Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

Item 01 – Draft summary of the GSSB
meeting held on 18 June 2020
For GSSB approval
Date

1 September 2020

Meeting

15 September 2020

Description This document presents the summary of the GSSB virtual meeting held on 18June 2020.

This document has been prepared by the GRI Standards Division. It is made available to observers ofthe meetings of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB). It does not represent an official
position of the GSSB. Board positions are set out in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. TheGSSB is the independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit
www.globalreporting.org.
© GRI 2020

1

ContentsDecisions and action items ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Session 1: Welcome ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Session 2: Standards Division update ..................................................................................................................... 5
Session 3: Approval of exposure draft of GRI Sector Standard for oil and gas .......................................... 6
Session 4: Proposed plan for the GRI Sector Standard for coal ..................................................................... 8
Session 5: Any other business and close of public meeting .............................................................................. 8Session 6: Private session.......................................................................................................................................... 8Page 2 of 8

2Participants

3Present:

456

Name

Constituency

Judy Kuszewski
Robyn LeesonPeter Colley
Evan Harvey
Kirsten Margrethe Hovi
Vincent Kong
Tung-Li (Tony) Mo
Jennifer Princing
Corli le Roux
Gustavo Sinner
Kenton Swift
Rama Krishnan Venkateswaran
Michel Washer

Chair
Vice-Chair
Labor
Investment institution
Business enterpriseBusiness enterprise
Civil society organization
Business enterpriseMediating institution
Mediating institution
Civil society organization
Investment institution
Business enterprise

Apologies:NameConstituency

Loredana Carta
Bruce KlafterLabor
Business enterprise

In attendance:
NamePosition

Bastian BuckMia d’Adhemar
Pamela Carpio
Gillian Balaban

Chief of Standards, Standards Division
Senior Manager Sector Program, Standards Division
Manager Sector Program, Standards Division
Team Assistant, Standards Division

List of abbreviations
GSSBSD

Global Sustainability Standards Board
Standards Division

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7Decisions and action items

8Decisions

910GSSB Decision 2020.12 The GSSB resolved to approve Item – 01 Draft summary of the GSSB
meeting held on 20 May 2020.

1112GSSB Decision 2020.13 The GSSB resolved to approve Item 03 – Exposure draft GRI Sector
Standard: Oil and Gas for public comment.

13Action items
GSSB
Session 2•GSSB to provide comments or approval on the circulated
documents, as requested, by the dates specified on thedocuments (see Session 2 summary for document details).

Session 3•

GSSB to send their comments on the public comment questions
for the exposure draft of GRI Sector Standard: Oil and Gas to theSD by 24 June 2020.
GSSB to provide the SD with suggestions or contact details forstakeholders that can be approached for the public comment.

•Session 4•

GSSB to send their approval of the proposed working groupmember by 30 June 2020.

•SD to circulate documents for GSSB comments and approval viaemail.
SD to contact GSSB members to confirm dates and times for
additional calls.

Standards Division
Session 2•14

Session 1: Welcome

1516GSSB Chair Judy Kuszewski (henceforth the Chair) welcomed the GSSB and presented an overview
of the meeting agenda.

1718

The GSSB was presented with Item – 01 Draft summary of the GSSB meeting held on 20 May 2020for approval.

1920GSSB Decision 2020.12 The GSSB resolved to approve Item – 01 Draft summary of the GSSB
meeting held on 20 May 2020.

21

The Chair made announcements:

Page 4 of 822232425••

On behalf of the GSSB, the Chair accepted a request by the Due Process OversightCommittee for a discussion with the GSSB on the due process requirements.
On 17 June 2020, GRI hosted a virtual event to launch the Global Standards Fund that will
support the independent development of the GRI Standards.

26

Session 2: Standards Division update27282930The Standards Division (SD) presented an update of its activities under the ongoing projects,
including the public comment period for the Universal Standards and human rights-related updates,
downloads and translations of the Waste Standard, and ongoing work on the Agriculture and Fishing
Sector Standard.

