gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

GSSB summary of the virtual meeting
held on 20 April 2023
Approved by the GSSB on 16 May 2023

© GRI 2023

ContentsParticipants.............................................................................................................................................. 3
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3
Decisions and action items ..................................................................................................................... 4
Session 1: Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 4
Session 2: Update Standards Division .................................................................................................... 4
Session 3: Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Proposed framework and scope ................ 5
Session 4: Topic Standard Project for Climate Change – Updated TC membership ............................. 6
Session 5: Close of public meeting ......................................................................................................... 6Page 2 of 6Participants
Present:
Name

Constituency

Carol Adams

Chair

Jeff Robertson

Vice-Chair

Loredana Carta

LaborPeter Colley

Labor

Chulendra De SilvaMediating institution

Giulia Genuardi

Business enterprise

Vincent Kong

Business enterprise

Corli le RouxMediating institution

Joseph Martin

Business enterprise

Anna Nefedova

Mediating institution

Deborah Ng

Investment Institution

Jennifer Princing

Business enterprise

Kim Schumacher (joined at 13.10)

Civil society organization

Gangaa Charan SharmaBusiness enterprise

Galya Tsonkova

Business enterprise

In attendance from GRI:
NamePosition

Bastian Buck

Chief of Standards

Harold Pauwels

Director Standards

Margherita Barbieri

Manager Standards

Matthew Dunn

Manager Standards

Gillian Balaban

Sr. Coordinator Governance Relations

List of abbreviations
Abbreviation

Full name

GRI

Global Reporting Initiative

GSSB

Global Sustainability Standards Board

SDStandards Division

WG

Working groupTC

Technical committee

EFRAG

European Financial Reporting Advisory GroupISSBInternational Sustainability Standards Board

UNEP FI

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative

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1

Decisions and action items

2

The GSSB resolved to approve the following:
GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.1102 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Climate Change – Proposed members forTechnical Committee

3

Session 1: Welcome

4

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) Chair Carol Adams (henceforth the Chair)

5

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

6established, and the above item was presented to the GSSB for approval.

7

Session 2: Update Standards Division8

Chief of Standards, Bastian Buck, provided an update on the ongoing Topic and Sector Standard

9projects.

10

Head of Technical Development, Laura Espinach, followed with a presentation on the text of Box 1 in

11

GRI 1: Foundation 2021. Box 1, as it currently reads, which explains the link between sustainability

12reporting and financial and value creation reporting, needs updating to reflect the latest developments

13by ISSB and EFRAG. The SD has prepared a revised text in line with the near-final versions of ISSB

14

and EFRAG standards. This text is not final but informs the GSSB's position on the relationship15

between the different standards. Any proposed changes to the GRI Standards must follow the Due

16

Process Protocol.

17

There is general agreement on the proposed text, with the following points made by GSSB members:

18•

The last paragraph should say that sustainability reporting with the GRI Standards is

19‘independent of considering sustainability-related risks and opportunities’ rather than being

20‘independent of sustainability-related risks and opportunities’.

21•

The use of the term prospects is very broad, and it would require clarification. It would be22

beneficial to clarify ISSB’s focus on investors, creditors, and lenders (primary users) at the23outset.

24•

Impacts will result in a financial implication either in the short term or in the long term, and25

hence impact materiality is a precursor to financial materiality. Financial materiality is a subset

26

of impact materiality when considering a long-term perspective.

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27•

The last paragraph could make it clearer that organizations cannot de-prioritize reporting on

28

impacts based on definitions of materiality of other frameworks (e.g., financial materiality,

29

double materiality).

30

In response to questions and comments from the GSSB, the SD clarified that the ISSB had removed

31

the reference to ‘significant risks and opportunities’ in favor of ‘risks and opportunities’ that could

32

reasonably be expected to affect an entity’s business model and strategy. The ISSB also does not

33

use the terms financial materiality or financial risks and opportunities.

34

The proposed text will also be discussed with ISSB and EFRAG.

37

Session 3: Topic Standard Project for
Economic Impact – Proposed
framework and scope

38

Matthew Dunn, Manager Standards, presented the proposed framework and scope of the project.

39

Five themes were presented as follows:

35
3640

•Goods and services41•

Distributed value

42•

Job creation

43•

Economic governance44•

Economic multiplier45

In response to GSSB questions and comments, the following points regarding the scope of the project46

were clarified:

47

•

48
49

services can have other impacts unrelated to economic impacts.
•50
51

Goods and services must focus on economic impact, as the consumption of goods andPricing strategies can restrict access to goods and services, resulting in various impacts. Dueto competition, revealing the pricing strategy is also of concern.

•Direct and indirect government subsidies and other values generated or distributed are to be

52

incorporated in one disclosure. Also, a decision must be made on how to report these,53

quantitatively or qualitatively.

54•

Economic multiplier theme will focus on the organization's indirect and long-term effects on

55

the broader economy. Capacity building within the organization and along its value chain, RD,56

innovation, and investment in infrastructure projects are important elements of this theme.

57
58

•

Economic governance complements distributed value theme and may need to be described insequence.

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61

Session 4: Topic Standard Project for
Climate Change – Updated TCmembership

62

Margherita Barbieri, Manager Standards, provided a project update and presented the GSSB with63

Item 02 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Climate Change – Proposed members for Technical64

Committee for approval.

65

The project is taking a programmatic approach that extensively utilizes subgroups to manage content

66

development, with the first group of nominations approved by the GSSB in the March meeting.

67

Today’s nominations include three business enterprises (IT, energy, and chemical industries) and two68

civil society representatives. The May meeting will present nominations from the labor constituency

69

and the African and Latin American regions. The project team has also built a considerable network70

for peer review to fill potential gaps in regional focus.

71

In response to a GSSB question, the SD noted that the composition of the TC includes the five72

constituencies. UNEP FI represents the investment constituency and financial sectors in the project73

context.

74

The GSSB approves the following:

59
60

GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.1102 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Climate Change – Proposed members forTechnical Committee

75

Session 5: Close of public meeting76

No other business was raised, and the Chair closed the public meeting at 13.48 Central European

77

Summer Time (CEST).

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