GRI Is Securing Progress: From Impacts to Action

August 15, 2024 /3BL/ - Setting an example for other organizations and businesses on how to embrace transparency and accountability for impacts on the economy, environment and people, GRI has published its annual sustainability report.

Produced in accordance with the GRI Standards, the 2023 Annual Report: Mainstreaming impact reporting - builds on the materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement exercise, with insights on the following six material topics:

• GRI Standards development
• Standardized impact reporting
• Driving reporting uptake
• Increasing reporting robustness
• Impacts on people
• Economic impacts

Additionally, the yearly report sheds light on the key activities and achievements across all GRI teams and networks, with a dedicated case study for each geographic region - including the launch of the Sustainability Innovation Lab in Singapore and the Discovering GRI program in Latin America.

For the first time, the report provides details on diversity and inclusion as well as GRI’s steps towards net-zero, by disclosing calculations of the CO2 emissions from business travel and staff commuting.

Cristina Gil White, GRI’s Chief Operational Officer said:

"As the global leader for impact reporting, it is important for us to walk the talk and demonstrate to other organizations that transparency for impacts is possible. As a medium-sized and internationally operating enterprise, our own report reflects that the GRI Standards are applicable and relevant for any organization, irrespective of size, location or sector. We look forward to continuing on a path of transparency and open dialogue and applying all learnings in our next reporting cycle."

Organizational milestones outlined in the 2023 report include:

• Strong continued interest in GRI’s core product, with 846,165 downloads of the GRI Standards during the year;
• The launch of new Topic Standards and Sector Standards projects (for biodiversity, labor, climate change and economic impacts; and mining, financial services and textiles and apparel, respectively);
• Significant progress towards interoperability between the European Sustainability Reporting Standards and GRI Standards, with a renewed MoU signed with EFRAG;
• Over 1,500 new GRI Certified Sustainability Professionals as well as 500+ members of GRI Community

To increase transparency and ensure the high-quality and consistency of disclosed information, the report was externally assured by BDO.

Disclosures from the following Standards are applied in the 2023 report:

• GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021
• GRI 3: Material Topics 2021
• GRI 201: Economic Performance 2016
• GRI 401: Employment 2016
• GRI 404: Training and Education 2016
• GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity 2016

The financial accounts - GRI Annual Accounts 2023 – have also been published, providing a detailed overview of the organization’s income and expenditure, grants and subsidies, and reserves and liabilities.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts. The GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards, which are developed through a multi-stakeholder process and provided as a free public good.