31

The SD also highlighted the following points for GSSB information:

3233
34
35
36
37
38
3940

•
•
•
•

The public comment period on the GSSB Work Program 2020-2022 ends on 23 June. The
SD will analyze the comments and present proposed amendments for GSSB discussion.
The SD has drafted an FAQ in response to technical inquiries on whether the GSSB will
delay the effective date of 1 January 2021 for new or revised Standards released last year.
The SD has prepared the GSSB Activity Report for the period from January 2017 toDecember 2019.
The GSSB in-person meeting scheduled for 6-7 October has been cancelled due to travel
restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The SD expects to hold additional callswith the GSSB.

41

Documents to be circulated to the GSSB

42

The GSSB will receive the following documents from the SD after the meeting:

43For comments by close of business on Wednesday, 24 June 2020:

4445464748495051••GRI Sector Standards Project for Oil, Gas, and Coal – Public comment questions forexposure draft of Sector Standard: Oil and Gas
Proposed FAQ on 1 January 2021 effective date

For electronic approval by close of business on Tuesday, 30 June 2020:•••

GRI Sector Standards Project for Agriculture and Fishing – Proposed member for workinggroup
GRI Sector Standards Project for Oil, Gas, and Coal – Proposed member for working group
GSSB Activity Report, January 2017 – December 2019

Actions:52535455•••

SD to circulate documents for GSSB comments and approval via email.
SD to contact GSSB members to confirm dates and times for additional calls.
GSSB to provide comments or approval on the circulated documents, as requested, by thedates specified on the documents.

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Session 3: Approval of exposure draft of57
GRI Sector Standard for oil and gas
56

58
59
60

The GSSB was presented with Item 02 – Cover note to the exposure draft of Sector Standard: Oiland Gas for information, and Item 03 – Exposure draft GRI Sector Standard: Oil and Gas forapproval.

61

Sector Standard setup and structure

6263

The SD outlined the interconnections between the Universal Standards and Sector Standards, which
provide the foundation for the Sector Standards.

64

Likely materiality of topics

65
66
67
68
69
7071

The concept of likely materiality is currently applied uniformly across all topics included in the Oiland Gas exposure draft. Working group members have raised concerns and expressed that sometopics (e.g., the climate change-related topics such as GHG emissions and climate resilience andtransition) should be considered material and mandatory for reporting by all organizations in thesector. The SD proposed to maintain the current setup in the exposure draft and seek feedback
through public comment on the value and challenges of making reporting on certain topics
mandatory. The SD will circulate the public comment questions for GSSB comments.

72
73
74

GSSB feedback on ‘What to report’ sections
The SD received a comment from the GSSB on the use of the word ‘should’ in the ‘What to report’sections in the draft Sector Standard.

75

The SD explained the rationale for this choice of wording.

76
7778
79

The word ‘should’, in all instances that it is used in these sections, follows the Universal Standards
and represents recommended reporting. The use of the word ‘can’, which also signals recommended
reporting, was considered and dismissed by the SD in light of the working group recommendations
to send a clear message to organizations on the need for reporting these disclosures.

808182
83
84
85

The SD will work on improving clarity of these sections through visual cues during templatedevelopment. In the exposure draft, the SD will provide a visual depiction of the structure of the‘What to report’ sections in the Introduction, which clarifies the meaning and reporting expectations
for each element of these sections. The SD also proposed the following wording to improve clarity:‘The following additional disclosures have also been identified as appropriate and should bereported on this topic’.

86
87

GSSB members expressed support for these proposed changes and agreed that visual cues would be
essential to improving clarity of these sections, given that the Standards serve a global audience.

