Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

What is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)?

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was founded in 1997 and is a leading organization that promotes sustainability reporting worldwide. As a non-profit foundation, the GRI develops standards that support companies, governments and other organizations in transparently presenting their environmental, social and economic impacts. At the same time, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provides stakeholders with a better understanding of an organization's sustainability performance.

The goals of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

The aim of the GRI standard is to support organizations in uniform sustainability reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) aims to promote a sustainable economy and improve the transparency and comparability of ecological, economic and social performance. The following criteria apply:

1. Accuracy: Reporting should be precise and detailed in order to provide a clear picture of sustainability performance.
2. Balance: Reports should present both the positive and negative aspects of performance to ensure an objective and fair presentation.
3. Comprehensibility: The information should be presented in a clear and easily understandable way so that it is comprehensible to all stakeholders.
4. Comparability: Reporting should be done in such a way that it can be compared over time and between different organizations.
5. Reliability: The data and information must be verifiable and come from trustworthy sources.
6. Timeliness: Reports should be published regularly and promptly in order to provide relevant and up-to-date information.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards

The GRI Standards enable any organization - regardless of sector, size, private or public - to tailor its sustainability reports to its specific needs and objectives . The standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have a modular structure and are divided into three areas with a total of 120 indicators. They comprise basic reporting principles, specific indicators for various aspects of sustainability and detailed instructions for implementation.

• Universal standards: include reporting on respect for human rights and environmental due diligence in accordance with international standards. They are binding for all organizations;
• Sector-specific standards: promote consistent reporting on sector-specific impacts. The GRI is developing a total of 40 sector-specific standards and has already started with sectors that have the greatest impact. The following standards have been available since June 2022 Oil and Gas (GRI 11), Coal (GRI 12) and Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries (GRI 13).‍
• Topic-specific standards: provides disclosures on specific topics such as waste, taxes, etc. When reporting, an organization must select the topic-specific standards that correspond to its previously defined material topics (universal standards).

Is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) mandatory?

The application of the GRI standards is not mandatory and serves as a voluntary framework. Although the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is not required by law, it is seen and applied as best practice by many organizations. In some cases, however, the application of the GRI Standards may be required by industry-specific regulations or as part of sustainability initiatives and certifications.

Global Reporting Initiative and other sustainability standards

In addition to the GRI, there are now many different guidelines and standards for sustainability reporting, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), the German Sustainability Code (DNK) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) promotes integration and complementarity with these standards in order to facilitate holistic sustainability reporting.