GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards 2016: A Case Study of Timberwell Constructions

This report evaluates the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards 2016 implemented on Timberwell Constructions. It analyses the impact of the corporation's actions on economic, environmental and social sustainability. The report highlights the importance of implementing sustainable practices to secure future growth in the market.

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Governance, Ethics and Sustainability

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Introduction
The importance of implementing a sustainable approach in the business has increased in the
past few decades to ensure that they use natural resources in a sustainable manner to fulfil
the current needs while ensuring that future generations are able to fulfil their needs as
well. The three key pillars of implementing and meeting the goals of a sustainability
approach include economic, social and environmental sustainability (Pearce, Barbier and
Markandya, 2013). In this report, the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards 2016 which
implement on the case of Timberwell Constructions will be evaluated. The underlying
fundamentals of these standards will be analysed in this report and their impact on the
stakeholders of the company.

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A. Economic Sustainability
Disclosure 201-2: Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate
change
In this case, the risks and opportunities posed by climate change have the potential to
influence operations, expenditures or revenue of Timberwell Constructions. The risks or
opportunities can be classified either physically or regulatory, and Timberwell Constructions
has classified them in a physical manner. The corporation has violated some of the
amendments which are introduced by Stanwell Council. These policies are a part of the
Local Environmental Plan (LEP). Due to global warming and climate change, there are
specific areas situated in Stanwell district which are facing the risk of fire or prone region.
These challenges are created by the actions of companies, and they are expected to take
appropriate actions to conduct their operations in sustainable manner to address the
challenge of climate change (Lipper et al., 2014). Timberwell Constructions has established
one of its sites in Stanwell district which is situated in the high fire-prone risk area which
should be included in the Disclosure 201-2. This information is given by the LEP
amendments, and the introduction of these new regulations creates challenges for
Timberwell Constructions since it has to incur a cost of $4 million in order to comply with
these regulations. Moreover, risks and opportunities are also created for the company
based on the popularity of technologies which are available in order to address the
challenges relating to climate change and changes in the behaviour of customers (Howells et
al., 2013). Moreover, the company was engaged in an external town planning firm in order
to reduce potential costs of LEP requirements which require the company to incur
additional $50,000.
Disclosure 205-3: Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken
A key challenge faced by Timberwell Constructions is that one of its employees has made a
complaint against the company in the state corruption commission by providing that five of
its employees and two business partners are liable for corruption. The state corruption
commission has charge those seven stakeholders with corruption charges. The corporation
has taken this incident seriously; it has suspended those employees without pay. Moreover,

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the company also avoid involving with its partners and suppliers who engaged in corrupt
activities. The corporation has made various media releases and public statements in order
to portray it as a good corporate citizen. It is important that corporations take serious steps
towards similar incidents in order to avoid them in the future and set an example as a good
corporate citizen to prohibit similar activities (Freckleton, Wright and Craigwell, 2012). The
media releases made by the company in relation to corruption incident are focused on
highlighting the actions taken by the company to punish those who engaged in these illegal
activities and set an example for others to avoid similar activities in the future.
Disclosure 206-1: Legal actions for anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust, and monopoly
practices
The company is facing a legal action in relation to anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust and
monopoly practices. The employees of the company have reported against the company to
government regulators. These practices negatively affect the competition between
companies in the market which negatively affect the economic growth in the country and
the interest of customers (Fonseca, McAllister and Fitzpatrick, 2014). Timberwell
Constructions is facing an on-going case which is filed by the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) for engaged in anti-competitive conduct. A complaint was
filed in the ACCC against Timberwell Constructions in which it was alleged that the
corporation knew about some local builders who plan to establish their own corporation in
the Stanwell district. In order to address this competitive threat, the senior executives of
Timberwell Constructions threatened the suppliers that if they start this company, then
their business with Timberwell Constructions will be reduced substantially or withdrawn
completely. The executives engaged in this practice in order to create a monopoly of the
market by misusing its powers which is negative for the customers and economic growth of
the company (Amirmostofian, Reunanen and Uusitalo, 2014). As per Disclosure 206-1, the
court entertains this case within four months which may create challenges for the company
by imposing penalties and disciplinary actions on its executives which can negatively affect
the interest of the corporation.
A. Environmental Sustainability
Disclosure 302-1: Energy consumption within the organisation

