GRI Topic Standard Project for
Economic Impact – Working group
terms of reference
For GSSB information
Date

14 September 2023

Meeting

14 September 2023

Project

GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact

Description

This document sets out the terms of reference for the Working Group for the GRI
Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact for GSSB information.

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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. The
GSSB is the independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit
www.globalreporting.org.

© GRI 2023

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Contents

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Terms of Reference ........................................................................................................................... 3

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Background.................................................................................................................................... 3

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Mandate of the Economic Impact Project Working Group ............................................................... 3

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Scope of work............................................................................................................................. 3

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Responsibilities of other parties .................................................................................................. 4

9Additional considerations ............................................................................................................ 4

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Composition of the Economic Impact Project Working Group ......................................................... 5

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Selection criteria ......................................................................................................................... 5

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Working Group commitments ......................................................................................................... 6

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Public communications protocol ..................................................................................................... 6

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How to apply .................................................................................................................................. 8

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Appendix 1. Proposed project timeline............................................................................................ 9

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Appendix 2. Meeting schedule...................................................................................................... 10

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Contact

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Email: economicimpact@globalreporting.org

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For more information: visit the project webpage and sign up here to receive regular updates.

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Terms of Reference

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These Terms of Reference outline the mandate of the Working Group for the GRI Topic Standard
Project for Economic Impact – Phase 1 and 2 (Economic Impact Working Group), including its
selection and appointment, primary objectives and time commitments.

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Background

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The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), GRI’s independent standard-setting body, has
identified the set of topic standards relating to economic impact as priority standards for revision.

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The objective of sustainability reporting using the GRI Standards is to provide transparency on how
an organization contributes or aims to contribute to sustainable development. The GRI Standards
enable an organization to publicly disclose its most significant impacts on the economy, environment,
and people, including impacts on human rights, and how the organization manages these impacts.

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The primary objective of this project is to review the existing portfolio of GRI economic impact
disclosures and develop a set of new disclosures and standards that represent internationally agreed
best practices. The revision must also align with the recent developments and relevant authoritativeintergovernmental instruments in the field of economic growth and its impact. They are designed toenhance the global comparability and quality of information within the topic, thereby enabling greatertransparency and accountability of organizations, and informed decision-making by stakeholders. It
will be carried out following the GSSB Due Process Protocol.

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See the project proposal for more information.

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Mandate of the Economic Impact Project Working
Group

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Topic Standards are developed using multi-stakeholder expertise, authoritative intergovernmental
instruments, and other relevant evidence. The Economic Impact Project Working Group is tocontribute their expertise to the development of new disclosures on the portfolio of economic impact
topic standards. The overall work of the Working Group should support sustainability reporting as
promoted by the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards).

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Scope of work

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The Economic Impact Working Group will be responsible for reviewing and developing GRI 201:
Economic Performance 2016; GRI 205 Anti-corruption 2016; GRI 206 Anti-competition, and GRI 415
Public Policy 2016 for the consideration of the GSSB.

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The Working Group will be tasked with providing recommendations on:

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Revising the existing background and contextual information within GRI 201,202,203, 204
205, 206 and 415.
Developing the topic management disclosures, considering contents in the existing
management disclosures section within GRI 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206 and 415, including:o developing new requirements, recommendations, and guidance.
Ensuring the revised management disclosures are compatible for organizations to use
together with GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.
Developing topic disclosures for GRI 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206 and 415, building on theexisting topic disclosures (along with their related reporting requirements, recommendations,and guidance) including:o revising the existing content;

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developing new disclosures, requirements, recommendations, and guidance toaddress areas not currently covered by the Standards.
Revising and updating the existing Bibliography related to economic impact themes
Revising existing definitions in the GRI Standards Glossary and, where applicable, developing
new ones.
Identifying which GRI Sector Standards content related to economic impact should be revised
to ensure alignment and consistency with the revised Topic Standards for Economic Impact.

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The Working Group will also be responsible for proposals to delete existing content, where applicable.
This may be the case when content is outdated or not valid for reporting an organization’s impacts on
distribution of value and institutions. The Working Group may also provide recommendations on
considerations that may be relevant to other GRI Topic Standards. Changes to the overarching GRI
system of Standards, like the ‘in accordance criteria’, are not within the remit of the Working Group.
Impacts identified within this project for which no GRI Standard exists will be assessed and prioritizedby the GSSB for future GRI Standards development.

