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

Item 02 – Draft summary of the GSSB
meeting held on 16 June 2022
For GSSB approval
Date

16 June 2022

Meeting

7 July 2022

Description

This document presents the summary of the GSSB virtual meeting held on 16
June 2022.

This document has been prepared by the GRI Standards Division and is made available to observers
at 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 2022

1Contents2Participants.............................................................................................................................................. 3
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3
Decisions and action items ..................................................................................................................... 3
Session 1: Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 4
Session 2: Standards Division update .................................................................................................... 4
Session 3: Australian Red Cross presentation ....................................................................................... 5
Session 4: Any other business and close of the meeting ....................................................................... 6

Page 2 of 63Participants

4Present:

567

Name

Constituency

Judy Kuszewski

Chair

Robyn Leeson

Vice-ChairPeter Colley

Labor

Giulia Genuardi

Business enterprise

Evan Harvey

Investment institution

Anna Nefedova (joined at 13.30)

Mediating institution

Jennifer Princing

Business enterprise

Gangaa Charan SharmaBusiness enterprise

Kim Schumacher

Civil society organization

Michel Washer

Business enterprise

Apologies:
NameConstituency

Loredana Carta

Labor

Vincent Kong

Business enterprise

Joseph Martin

Business enterprise

Corli le RouxMediating institution

Kenton Swift

Civil society organization

In attendance from GRI:
NamePosition

Bastian BuckChief of Standards

Harold Pauwels

Director Standards

Gillian Balaban

Sr. Coordinator Governance Relations

List of abbreviations
GRIGSSB
SDTC
DPPDPARDPOC

Global Reporting Initiative
Global Sustainability Standards BoardStandards Division
Technical committee
Due Process Protocol
Due Process Adherence report
Due Process Oversight Committee

Page 3 of 6

8Decisions and action items

9Decisions

10

No quorum was achieved. The approval of the previous GSSB meeting summary is postponed to the11next meeting.

12Session 1: Welcome

13

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) Chair Judy Kuszewski (henceforth the Chair)

14

welcomed the GSSB. The Chair presented an overview of the meeting agenda.

15

Session 2: Standards Division update

16

Chief of Standards Bastian Buck presented the following updates on projects and staff recruitment:

17•The biodiversity project had its fourth TC meeting on 14 June 2022, with the next meeting18

scheduled for September. A final TC meeting (fatal flaw check) will occur in October 2022, before

19

the public consultation. The aim is to approve the exposure draft in the November GSSB meeting

20and commence public exposure in December 2022. There is a slight delay, as previously advised,

21

owing to the rich discussion with the expert group to ensure that a comprehensive proposal is22

ready for exposure. Two more meetings are required to arrive at an exposure draft for GSSB

23

approval.

24•

Background discussions with the ILO, unions, and employers have been completed for the Labor

25

Standard revision program. A draft proposal will be ready for GSSB discussion and approval in26

July 2022. Several layers of engagement are proposed with experts comprising a core group of27the ILO and union representation, augmented by stakeholder perspectives to derive an exposure

28

draft for this project.

29•Since May, the mining sector project has advanced substantially with five sub-group meetings

30

defining the list of likely material topics (around 25 in total) – topic descriptions are currently being

31

written. A half-day WG meeting is to take place at the end of June. The project is on schedule32with positive feedback from expert discussions. In the September and October GSSB meetings,

33

detailed projections can be made on the next steps and when the project will be ready for GSSB

34

approval of public exposure.

35•

The important news for the Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing project is that the DPOC has

36

formally approved the Standard. The virtual launch event is set for 30 June 2022, with speakers

37from the OECD, WBA, and FAO on the panel. The Standard is in the final proofreading stages.

Page 4 of 638•

Recruitment efforts have yielded significant capacity. With the budget allocation, more than 1039

new colleagues will be recruited to augment the 21 already employed in the SD. The aim is to40build resources around the sector standards, the topic standards, and the review of the existing

41

standards. The recruitment of technical expertise, publishing, and translation functions will further

42

strengthen the SD.

43•The recruitment process has been slow due to the constrained labor market. At least four new

44

colleagues will join in the next two months. The recruitment will be completed by the end of Q3 to45

have 28 colleagues in the Standards Division. We encourage the promotion of these positions;46

reach out if you have candidates in mind.

47

Session 3: Australian Red Cross48

presentation on the possibility of49

integrating International50

Humanitarian Law (IHL) into GRI

51

Standards and guidance

52

Ms. Fauve Kurnadi, Legal Adviser on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Australian Red Cross,53

and Dr. Jonathan Kolieb, senior Lecturer in Law at RMIT University, present the possibility of54

integrating International Humanitarian Law into GRI standards and guidance:

55•A recommendation is to develop a topic-specific IHL standard as a natural continuation of GRI’s

56

commitment to strengthening human rights-related standards to reflect the increased attention

57given to conflict settings.

58•

In the interim, the following actions are for consideration: a commitment to research into the59

relevance of IHL to responsible business practices; a gap analysis of existing GRI Standards to60

identify potential areas for IHL inclusion; the development of practical guidance on IHL for the61

current reporting season; the inclusion of IHL into education and training for businesses, including62

in relevant GRI Academy courses; and strengthening of other relevant GRI Standards’ conflict-63

sensitivity.

64

Page 5 of 665

Session 4: Any other business and66

close of the meeting67

No other business was raised, and the Chair closed the public meeting at 13.07 Central European

68

Time (CET).

Page 6 of 6