AMMAN - The Jordan River Foundation (JRF) on Tuesday urged NGOs to follow their lead and launch sustainability management reports in order to increase transparency.
JRF Director General Valentina Qussisiya said the foundation has noticed an immediate impact since filing the sustainability report, making it the first NGO in the region to do so.
"We have noticed that donors are thrilled to know we have issued this report, which has made our own future planning and management so much easier," Qussisiya told The Jordan Times, adding that such reports can assist private companies to become more environment friendly, cut costs and measure their own success.
Her Majesty Queen Rania, who chairs the JRF board, launched the sustainability report last month and urged others in the Kingdom to follow suit.
Sustainability reports provide institutions with the means to prove they are being responsible, accountable and transparent. Companies and organisations are encouraged to balance profit with environmental protection and equal opportunity.
"It is about being extremely transparent, taking care of your services and taking care of the environment," Qussisiya noted.
The JRF report was submitted and checked by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and considered a "level A" report, she said.
The GRI has produced the world standard in sustainability reporting guidelines.
In order to gauge its environmental performance, JRF staff was trained to examine water and energy bills to find ways to reduce consumption, track petrol use and carbon emissions and recycle all paper and ink cartridges.
Through the sustainability report, the JRF evaluated their impact on sustainable development and discovered there was a need to increase their impact on women and children, Qussisiya said.
The report also revealed an insufficient documentation system for beneficiaries, which will also be addressed, the JRF director added.
According to report, since its inception in 1995, the JRF positively has impacted over 360,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries by reaching out to traditionally disenfranchised members of society, in addition to developing 180 community-based organisations and training eight municipalities in strategic planning and project management.
"We believe the added transparency and accountability of sustainability reporting demands that we raise our performance, which in turn makes us a better and more credible partner for communities, governments, international agencies, and businesses. We hope this approach to our work and our reporting will also raise the standard of accountability for all NGOs in the region," Queen Rania states in the report.
The Jordan River Foundation, chaired by Queen Rania, is a nonprofit non-governmental organisation which works to improve the quality of life for all Jordanians.
Its two main areas of concentration are protecting the rights and needs of children through the "Jordan River Children Programme" and empowering individuals and communities through the "Community Empowerment Programme".
The full JRF sustainability management report, which includes a forward by Queen Rania, is available on www.jordanriver.jo
By Linda Hindi
© Jordan Times 2008
