gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

Item 01 – Draft summary of the GSSB
meeting held on 14 September 2023
For GSSB approval
Date

14 September 2023

Meeting

17-18 October 2023

Description

This document presents the summary of the GSSB virtual meeting held on 14
September 2023.

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 2023

ContentsParticipants.............................................................................................................................................. 3
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3
Decisions and action items ..................................................................................................................... 4
Session 1: Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 4
Session 2: Update Standards Division .................................................................................................... 4
Session 3: GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Project proposal .................................. 4
Session 4: Alignment of GRI Topic and Sector Standards ..................................................................... 5
Session 5: Update on Mining public comment feedback ........................................................................ 6
Session 6: Update on Biodiversity public comment feedback ................................................................ 6
Session 7: Comparison of GHG emissions reporting between IFRS S2 and GRI 305 (2016) ............... 7
Session 8: Guidance to identify risks and opportunities that arise from impacts .................................... 7
Session 9: Close of public meeting ......................................................................................................... 8Page 2 of 8

1Participants

2Present:
Name

Constituency

Carol Adams

Chair

Jeff Robertson

Vice-ChairPeter Colley

Labor

Chulendra De SilvaMediating institution

Giulia Genuardi

Business enterpriseVincent Kong

Business enterprise

Corli le RouxMediating institution

Joseph Martin (joined at 13.10)

Business enterprise

Anna Nefedova

Mediating institution

Deborah Ng (joined at 12.35)

Investment Institution

Jennifer Princing

Business enterprise

Gangaa Charan Sharma (joined at 12.35)

Business enterprise

Galya Tsonkova

Business enterprise

Apologies:

34

Name

Constituency

Loredana Carta

Labor

Kim Schumacher

Civil society organization

In attendance from GRI:
NamePosition

Bastian Buck

Chief of Standards

Laura Espinach

Director Standards

Claire DuganSenior Manager Standards

Noora Puro

Senior Manager Standards

Elodie ChêneSenior Manager Standards

Miguel Pérez Ludeña

Research Lead

Matthew Dunn

Manager Standards

Gillian Balaban

Sr. Coordinator Governance Relations

List of abbreviations
Abbreviation

Full name

GRI

Global Reporting InitiativeGSSB

Global Sustainability Standards BoardSDStandards Division

Page 3 of 8

5Decisions and action items

6

The GSSB resolved to approve the following:
GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.25

01 – Draft summary of the GSSB meeting held on 20 July 2023

2023.26

02 – GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services – Proposed memberfor Capital Markets Technical Committee
03 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Project proposal

2023.272023.28

04 – GRI Standard Project for Alignment Sector Standards with New andRevised Topic Standards – Draft project proposal

7Session 1: Welcome

8

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

9

welcomed the GSSB. The Chair presented an overview of the meeting agenda. A quorum was10established, and the above items were presented to the GSSB for approval.

11Session 2: Update Standards Division12

Chief of Standards, Bastian Buck, confirmed that a successful recruiting effort will increase the13number of SD employees to 40 in the coming weeks.

14

Senior Manager Standards, Claire Dugan, presented the proposed additional member to the Capital

15

Markets Technical Committee for approval.

16

The GSSB approves the following:

GSSB Decision

Item number2023.26

02 – GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services – Proposed member for
Capital Markets Technical Committee

19

Session 3: GRI Topic Standard
Project for Economic Impact –Project proposal

20

Matthew Dunn, Manager Standards, presented the GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact

21– Project proposal for approval. The following points are for consideration:

17
1822

•

The GRI Board and Stakeholder Council had no feedback on the draft project proposal.

Page 4 of 823
24•

Minor changes include updates to the working group recruitment timeline.

In response to questions from the GSSB, the following points were clarified:25•

The project for economic impact will align with the climate change disclosures.

26•

The original timeline was extended to recruit suitable working group members and provide

27

28

enough time to address the three standards within the project.

The GSSB approves the following:

GSSB Decision

Item number2023.27

03 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Project proposal

30

Session 4: Alignment of GRI Topicand Sector Standards

31

Miguel Pérez Ludeña, Research Lead, presented a draft project proposal to align the growing portfolio

32

of GRI Sector Standards with the new and revised GRI Topic Standards. The following points were

33

made:

34

•

29

the risk of misdirecting reporters to outdated disclosures.

35
36

The SD emphasized the need to align Sector Standards with revised Topic Standards due to•

The SD explained that the pilot phase of the project would align GRI 11: Oil and Gas Sectors

37(2021), GRI 12: Coal Sector (2022), and GRI 13: Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing Sectors

38(2022) with the Topic Standard for Biodiversity.

39•During this period, a methodology will be developed to align future revisions of Sector

40Standards with Topic Standards. The methodology aims to accommodate new standards and41

revisions while adhering to the GSSB Due Process Protocol.

4243

In response to comments and questions from the GSSB, the SD clarified the following:•The methodology aims to establish a formal and timely GRI Standards publication process,44but if significant content changes emerge, the text will be submitted for stakeholder

45

consultation.