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As per Disclosure 302-1, organisations have to make a public report in relation to the total
amount of non-renewable energy sources or furl which it uses in its operations (Global
Reporting, 2016). In the case of Timberwell Constructions, a press release is launched by the
company in which it has include details regarding its energy consumption in which it is
highlighted that the majority of the energy consumption of the corporation comes from
electricity. Non-renewable energy sources include turbines, furnaces, vehicles, coals, fuel,
heaters and others which are used by corporations (Apergis and Payne, 2012). The fuel
consumption of the company from non-renewable resources is 1.0 Gigajoule, renewable
resources are 0.5 Gigajoules and energy consumption 2.0 Gigajoules. As per the press
release of the company, it has initiated a recent program which is focused on increasing the
fuel consumptions of renewable energy up to 50 percent in the next three years.
Disclosure 304-2: significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity
One of the sites of Timberwell Constructions which is situated in Otford Park is populated
with rate wallum sedge frogs. The proposed development made by the company in order to
render the site is inconsistent with the survival of these frogs. In order to address this issue,
the corporation is working with Stanwell Council and other environmental groups. The
objective of the company is to develop a strategy for managing proposed development on
the particular site while ensuring that the rare wallum sedge frogs are protected. It is the
social responsibility of companies to ensure that they take appropriate measures to protect
the biodiversity and reduce the negative impact of their activities, products and services on
biodiversity (Lenzen et al., 2012). Moreover, it is also revealed in the Environmental Impact
Assessment report of the company that conservations efforts are taken for Otford Park
Development Park to protect those frogs. The corporation focuses on converting habitats of
these frogs in order to ensure their survival. This disclosure highlights the role of
corporations to ensure that they fulfil their social responsibility towards its stakeholders
which include taking appropriate actions to protect biodiversity (Gordon et al., 2015).
Disclosure 307-1: Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations
The corporation has reported various monetary and non-monetary fines and sanctions
which are imposed for failure of the company to comply with environmental regulations and
laws. The objective of these laws is to impose a duty on companies and individuals to ensure

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that they did not adversely affect the environment or its resources while conducting their
business operations (Burby et al., 2013). Various judicial and administrative fines are
imposed on the company for non-compliance with environmental laws. These laws include
national, local and regional regulations, international conventions, treaties and declarations.
In the case of Timberwell Constructions, a fine of $200,000 was imposed on the corporation
based on the investigation conducted by the Department of Energy and Environment. In this
investigation, it was found that the company has cleared 0.45 hectares of coastal grasslands
which resulted in endangering the ecology of the local area. Due to this action of the
company, it becomes difficult for the authorities to protect flora and fauna pursuant to the
state’s planning scheme. This deliberate non-compliance shows that the management of the
company is unable to adhere to the environmental laws which are imposed on the
operations of the company.
B. Social Responsibility
Disclosure 401-1: New employee hires and employee turnover
Timberwell Constructions did not comply with the guidelines issued by Disclosure 401-1
when it comes to utilising the information which is available on the total staff members as at
the end of the reporting period because it failed to calculate its staff turnover and the rate
of newly hired employees. The corporation has hired 58 male staff members with different
construction-related trades and professions. Along with these employees, the corporation
has hired 12 new apprentices, and 17 employees left the corporation in order to work in
rival companies or start their own businesses. The hiring rate of the company is 20.6 percent
whereas the employee turnover rate is 29.3 percent. The majority of the employees are
between the age of 30 and 50 years. Without the retention of talented and experienced
employees, it is difficult for companies to ensure that they sustain their growth in the
market (Galpin and Lee Whittington, 2012). As per Disclosure 401-1, the companies have to
ensure that they disclose relevant data regarding the hiring and turnover rate of employees.
Disclosure 406-1: Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken
According to Kobayashi, Eweje and Tappin (2018), it is important that corporations
implement relevant policies to prohibit discrimination and discriminatory behaviour in the

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workplace which is crucial to create a positive working environment that leads to promoting
the performance of employees. An employee of Timberwell Constructions has filed a
complaint against the company with the Fair Work Commission for age-based discrimination
in the workplace. He provided in his complaint that he faced aged based discrimination in
the workplace along in inappropriate humour which employees use against him to make fun
of him. It was reported by the employee that he was the only one employee who was older
than 50 years and other employees were between the age of 30 and 50 years. The
corporation failed to take appropriate measures to prohibit this behaviour in the workplace
to ensure that the employee did not face humiliation in the workplace. It is a duty of the
corporations to ensure that they take precautionary actions in order to prohibit
discrimination in the workplace which negatively affects the employees (Husgafvel et al.,
2015). After this ruling, Timberwell Constructions reported that it had updated its anti-
discriminatory policies and it has also implemented policies for anti-discriminatory training
in the workplace to prohibit similar behaviour.
Disclosure 413-1: Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and
development programs
Various actions and initiatives are taken by the management of Timberwell Constructions in
order to promote programs that promote and support community engagement and
participation. This is a key part of the overall social responsibility of companies to ensure
that they engage in practices for supporting and promoting practices for development of
local communities which are affected by the operations of the companies (Schulenkorf,
2012). Timberwell Constructions has initiated different programs to engage with local
communities which are achieved through various community development programs and
meetings which are conducted between local residents. Furthermore, the corporation is
working with Stanwell Council for complying with proposed amendments made in the Local
Environmental Plan. The objective of this plan is to reduce the risk of global warming and
climate change on the local communities by taking precautionary measures.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, Timberwell Constructions has faced a number of sustainability issues, and the
corporation has implemented various approaches in order to address these issues. The GRI
Sustainability Reporting Standards 2016 assists in identifying the negative and positive
contributions made by the corporation in relation to sustainable development. This report
has evaluated both the positive and negative impact of actions taken by the company on
different stakeholders. The corporation is taking several measures which are targeted on
achieving sustainable goals of the company by providing safe working environment for
employees, protecting biodiversity, eliminating discrimination, reducing use of non-
renewable energy sources and many others. Compliance with these policies assists the
company in positively influencing its brand image and implements a sustainable business
approach which secures its future growth in the market.

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