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

Review of GRI’s universal Standards
Project Proposal
Approved by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) on 26 March2019© GRI 2019

Project backgroundThe universal Standards (GRI 101, 102 and 103) were created in 2016 as part of the transition toGRI Standards. This transition was primarily focused on restructuring the existing content of the GRI
Guidelines into a set of modular standards; no significant content revisions were made.
During the transition, the GSSB identified the Reporting Principles and sections of GRI 102: GeneralDisclosures – which have not undergone a comprehensive review since 2006 – as well as the ‘inaccordance’ criteria as areas that should undergo a revision once the modular structure was in placeand first experience has been gained with the implementation of the GRI Standards.
The GSSB issued a number of clarifications to core concepts underpinning the reporting frameworkduring the transition. These were notably to address areas that were commonly misunderstood,
such as the focus on the organization’s outward impacts on the economy, the environment, andsociety, how to define the ‘topic Boundary’ and how to report on topics not covered by the GRI
Standards, as well as providing further clarity in selected general disclosures and in the management
approach.
In recent years the field of responsible business conduct has continued to evolve with new
approaches such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011)
now being adopted by many organizations. The core concepts and principles of the UN Guiding
Principles have also extended beyond the field of human rights and are increasingly being applied toother areas of responsible business conduct, such as the environment, as evidenced by the OECD
Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2011) and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for
Responsible Business Conduct (2018). Since 2018, a GRI Technical Committee has been developing
recommendations on how to update GRI’s human rights-related Standards in light of thesedevelopments, including how these developments may impact core concepts, principles anddisclosures in the GRI Standards.
The above developments and the recommendations arising from the review of GRI’s human rightsrelated Standards result in the need for revisions to the universal Standards; principally to:

incorporate the expectation of due diligence into GRI 103: Management Approach,embed new mandatory human rights-related disclosures for all reporting organizations, andreview core reporting concepts, such as materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness and topic
Boundary, in light of developments in responsible business conduct set out in key
instruments.

In order to continuously improve the GRI Standards and to enhance the experience for reportingorganizations and other stakeholders, general disclosures and the ‘in accordance’ criteria in theuniversal Standards will be considered for revision alongside the structure and presentation formatof the GRI Standards.

Project objectives and scope
The primary driver for revising the universal Standards is to address the recommendations arisingfrom the current review of GRI’s human rights-related Standards (see Work Stream 1 below).
Feedback received from the GSSB during the transition to Standards and from reportingorganizations and other stakeholders, as well as information gathered through reviews ofsustainability reports using the GRI Standards, have provided further areas of the universal Standards
to be addressed (see Work Streams 2 to 4 below).

Page 2 of 4Overall the project aims to:
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Integrate the expectation of due diligence into the GRI Standards
Provide greater clarity on key concepts, reporting principles and disclosures in the universal
Standards and ensure they are aligned with recent developments in the area of responsible
business conduct
Assist reporting organizations in understanding the reporting requirements and how they
demonstrate compliance in a transparent way
Drive consistent application of the GRI Standards
Encourage more relevant and comprehensive reporting for experienced reportingorganizations
Enable first time reporters and SMEs to more easily apply the GRI Standards
Improve overall usability of the GRI Standards.

The project is split into 4 work stream areas which can be addressed independently and the GSSB
will carry out this project in separate concurrent work streams as detailed below. Note that any
recommendations arising in Work Streams 1, 2 and 3 will impact upon Work Stream 4.
A sub-committee of 3 GSSB members will be convened to provide overall advice and direction on allareas of the project, with the existing GRI Technical Committee on Human Rights Disclosure
providing specific input for Work Streams 1 and 2.
For Work Streams 2, 3, and 4 the Standards Division will perform research and consult third party
research to understand current reporting practices and will hold discussions with reportingorganizations and other stakeholders to understand challenges in adoption of the existing reporting
principles and disclosures in the universal Standards, as well as overall clarity and accessibility of thestructure and presentation of the GRI Standards.
A stakeholder consultation process will be undertaken to assess the feasibility and practicality of allrecommendations arising from all four work streams.
The project will follow the GSSB Due Process Protocol, the implementation of which will beoverseen by the Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC).
Upon approval of this project proposal, the Standards Division will develop a Terms of Reference
for the GSSB Sub-Committee for approval by the GSSB, which will outline the specific mandate of
the Sub-Committee and a detailed timeline for all work streams.

Work Stream 1: Human rights and due diligence related disclosures
This work stream will look at incorporating into the universal Standards the following
recommendations made by the GRI Technical Committee on Human Rights Disclosure:human rights disclosures which will be mandated for all reporting organizations
due diligence concept (based upon the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Due DiligenceGuidance) into GRI 103: Management Approach

As a result of the above changes GRI 412: Human Rights Assessment, and potentially other GRI humanrights-related Standards, will be removed. Specific recommendations will be made as to where in theuniversal Standards the human rights disclosures will be located, and related impacts on structure
and length of existing universal Standards will be considered as part of Work Stream 4.

Work Stream 2: Reporting Principles
This work stream will look at revising the Reporting Principles for defining report content in GRI
101: Foundation and related disclosures in GRI 102: General Disclosures. The revisions will be informed

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by the recommendations of the GRI Technical Committee on Human Rights Disclosure and throughresearch conducted by the Standards Division on current application of the GRI Standards insustainability reports, along with research conducted by other parties. This work stream is likely toinclude revisions to the concepts of stakeholder inclusiveness, materiality and topic Boundary.
There may be some implications for the Reporting Principles for defining report quality resulting
from these revisions which will be evaluated.

Work Stream 3: ‘In accordance’ criteria
The two options for preparing a report in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core andComprehensive determine specific requirements for reporting organizations to meet and impact
upon the extent of disclosures reported. The GSSB has previously committed to revisiting the ‘inaccordance’ criteria for amendment and therefore, through research conducted on existingsustainability reports which apply the GRI Standards and investigation of reporting mechanisms usedby other standard setters, a revised reporting model will be recommended.
This work stream will aim to build on the concept of the GRI-referenced claim and the relatedStandard Interpretation to GRI 101: Foundation 2016. Finally, this work stream will consider thecontents currently developed in the Sector Program.
Any changes to the reporting model will need to consider any potential impact upon SMEs and firsttime reporters, general disclosures, other GRI Standards, as well as implications for the process fororganizations to notify GRI of the use of the Standards, and transition periods for adoption.

Work Stream 4: General disclosures
Based upon reviews of existing sustainability reports there may be revisions recommended forspecific general disclosures. These can include:

consolidation and development of disclosures directly arising from revisions made in otherwork streams of this project.
clarification or revision of existing disclosures
removal of outdated disclosures, andThese revisions to the general disclosures are likely to increase the overall length of GRI 102: General
Disclosures and a review of its structure will therefore be undertaken.

Structure and format of universal StandardsThe project will consider the impacts upon all GRI Standards as a result of changes adopted in Work
Streams 1 to 4; e.g., the introduction sections and references to revised universal Standards.
It will also consider the overall format and presentation of the Standards, their usability, navigationand communication of changes to improve accessibility and understandability by reportingorganizations and other stakeholders.

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