88
89
9091
9293

One GSSB member asked whether the use of the word ‘should’ is derived based on the status of theadditional disclosure or the source from which it is drawn (e.g., based on whether the source isanother standard or recommended guidelines). The SD did not make a distinction between
disclosures based on the status of the source for simplicity and because of the Sector Project
ambition that these additional disclosures are eventually incorporated into GRI Topic Standards. TheSD highlighted that the oil and gas sector and the coal sector face high demands for transparency,

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9495

which has led to the working group identifying several additional disclosures. This situation might not
be as pronounced for other sectors.

96
97

Another GSSB member suggested clarifying which information listed in the Sector Standards is newto report, mentioning that organizations will find this information useful.

98

Oil and Gas Sector Standard exposure draft

99
100

The SD presented the revisions implemented following the previous GSSB discussion of the draft
Sector Standard.

101
102
103
104
105
106

The SD informed the GSSB of four Sector topics for which there are no corresponding GRI Topic
Standards:• Asset integrity and process safety• Climate resilience and transition• Closure and decommissioning• Land use and resettlement

107
108
109
110
111

The SD also reiterated the working group input that the issue of climate change is central for thissector and that there is currently no clear corresponding GRI Topic Standard that encompasses
international norms and the working group’s expectations for reporting on the climate changerelated topic of climate resilience and transition. This topic merits further consideration; the SD
proposed to seek input on this during the public comment period.

112

GSSB members raised no further comments or questions.

113

Approval of the exposure draft of GRI Sector Standard: Oil and Gas

114
115

The Chair called for comments regarding the exposure draft. No comments or concerns wereraised.

116
117

GSSB Decision 2020.13 The GSSB resolved to approve Item 03 – Exposure draft GRI Sector
Standard: Oil and Gas for public comment.

118
119
120
121

Thirteen GSSB members were present for the decision: Peter Colley, Evan Harvey, Kirsten
Margrethe Hovi, Vincent Kong, Judy Kuszewski, Robyn Leeson, Tung-Li (Tony) Mo, Jennifer
Princing, Corli le Roux, Gustavo Sinner, Kenton Swift, Rama Krishnan Venkateswaran, and MichelWasher.

122

GSSB members Loredana Carta and Bruce Klafter were absent for the decision.

123
124

The SD presented the plans for the public comment period, which will last for 90 days between Julyand October 2020.
Actions:

125
126
127
128

•
•GSSB to send their comments on the public comment questions for the exposure draft ofGRI Sector Standard: Oil and Gas to the SD by 24 June 2020.
GSSB to provide the SD with suggestions or contact details for stakeholders that can beapproached for the public comment.

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Session 4: Proposed plan for the GRI
130
Sector Standard for coal
129

131
132
133

The SD proposed developing a separate Sector Standard for coal under the existing Oil, Gas, andCoal Project, using the same working group. The SD has analyzed and tested this proposal with theexisting working group to ensure they adequately represent expertise on coal.

134
135
136
137

Two working group members with exclusive oil and gas expertise may abstain from thedevelopment of the coal content. The SD proposed the replacement of a previously disengaged
working group member. The SD will circulate the proposal for the replacement member to theGSSB for electronic approval.

138
139
140
141
142
143

A GSSB member raised the question whether the abstinence of the two members would have
implications for business constituency representation in the working group. The SD confirmed that
one of these members is from the business constituency but explained that this concern could bebalanced by the proposed replacement member who represents the business constituency. The SD
will check for business constituency representation in the working group to ensure it is adequatelyrepresented.

144
145
146

The SD expects to present the Coal exposure draft to the GSSB for approval in November. Whiledeveloping the coal content, the SD will give consideration to packaging the oil and gas and coal
Sector Standards as extractives-related Standards as previously flagged by a GSSB member.
Actions:

147•GSSB to send their approval of the proposed working group member by 30 June 2020.

Session 5: Any other business and close of149
public meeting
148

150
151

No other business was raised and the Chair closed the public sessions of the meeting at 3.05 p.m.
CEST (Central European Summer Time).

152

Session 6: Private session

153

This was a private session.

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