46•

title changes are not planned. One option being explored is updating the approved year.

47
48

The SD has not defined how it will brand the aligned versions of the Sector Standards, but•

The GSSB can decide whether the project requires a technical committee or working group,49

but the SD aims to develop the methodology without this requirement. However, this50

approach may change as the project evolves.

Page 5 of 851

The GSSB approves the following:GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.28

04 – GRI Standard Project for Alignment Sector Standards with New andRevised Topic Standards – Draft project proposal

53

Session 5: Update on Mining publiccomment feedback

54

Noora Puro, Senior Manager Standards, presented an update on the public comment feedback for55

the Mining Project, with an outline of the following:

52

56

•

Public comment activities and GRI’s outreach strategy; content of the exposure draft and PCP

57

questions; response from the public with breakdown by constituency and regional distribution;

58

general and cross-cutting feedback; public comment response on mine-site reporting; and a59

breakdown of number of comments by topic.

60•

The latest iteration of the draft will be sent to the WG; final editorial review is in October;61

submission to GSSB in late November; publication and launch Q1 2024.

62

In response to comments and questions from the GSSB, the SD clarified the following:

63•

The draft standard includes extensive mine-site level reporting expectations, which has

64created tension between reporters and information users. The burden of reporting balanced

65

with users' demands for this level of granularity continues to be a dilemma in this project. GRI

66

could play a role in providing additional tools or templates to help present the data succinctly

67

in order to alleviate reporters’ concerns over lengthy reports. Additionally, as investors are

68

part of the group of stakeholders demanding more granular data and generally influence69

corporates’ acceptance towards increased public reporting, GRI could seek a partnership or70

joint communications with investor bodies.

71•GSSB noted that it is positive that investors are asking for impact reporting and noting the72

links between risks and impacts. It is also positive to see the high level of response and the73

geographical spread.

74•GSSB also pointed towards the recent findings from the Responsible Mining Foundation

75(RMF), which found that companies lack data or willingness to publish data on site level,76

bringing the quality of corporate-level reporting into question.

7778

Session 6: Update on Biodiversity
public comment feedback
Page 6 of 8

79

Elodie Chêne, Senior Manager Standards, presented an update on the public comment feedback in80

the Biodiversity Project, outlining the following:
•8182
8384

SD provided a breakdown of the number of respondents/comments per disclosure.
In response to comments and questions from the GSSB, the SD clarified the following:•85
86

Public exposure submissions; response by constituency and region; cross-cutting themes.

All submissions will be publicly and freely available online. The summary and key areas thatemerged will be covered in the Basis for Conclusions section of the Standard.

•87

The SD recognizes the need for strong alignment with SBTN methodology and has used it as
input where possible.

90Session 7: Comparison of GHG
emissions reporting between IFRS S2and GRI 305 (2016)91

Laura Espinach, Director Standards, presented an update on the document comparing GHG

92emissions reporting between IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures and GRI 305: Emissions 2016. The

93

following points are for consideration:

88
89

94

•jointly.

95
96

Since the last GSSB meeting, the ISSB was invited to develop and publish this document•The SD explained that this publication must pass through ISSB’s due process. In contrast,

97

this type of document is not required to follow the GSSB Due Process Protocol; however, the98GSSB provides comments on the working text.

99
100•The SD noted that the document will be updated once the Topic Standard for Climate Change
revision is completed.

103

Session 8: Guidance to identify risks
and opportunities that arise fromimpacts

104

Chief of Standards, Bastian Buck, and GSSB Chair, Carol Adams, discussed the need to develop

105

guidance for identifying risks and opportunities that arise from impacts. The following points are for106

consideration:

101
102

Page 7 of 8107•The changing reporting landscape has given rise to a demand for practical guidance for108

reporters on how to use the materiality process based on impacts in GRI 3: Material Topics

109

2021 to identify related risks and opportunities under a financial materiality lens.

110•An invitation was extended to the ISSB to develop this guidance jointly, but it has not yet been

111

accepted. The SD recommends developing non-authoritative guidance based on GRI 3:

112

Material Topics 2021, compatible with any financial materiality or double materiality-based

113

standard.

114•The non-authoritative guidance would not follow the GSSB Due Process Protocol, but its

115

development would be based on key stakeholder collaboration, including the ISSB and116

policymakers. The GSSB is invited to suggest interested individuals or institutions.

117•The SD highlighted that a non-authoritative approach would support the timely publication of a118

credible document and help GRI identify scenarios for developing an authoritative standard in119

the future.

120

GSSB members expressed support for the development of this guidance.

121

In response to comments and questions from the GSSB, the SD highlighted the following issues as122

important:123•stakeholder engagement process.

124
125
126

Bridging different reporting frameworks and involving financial experts and investors in the•Distinguishing between sustainability disclosures and sustainability-related financial
disclosures and how impacts can cumulate over time.

127

Session 9: Close of public meeting

128

No other business was raised, and the Chair closed the public meeting at 14.15 Central European

129

Time (CET).

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