2. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
• GRI Guidelines for Reporting
• GRI: Non-profit organization, Amsterdam based.
• GRI: a multi-stakeholder network of thousands based globally.
• They use and contribute to developing the Reporting Framework
both formally and informally.
• Promote change towards a sustainable economy by helping
organizations to set goals, measure performance and manage change.
• GRI Vision: “A sustainable global economy where organizations
manage their economic, environmental, social and governance
performance and impacts responsibly and report transparently.”
• GRI Mission: “To make sustainability reporting standard practice by
providing guidance and support to organizations”.
2
3. GRI Standard Structure
• GRI Standards are structured in a set of
interrelated modules, that can be referenced and
used together. There are three core modules,
known as GRI’s 100 series. This GRI 100 series are
universal standards that apply to every
organization preparing a sustainability report, and
are as follows:
• GRI Standards 101: Foundation
• GRI Standards 102: General Disclosures
• GRI Standards 103: Management Approach
On referencing these universal GRI Standards, an
organization then look at the topic-specific GRI
Standards, to report on what is known as material
topics. A material topic is a topic that reflects a
reporting organization’s significant economic,
environmental and social impacts; or that
substantively influences the assessments and
decisions of stakeholders – GRI 101: Foundation
2016, Key Terms.
These topic-specific Standards are organized into
three series: 200 (Economic topics), 300
(Environmental topics) and 400 (Social topics).
3
5. GRI Sustainability Reporting Principles
The GRI STANDARDS provide a set of principles which an organization should follow throughout the reporting process in order to
have the best possible outcome. These principles relate to the content of the report and to the quality of the information included in
the report.
There are “tests” an organization can perform in order to ensure that each principle has been applied in the best possible way.
5
Stakeholder
Inclusiveness
Sustainability
Context
Materiality
Completeness
Balance
Timeliness
Accuracy
Comparability
Clarity
Reliability
Content Quality
6. GRI Reporting Principles: Content
• Stakeholder Inclusiveness: The organization
should identify its stakeholders and explain
how it has responded to their reasonable
expectations and interests.
• Sustainability Context: The report should
present the organization’s performance in the
wider context of sustainability.
• Materiality: The report should cover Aspects
that reflect the organization’s significant
economic, environmental and social impacts;
or substantively influence the assessments and
decisions of stakeholders.
• Completeness: The report should include
coverage of material Aspects and their
Boundaries, sufficient to reflect significant
economic, environmental and social impacts,
and to enable stakeholders to assess the
organization’s performance in the reporting
period. 6
Stakeholder
Inclusiveness
Sustainability
Context
Materiality
Completeness
7. GRI Reporting
Principles: Quality
Balance: the report should reflect positive
and negative aspects of the organization’s
performance to enable a reasoned assessment
of overall performance.
Timeliness: the organization should report on
a regular schedule so that information is
available in time for stakeholders to make
informed decisions.
Accuracy: the reported information should be
sufficiently accurate and detailed for
stakeholders to assess the organization’s
performance.
Comparability: the organization should
select, compile and report information
consistently. The reported information
should be presented in a manner that enables
stakeholders to analyze changes in the
organization’s performance over time, and
that could support analysis relative to other
organizations. 7
Balance
Timeliness
Accuracy
Comparability
Clarity
Reliability
8. GRI Reporting
Principles: Quality
Clarity: the organization should
make information available in a
manner that is understandable and
accessible to stakeholders using the
report.
Reliability: the organization should
gather, record, compile, analyze and
disclose information and processes
used in the preparation of a report in
a way that can be subject to
examination and that establishes the
quality and materiality of the
information 8
Balance
Timeliness
Accuracy
Comparability
Clarity
Reliability
