A stronger foundation for impact driven reporting
Amsterdam, June 2020 – Changes to improve how organizations use the GRI Standards to disclose their impacts on the economy, environment and people have been made available for global consultation.
From 11 June, 2020, a three-month public comment period is underway to gather feedback on an exposure draft that revises the Universal Standards. In the biggest update since GRI transitioned in 2016 from providing guidelines to setting globally applicable standards, the proposed changes to the foundations of all reporting through GRI seek to ensure companies show full transparency for their impacts on sustainable development.
The updates to the three Universal Standards include:
A more focused approach to identifying material topics, based on the organization’s most significant impacts.
Updated content covering responsible business conduct and due diligence, including respect for human rights.
Revising how organizations use the GRI Standards for their sustainability reporting, with clearly set out requirements and a new structure.
Judy Kuszewski, Chair of GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), said:
“The GSSB initiated this review because we want to ensure the GRI Standards are as relevant and comprehensive as possible, while reflecting the latest developments in responsible business and respect for human rights.
Importantly, the Universal Standards apply to all organizations that report their impacts based on the GRI Standards. As such they have a crucial role in our efforts to not only increase uptake in sustainability reporting but also to improve quality and comparability.
With multi-stakeholder collaboration at the heart of our standard setting, we encourage groups and individuals around the world to take part in this public comment period – and help us continue to deliver standards that drive action in support of sustainable development.”
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