What You Need to Know About the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards

Corporate reporters rejoice: in a move aimed at making it easier for companies to report on their sustainability initiatives and progress, the Global Reporting Initiative today launched the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards.

The GRI Standards — which facilitate corporate reporting on topics such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water use and labor practices — are the latest evolution of GRI’s reporting disclosures. They are based on the GRI G4 Guidelines, which are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting disclosures. But, according to GRI, they are more straightforward, with a new format and modular structure that will make them more accessible to more businesses globally. They replace the G4 Guidelines, which will be phased out by July 1, 2018.

GRI interim chief executive Eric Hespenheide says while sustainability reporting isn’t always easy, the new GRI Standards will make it easier for companies to report nonfinancial information.

“Like all worthwhile endeavors, sustainability reporting takes time, effort and commitment of resources,” he told Environmental Leader. “But for those organizations that do sustainability reporting in good faith, the benefits outweigh the costs. With the new GRI Standards we have done our best to make reporting a more straightforward process, by clarifying key concepts such as the topic Boundary, the GRI content index, and terms such as ‘impacts’. Additionally, within each Standard, there is a clear distinction between reporting requirements, recommendations, and guidance. This will make it easier for organizations to know what they are expected to report, and how to report it.”

While GRI provides an online overview of transitioning from G4 to GRI Standards, sustainability consultants can also help firms analyze their currents corporate reports versus the new standards.

ISOS Group is offering one-day, customized GRI Standards transitional training and says using the new set of standards can help improve businesses’ performance.

“As long time practitioners and educators in this space, we believe the time couldn’t be more ripe for a more comprehensive, yet inclusive, approach to non-financial reporting,” said Nancy Mancilla, ISOS Group co-founder and CEO. “By instituting GRI’s Standards, greater alignment to other reporting frameworks, deeper integration of solid management practices and more focused disclosure should result.”

The GRI Standards are a set of 36 modular standards. Three universal standards (GRI 101, 102 and 103) are applicable to all reporting organizations. These explain how to use the entire set of standards (GR 101), address contextual information about the reporting organization and its reporting practices (GR 102) and provide provide information about how the organization manages its material topics (GR 103).