A Short Introduction tothe GRI Standards

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2A Short Introduction to the GRI Standards

Introduction
The GRI Standards are a modular system
of interconnected standards. They allow
organizations to publicly report theimpacts of their activities in a structured
way that is transparent to stakeholders
and other interested parties.
This Short Introduction will:• give new users of the GRI Standards an overview
of how the Standards are set up, and equip them tostart working with the various elements involved in thereporting process;• e of assistance to experienced users in gaining anb
understanding of changes in the system and the role ofthe GRI Sector Standards; and•	
aid stakeholders and other information users (suchas analysts and policymakers) to understand how thereporting process works and what to look for in a report.
Three series of Standards support the reporting process:the GRI Topic Standards, each dedicated to a particular
topic and listing disclosures relevant to that topic; the GRISector Standards, applicable to specific sectors; and theGRI Universal Standards, which apply to all organizations.
Using these Standards to determine what topics arematerial (relevant) to report on helps organizations

indicate their contributions – positive or negative – towards
sustainable development.

Who uses the GRI Standards, and who
uses the reported information?

Any organization, large or small, public or private, fromany sector or location, can use the GRI Standards.
Reporters, stakeholders, and other information users draw
on the Standards.
Reporters within an organization use the Standards toreport on the organization’s impacts in a credible waythat is comparable over time and in relation to otherorganizations. The Standards also help stakeholders
and other information users understand what is expectedfrom an organization to report on and use the information
published by organizations in various ways.
The organization can use the disclosed information toassess its policies and strategies or to guide decisionmaking, such as setting goals and targets. Stakeholders
can also use this information. For example, investors
can use the reported information to assess how anorganization integrates sustainable development into
its strategy to identify financial risks and evaluate its
long-term success. The information provided can also
help other information users, such as analysts andpolicymakers in benchmarking and forming policy, andacademics in their research.

The Structure of the GRI Standards
The GRI Standards are a modular systemcomprising three series of Standards: theGRI Universal Standards, the GRI Sector
Standards, and the GRI Topic Standards.
Each Standard begins with a detailed
explanation of how to use it.
The Standards contain disclosures, which provide astructured means for an organization to report information
about itself and its impacts.
The disclosures can have requirements and can also
include recommendations. Requirements list theinformation an organization must report or instructions
it must comply with and report in accordance with theGRI Standards. Recommendations indicate that certain

information, or a particular course of action, is encouraged
though not compulsory.
Guidance to facilitate understanding can include
background information, explanations, and examples.

GRI Universal Standards

The GRI Universal Standards apply to all organizations,and consist of the following:• GRI 1: Foundation 2021 (GRI 1) outlines the purposeof the GRI Standards, clarifies critical concepts,
and explains how to use the Standards. It lists therequirements that an organization must comply with toreport in accordance with the GRI Standards. It also
specifies the principles – such as accuracy, balance,and verifiability – fundamental to good-quality reporting.

3

A Short Introduction to the GRI Standards• GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 (GRI 2) contains
disclosures relating to details about an organization’sstructure and reporting practices; activities andworkers; governance; strategy; policies; practices; andstakeholder engagement. These give insight into theorganization’s profile and scale, and help in providing acontext for understanding an organization’s impacts.

The Standards list topics that are likely to be material
for most organizations in a given sector, and indicate
relevant disclosures to report on these topics. If anapplicable Sector Standard is available, an organization isobliged (‘required’) to use it when reporting with the GRI
Standards.

• GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 (GRI 3) explains the steps
by which an organization can determine the topics
most relevant to its impacts, its material topics, anddescribes how the Sector Standards are used in thisprocess. It also contains disclosures for reporting its listof material topics; the process by which the organization
has determined its material topics; and how it manages
each topic.

GRI Sector Standards

The GRI Sector Standards intend to increase thequality, completeness, and consistency of reporting byorganizations. Standards will be developed for 40 sectors,
starting with those with the highest impact, such as oil andgas, agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing.

Each Sector Standard consists of an initial section thatgives an overview of the sector’s characteristics, includingthe activities and business relationships that can underpin
its impacts. The main section of the Standard then lists
the likely material topics for the sector. Topic by topic,
the most significant impacts associated with the sector
are described in this section. Each topic description
points to the relevant disclosures in the Topic Standards
for the organization to report. A Sector Standard may
also list additional disclosures that are not in a Topic
Standard, for example, where the disclosures from theTopic Standard do not provide sufficient information about
the organization’s impacts concerning the topic. The
topics and associated disclosures are determined using
sector-specific evidence, international instruments, andadvice from sector experts. Consequently, they reflect theFigure 1. GRI Standards: Universal, Sector and Topic Standards

GRI Standards

Universal Standards

Sector Standards

Topic Standards

Requirements andprinciples for using theGRI Standards
GRI 1

GRI 11

GRI 12

GRI 13

GRI 201

GRI 403

GRI 305

GRI 14

GRI 15

GRI 16

GRI 415

GRI 303

GRI 202

Disclosures about thereporting organization
GRI 2

GRI 3

Disclosures andguidance about theorganization's material
topicsApply all three UniversalStandards to your reporting

...

...
GRI 17

GRI 18Use the Sector Standards that
apply to your sectors

GRI 304

GRI 205

Select Topic Standards to reportspeciﬁc information on yourmaterial topics

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A Short Introduction to the GRI Standards

expectations of a wide range of stakeholders regarding themanagement of impacts in the sector.

