gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

GSSB summary of the virtual meeting
held on 17 November 2022
Approved by the GSSB on 15 December 2022

© GRI 2022

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Contents
Participants.............................................................................................................................................. 3
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3
Decisions and action items ..................................................................................................................... 4
Session 2: Standards Division update .................................................................................................... 4
Session 3: Approval of exposure draft of the revised GRI Biodiversity Standard ................................... 5
Session 4: Work Program draft approval ................................................................................................ 6
Session 5: Any other business and close of meeting ............................................................................. 6

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2Participants

3Present:

456

Name

Constituency

Judy Kuszewski

Chair

Robyn Leeson

Vice-Chair

Loredana Carta

LaborPeter Colley

Labor

Giulia Genuardi

Business enterprise

Evan Harvey

Investment institution

Joseph Martin

Business enterprise

Anna Nefedova

Mediating institution

Corli le RouxMediating institution

Kim Schumacher

Civil society organization

Gangaa Charan SharmaBusiness enterprise

Kenton Swift

Civil society organization

Michel Washer

Business enterprise

Apologies:
Name

Constituency

Vincent Kong

Business enterpriseJennifer PrincingBusiness enterprise

In attendance from GRI:
NamePosition

Bastian Buck

Chief of Standards

Élodie Chêne

Manager Standards

Harold Pauwels

Director Standards

List of abbreviations
GRIGSSB
SDWG
TC
PCP

Global Reporting Initiative
Global Sustainability Standards Board
Standards Division
Working group
Technical committee
Public comment period

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7Decisions and action items

8Decisions

9The GSSB resolved to approve the following:

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GSSB Decision 2022.22 Item 01 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity - Exposure draft

11GSSB Decision 2022.23 Item 03 – Draft GSSB Work Program 2023-2025

12Session 1: Welcome

13

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

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

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presented with the following items for approval:

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Item 01 - GRI Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity - Exposure draft

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Item 03 - Draft GSSB Work Program 2023-2025

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Session 2: Standards Division update

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Chief of Standards, Bastian Buck, presented the following points for consideration:

20•Capacity is continually being added to the SD, enabling new projects to be pursued.

21•

The Sector Standard Project for Mining is progressing well. It is expected to be submitted to the22
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GSSB for exposure in January 2023.
•

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For the revision of the Labor-related Topic Standards, an advisory group is being formed withmany applicants, and a second TC meeting will take place in early December.

25•The financial services Sector Standards outreach to stakeholders is underway.

26•Two SD colleagues attended COP27 to network and further the GRI mission.

27•Translations are coming to fruition, representing more than half of downloaded GRI Standards.

28•Collaboration with EFRAG and IFRS is being deepened, with much effort from GRI.

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Session 3: Approval of exposure draft

30of the revised GRI Biodiversity

31

Standard
Élodie Chêne, Manager Standards, presented the following points regarding the revised Biodiversity
Standard exposure draft for approval by the GSSB:

32•The project objective is to update GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016 to represent internationally agreed

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best practices and align with recent developments and relevant authoritative intergovernmental

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instruments in the field of biodiversity.

35•

The background and context of standard development were explained along with the composition

36of the technical committee membership, timeline, and alignment with global instruments and other37

initiatives.

38•

Significant proposals include facilitating reporting impacts across the supply chain; focusing on

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the most significant impacts on biodiversity; emphasizing the provision of location-specific40

information on impacts; new disclosures and requirements to report on direct drivers of41

biodiversity loss, changes to the state of biodiversity, and impacts on people; new management

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disclosures; and revised definitions and extended guidance.

43•An overview of changes and proposed disclosures were provided. The SD also addressed the44

feedback the GSSB provided before the meeting. Some comments were addressed, and some45

prompted additional changes to the exposure draft.

46•ecosystem conversion’.

47
48

Changes to the glossary include the removal of some terms and the addition of ‘natural•GSSB members and project sponsors commented that this Standard is the most demanding of all

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GRI Standards as it requires site-level information. However, it is a good balancing act and a step50

in the right direction to boost the prominence of biodiversity in the corporate mindset and increase51

organizational accountability.

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53

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The GSSB raised the issue of supply chain versus value chain and the difficulty of getting data on
downstream entities, hence why this is covered as recommendations to report.

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The GSSB approved – Item 01 - GRI Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity - Exposure draft

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Feedback from GSSB welcomed on proposed public comment questions by 24 November – Item 02 -56

GRI Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity - Draft questionnaire

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Session 4: Work Program draft

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approval
Chief of Standards, Bastian Buck, presented the following points regarding the draft Work Program2023-2025 for approval by the GSSB:59•The preamble to Item 03 is a new element with the following considerations:o60

It outlines what the GSSB aims to accomplish regarding the free, public, and61

comprehensive nature of Standards. It also emphasizes the link with62

intergovernmental instruments.
o63

Flagging GRI’s collaboration with IFRS is a key objective of the work program when64

considering the four-year review cycle of the Standards. The preamble notes how

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GRI is considered by many as a blueprint for corporate impact reporting.

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•

67
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The next step is the public consultation period, which will start at the end of November andlast until 17 February 2023.

•69

GSSB invites stakeholders to comment on the GSSB Work Program 2023-2025 and theaccompanying Project Schedule 2023

70•

The Work Program's final approval will occur in the 28-29 March 2023 GSSB meeting.

71•GSSB Chair says that the execution of the Work Program is ongoing, and the input will inform

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decisions, which includes ongoing collaborations with EFRAG and IFRS.
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One GSSB member suggested slightly altering the preamble's text to remove a negativephrase. This suggestion was accepted.

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The GSSB approved – Item 03 - Draft GSSB Work Program 2023-2025

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Session 5: Any other business and77

close of meeting
No other business was raised, and the Chair closed the public meeting at 14.10 Central EuropeanTime.

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