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Responsibilities of other parties

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The Standards Division is responsible for:

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Overall project management and ensuring compliance with the GSSB Due Process Protocol;
Facilitating, providing logistical support and preparing materials for Working Group meetings;
Maintaining an online collaboration platform for the Working Group;
Engaging with the GSSB and other GRI Governance bodies;
Engaging other experts and interested parties in a peer review and on an as needs basis;
Coordinating public exposure of the draft topic standards, including collecting andsummarizing feedback for consideration by the Working Group;
Undertaking research to support the development of the Topic Standard(s); andDrafting the content of the Topic Standard(s).

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The Standards Division will draft the Topic Standard(s) and other relevant deliverables in accordancewith the recommendations of the Working Group. The content of the Topic Standard(s) will be draftedin accordance with template and house rules for terminology, style and presentation. The Working
Group will not be responsible for editing the stylistic and grammatical presentation of deliverables.
Such edits will be undertaken by the Standards Division to ensure consistency with existing GRI
documents.

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The GSSB votes on the approval of a draft of the Topic Standard(s) for public exposure and the finalcontent of a Topic Standard(s). The GSSB will review the drafted contents and may ask the Economic
Impact Project Working Group to conduct further research and/or develop the draft recommendations
further. Working Group members should be committed to support the revision of draft contents inaddition to the development of these contents. Further information on the role and authority of the
GSSB can be found in the GSSB Due Process Protocol.

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Additional considerations

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The development of the Topic Standard(s) is to be carried out within the existing structure andtemplate of the GRI Standards, including preserving the hierarchy, coherence and implementation
approach of the GRI Standards. The content of Topic Standard(s) must be in line with the inaccordance with the model outlined in GRI 1: Foundation 2021.

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The Economic Impact Project Working Group should aim to develop topic descriptions that are clear,consistent, and focused on impacts from a sustainable development perspective. Content should alsoseek to be in line with key authoritative inter-governmental instruments (such as instruments of theUnited Nations, the International Labour Organization, and the OECD) and consider the content ofPage 4 of 10

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other business and human rights reporting frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles Reporting
Framework.

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The discussions of the Working Group are confidential, but any recommendations made by theWorking Group to the GSSB will be publicly available in accordance with the GSSB Due Process
Protocol.

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GRI will hold the copyright of any deliverables associated with the project.

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Composition of the Economic Impact ProjectWorking Group

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It is anticipated that the Working Group will have approximately 15 members. The Working Group will
aim to have at least one person drawn from each of the constituencies on which the membership of
the GSSB is based: business enterprises, investment institutions, labor, civil society, and mediating
institutions.

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In addition, geographical, gender and cultural diversity will be considered. There can only be one
representative per organization in the Working Group.

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Table 1: Descriptions of constituencies represented on the Working Groupa) An enterprise (other than a mediating or investment institution) that has been
Business
established in order to generate a profit for the benefit of its investors orenterpriseowners; orb) An organization representing the collective interests of those falling into
category ‘a’.

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Investment
institution

An enterprise that is primarily concerned with the direct or indirect, long-term
investment of funds in business – including, but not limited to, asset owners, asset
managers, development banks, exchanges, ratings agencies and market information
brokers.

Labor

An organization established independently of employers and governments torepresent the interests of workers.

Civil society

An organization established in order to promote or secure a public good relating tosustainability (environmental, social and governance) and that does not fall into anyof the categories defined above.

Mediatinginstitution

An individual or organization that provides goods and/or services associated withthe reporting process and derives benefit from doing so.

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A GSSB sponsor(s) may join Working Group meetings.

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Selection criteria

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In accordance with the GSSB Due Process Protocol, members of the Working Group are appointed
by the GSSB. The principal criterion for selecting the Working Group is relevant knowledge andexperience related to the impact of a broad range of sustainable development issues on inclusive
economic growth, inequality, employment and business influence on public policy.

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Members must be able to ability to participate in Working Group meetings held in English and provide
written English feedback when requested.