GRI Topic Standards

The GRI Topic Standards contain disclosures for providing
information on topics. Examples include Standards on

waste, occupational health and safety, and tax. EachStandard incorporates an overview of the topic anddisclosures specific to the topic and how an organization
manages its associated impacts. An organization selects
those Topic Standards that correspond to the material
topics it has determined and uses them for reporting.

The Reporting Process
The foundation of sustainability
reporting is for an organization to
identify and prioritize its impacts on theeconomy, environment, and people - tobe transparent about their impacts.
GRI 1 is the starting point for all organizations reporting
using the GRI Standards in that it lays out key concepts
and principles, and lists the requirements for reporting inaccordance with the GRI Standards.

Identifying and assessing impacts

Identifying its impacts and assessing their significance ispart of an organization’s day-to-day activity, which varies
according to its specific circumstances.

process by which it determined its material topics, and thedisclosures contained in GRI 3 facilitate this.
Again, the Sector Standards are part of the process ofdetermining material topics. An organization should test
its selection of material topics against the topics in theapplicable Sector Standard. This helps the organization
ensure that it has not overlooked any topics that arelikely to be material for the sector. If an applicable Sector
Standard is available, then an organization is obliged
to use it when reporting in accordance with the GRI
Standards. Using the Sector Standards is not a substitutefor determining material topics, but an aid. However,
the organization still needs to consider its specificcircumstances when selecting its material topics.

Reporting disclosures

The Sector Standards are of help at this point in thatthey describe the characteristics of a sector that underlie
its impacts. The topics and impacts listed in the Sector
Standards provide a valuable means of identifying anorganization’s impacts. An organization needs to consider
the impacts described, and decide whether these impacts
apply to it.

An organization that has determined its material topics
needs to gather relevant data to report specific information
on each topic. The topics in a Sector Standard list
specific disclosures from the Topic Standards identified
for reporting on the topic by an organization in the sector.
Where relevant, additional disclosures specific to thesector are included.

Understanding an organization’s context is a crucial factor
in identifying and assessing the significance of its impacts.
GRI 2 aids in this process by specifying disclosures indetail for different aspects of an organization’s activities(reporting practices, governance). GRI 3 explains step-bystep how to identify and assess impacts together with theirsignificance.

The disclosures in the Topic Standards specify theinformation that needs to be collected to report according
to the GRI Standards. Together with the disclosuresfrom GRI 2 and GRI 3, they provide a structured way ofreporting this information. If an organization cannot comply
with the particular reporting requirements, it is in certain
instances permitted to omit the information, provided thata valid reason is given for the omission. In addition to therequirements listed under these disclosures, there arealso recommendations and guidance that would add to thequality and transparency of a report.

Determining material topics

Once an organization has assessed the significanceof its impacts, it needs to decide on which to report. To
do this, it needs to prioritize the impacts. Grouping theimpacts into topics (such as ‘water and effluents’ or ‘childlabor’) facilitates this, as it indicates what topics are most
relevant to the organization’s activities - its material topics.
GRI 3 also contains a step-by-step explanation of how toorganize this grouping. To report in accordance with theGRI Standards, an organization needs to document the5

A Short Introduction to the GRI Standards

Reporting in accordance with the GRI
Standards

Figure 2. Reporting using the GRI Standards

The GRI Standards allow an organization to report
information in a way that covers all its most significant
impacts on the economy, environment, and people, or tofocus only on specific topics, such as climate change orchild labor.
GRI recommends reporting in accordance with the GRI
Standards. Under this approach, the organization reports
on all its material topics and related impacts and how it
manages these topics. This reporting approach provides acomprehensive picture of an organization’s most significant
impacts on the economy, environment, and people.
However, if an organization cannot fulfill some of therequirements to report in accordance with the GRI
Standards or only wants to report specific information
for specific purposes, such as when complying withregulatory requirements; in that case, it can use selected
GRI Standards or parts of their content, and report withreference to the GRI Standards.

Understand system and key elementsof the GRI Standards
Apply reporting principles
throughout the process

Identify and assess impacts,and determine material topics
1

Understand the organization’s context

2

Identify actual and potential impacts

3

Assess the signiﬁcance of the impacts

4

Prioritize the most signiﬁcant impacts for reporting

Navigating a report

Reports using the GRI Standards may be published invarious formats (e.g., electronic, paper-based) and madeaccessible across one or more locations (e.g., standalone
sustainability report, webpages, annual report).
Reports must contain a GRI content index. The content
index makes reported information traceable and increases
the report’s credibility and transparency.
The content index provides an overview of theorganization’s reported information and helps stakeholders
navigate the report at a glance. It specifies the GRI
Standards that the organization has used. The index also
lists the location, such as a page number or URL, for all
disclosures that the organization has used to report on its
material topics.
The content index can also help a stakeholder understandwhat the organization has not reported. The organizationmust specify in the content index if a ‘reason foromission’ is being used. In addition, the disclosure or therequirement that the organization cannot comply with,
together with an explanation, must be listed in the contentindex.
If Sector Standards apply to the organization, Sector
Standard reference numbers provide a unique identifier
for each disclosure listed in a Sector Standard. This helps
information users assess which of the disclosures listed
in the applicable Sector Standards are included in theorganization’s reporting.
A list of GRI Standards can be found here.

Material topics

Report information

Report relevant disclosures from:• Universal Standards• Sector Standards• Topic Standards
Reasons for omissions may apply

Prepare GRI content index and statement of use
Publish information and GRI content index

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