The Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE) is pleased to announce its collaboration with ShareAction in the UK on the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI).
At a time when investors are increasingly realizing the importance of working conditions and standards as a driver of social and financial value, the WDI brings institutional investors together to secure comparable workforce reporting from listed companies on an annual basis. The data requested will cover employees in companies’ global operations and workers in their supply chains.
Modelled on the CDP, the WDI builds on existing reporting standards and the data requested from companies will cover workforce composition, workforce stability, training and development, and worker engagement. The first year’s pilot survey will go to the FTSE 50, an additional 15 mega-cap firms on other global exchanges and 10 Canadian companies on the TSX-60. The survey will evolve over time in response to learning that emerges from the process.
Investors are invited to participate in the initiative as signatories to the first year’s survey by the deadline of May 15, 2017. Signatories will receive special access to the data generated, along with detailed analysis of trends and sector comparisons. Signatories wanting greater involvement are welcome to play a role in shaping the methodology and research process. The WDI will provide opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking through newsletters, research notes, webinars and events.
ShareAction is running the overall program, while SHARE is advising the project and leading on ensuring the initiative brings in Canadian investors and reaches Canadian companies. SHARE’s involvement in the WDI supports our on-going efforts through the Valuing Decent Work project, and together with the Atkinson Foundation, to mobilize Canadian investors to support decent work policies and practices in investee companies and more broadly in capital markets.
