Glossary term
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Subject: Sustainability and ESG, ESG Frameworks, Standards and Disclosure
Also known as: GRI Standards
GRI is an independent organisation whose modular standards let any organisation report on its effects on the economy, environment and people, including human rights, in a way that stakeholders can compare.
Explanation
The Global Reporting Initiative began in the late 1990s and issues the GRI Standards, which are widely used around the world and are written for any type of organisation, not only listed ones. The set has universal standards covering foundations, general disclosures and the process of finding material topics, plus topic standards on matters such as emissions, labour practices, anti-corruption and tax. An organisation chooses between reporting in accordance with the standards and referring to them for selected content. The focus is on impact: what the organisation does to others, which is why GRI is often paired with investor-oriented frameworks. The ESRS were designed to be largely interoperable with the GRI Standards. Preparers meet it in sustainability reports and tenders that ask for GRI content indices. Report users can read a GRI content index to find each disclosure quickly and compare organisations on the same topic definitions.
Example
A university hospital group publishes its first sustainability report. The team uses GRI to pick topics through stakeholder interviews, then reports patient safety, staff turnover, waste and energy using the matching topic standards. A content index at the back shows readers where each disclosure sits, and an external reviewer checks the index.
Not to be confused with
- Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards
- SASB metrics are industry-specific and focus on what affects company value. GRI standards focus on the organisation’s impact on society and environment.