tor Supplement would be necessary to refine the system to serve the
purpose of technology assessment.
Whereas the process of developing Agricultural GMO Sector Supple-
ments of GRI Guidelines could be the engine for creating an interactive
multi-stakeholder discourse, application of the Guidelines to prepare a
sustainability report by GMO manufacturers might be another avenue
to prompt that discourse. The recent experience of Nike, which, in 2005,
produced a highly regarded GRI Report, illustrates this alternate path.
To report on the impacts of its products on labor conditions and human
rights, the company engaged with all its global vendors and sought their
input. It is simply impossible to report human rights, community devel-
opment, labor relations, and other issues without involving the affected
constituencies.
In short, taking advantage of the growing popularity of voluntary sus-
tainability reporting like the GRI framework would enrich and increase
the effectiveness of the current discourse about agricultural GMOs. GRI
need not be the specific mechanism. Rather, the GRI system serves to
illustrate how a reporting system that emphasizes both the product and
the process, the inclusive multi-stakeholder engagement and the ever-
evolving Guidelines, can serve that purpose.
Is there a sufficient will to create sustainability reporting guide-
lines for the agricultural GMOs sector, and then use them? The answer
is not easy. A recent review
52
cites research reports showing that, in
a knowledge-based economy, the returns on investments into tech-
nology developments are becoming increasingly important, which cre-
ates powerful incentives for protecting intellectual property and for
52
A. L. White, Sustainability and the Accountable Corporation. 41
Environment
3-43
(1999).