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In addition, the following criteria will be considered:Page 5 of 10

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relevant knowledge of sustainability reporting related to an organization’s economic impact
with particular expertise in the areas of economic performance, anti-corruption, anticompetitive behavior and responsible political engagement;
familiarity with the needs of users of sustainability reports;
related experience with multi-stakeholder initiatives;
understanding of and willingness to work in a consensus-based, multi-stakeholder working
group.

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Working Group commitments

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Working Group members are expected to:

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act in an individual capacity, exclusively in the public interest, and according to due process
as defined in the GSSB Due Process Protocol;
review the materials provided by the Standards Division in advance of Working Group
meetings, in order to be able to actively participate;provide timely feedback on documents or other materials distributed by the Standards
Division;work in the manner that aims at achieving consensus.

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The development of the Topic Standard(s) for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Economic Impact project is
expected to take up to 24 months following the appointment of the Working Group. See the timeline
included in Appendix 1. Proposed project timeline

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Working Group members commit to attending approximately 40 hours of meetings and reviewing thedraft Topic Standard(s) a minimum of three times during that period. Working Group members also
commit to plan sufficient time to prepare for meetings, review other materials and engage insupplementary content creation methods. It is estimated that this may result in up to 60 hours of timecommitment across the project (excluding any necessary travel time).

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Meetings and other engagement methods will vary depending on the needs of the Working Group andthe project. Commonly used methods include full group meetings in-person and virtually, sub-group
workshops, and use of digital content creation platforms. The use of these methods will also take into
account any travel restrictions or risk factors.

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Virtual meetings are normally held between 1.00-2:30 pm Central European Time (CET), so thatmembers in most time zones can join. This will be adjusted based on the final geographicalrepresentation of the Working Group.

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In the event of an in-person meeting, Working Group members will be asked to attend a two-day
meeting in Amsterdam (excluding travel time).

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See Appendix 2. Meeting schedule for the proposed meeting schedule and an itemized timecommitment.

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Working Group members volunteer their time. There is no fee or compensation associated withparticipation in the Working Group. Upon request, Working Group members will be eligible for travel
and accommodation reimbursement for in-person meetings, in accordance with GRI policies.

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Public communications protocol

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Public communication on issues related to the activities of the Working Group and the development of
the GRI Standards is the responsibility of the GSSB. Working Group members may publicly express
their personal opinions and views but may not speak on behalf of the Working Group, GSSB or GRI.

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The names and bios of members will be published on the GRI website. Members are welcome topublicize their participation in, and the activities of the Working Group, in channels such as press

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releases or on social media. Members are asked to work with the Standards Division or GRI’s
communication team to coordinate any such activity ahead of time.

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Working Group members are advised to use the following when referring to their participation in thisprocess:

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“[name of member] has been appointed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), GRI’s
independent standard setting body, to serve on a Working Group to produce a Standard for the Topic
Project for Economic Impact.”

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How to apply

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Once the open call is launched, all interested experts will be able to nominate themselves to be partof the Working Group, by submitting their CV and the application form toeconomicimpact@globalreporting.org

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These links are also available in the project website.

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Appendix 1. Proposed project timeline

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The commencement date of this project is 14 September 2023. Figure 1 provides an overview of thetiming of each phase of the project. Further details relating to the timing of Phase 1 and Phase 2 ofthis project can be found in the project proposal.

Figure 1: Economic Impact project timelines

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Appendix 2. Meeting schedule

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The following table outlines the minimum number of meetings expected to occur throughout thecourse of the project. Engagement as a Working Group is currently predicted to be predominantly
virtual, however an in-person meeting may be planned and replace some virtual engagements. In thiscase, the Working Group will be provided with sufficient notice and scheduling will be subject tomember availability.

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MeetingTime commitment

Approximate date

Working Group meeting 1

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

February 2024

Working Group meeting 2

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

April 2024

Working Group meeting 3

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

June 2024

Working Group meeting 4

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

September 2024

Working Group meeting 5

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

December 2024

Working Group meeting 6

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

April 2025

Working Group meeting 7

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

June 2025

Working Group meeting 8

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review of
preparatory materials

September 2025

In addition to the meetings listed above, it is expected that the Working Group will participate in asurvey following Working Group meeting 1, review the draft Topic Standard(s) in-full three times, twice
prior to the public exposure and once following, and participate in stakeholder engagement activities
during the public exposure period and to support the launch of the Standard as relevant.

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