gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

Item 01 – Draft summary of the GSSB
meeting held on 15 June 2023
For GSSB approval
Date

16 June 2023

Meeting20 July 2023

Description

This document presents the summary of the GSSB virtual meeting held on 15
June 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. The
GSSB is the independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit
www.globalreporting.org.

© GRI 2023

Contents
Participants.............................................................................................................................................. 3
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3
Decisions and action items ..................................................................................................................... 4
Session 1: Welcome ............................................................................................................................... 4
Session 2: Relationship between GRI Standards and other reporting frameworks ................................ 4
Session 3: Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Draft project proposal ................................. 5
Session 4: GSSB Work Program 2023-2025 approval ........................................................................... 6
Session 5: Close of public meeting ......................................................................................................... 6

Page 2 of 6

Participants
Present:NameConstituency

Carol Adams

Chair

Jeff Robertson

Vice-ChairPeter Colley

Labor

Chulendra De SilvaMediating institution

Giulia Genuardi

Business enterprise

Corli le RouxMediating institution

Joseph Martin

Business enterprise

Anna Nefedova

Mediating institution

Deborah Ng

Investment iInstitution

Jennifer Princing (joined at 12.40)

Business enterprise

Kim Schumacher (joined at 13.35)

Civil society organization

Galya Tsonkova

Business enterprise

Apologies:
Name

Constituency

Loredana Carta

Labor

Vincent Kong

Business enterprise

Gangaa Charan SharmaBusiness enterprise

In attendance from GRI:
NamePosition

Bastian Buck

Chief of StandardsLaura Espinach

Director Standards

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

WG

Working group

TC

Technical committee

Page 3 of 6

1Decisions and action items

2

The GSSB resolved to approve the following:
GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.15

01 – Draft summary of the GSSB meeting held on 16 May 2023

2023.1603 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Draft project proposal

2023.1704 – GSSB Work Program 2023-2025

3Session 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 items were presented to the GSSB for approval.

9Session 2: Relationship between GRIStandards and other reporting
frameworks

10

Laura Espinach, Director Standards, presented an update on how the GRI Standards relate to11

ongoing developments in the reporting landscape. Item 02 - Relationship between GRI Standards and12other reporting standards provided the context for the discussion. The following points are for

13

consideration:

7814

•

15
16

Box 1 of GRI 1 explains the link between sustainability reporting and financial and value
creation reporting.

•Since its release two years ago, the reporting landscape has evolved, which necessitates

17

understanding how the GRI Standards relate to new developments and identifying contents

18

in the standards that would necessitate updating.

19

•

20
21

The SD has redrafted Box 1 text to articulate how the standards relate to new developments,
which was shared with the ISSB and EFRAG for comments.

•Since the last meeting, changes to the draft include clarifying that impacts are one source

22

and not the only source of risks and opportunities; an example was provided as requested by

23

the GSSB.

24•

More guidance has been provided on how the GRI Standards and IFRS sustainability

25

disclosures standards can be used together and also clarified that the material topics

26

determined with the GRI Standards cannot be deprioritized by applying materiality definitions

27of other reporting standards.

Page 4 of 628•2930

Of note is that this text is not an official position of the ISSB or EFRAG; the SD has prepared
the text intending to inform the GSSB position.

•In the next steps, the SD will further develop the text based on the final versions of the ISSB

31

standards and the ESRS, together with the additional GSSB feedback. Technical Questions

32& Answers are being developed with ISSB. Theis Box 1 textwork [LE1]will be shared with the33

ISSB and EFRAG for further comments.

34

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

35•All impacts will result in risks and opportunities for an organization.

36•However, if an organization does not think that its material impacts would result in any risks

37
38

or opportunities, they are still obliged have to report their impacts.
•The language needs to be clarified, as risk and opportunity can also be understood as a39

potential impact or a reduction of an impact on others, while an impact can also result in risk40

and opportunity for the organization.

41•

It is important to be clear on the meaning of ‘risk’ as international instruments use ‘impact’

42and ‘risk’ interchangeably, but in both cases, these are in reference to society, people, or the43environment. The 2021 update uses ‘impact’ to avoid confusion around the ‘risk to people’ or44

‘risk to the organization’.

45

•46

The ‘risk and opportunity’ in Box 1 is to refer exclusively to the risks and opportunities to theorganization.

47

It is important to note that this is work under development, and it is evident that the language must be48

clarified before GSSB approval.

51

Session 3: Topic Standard Project for
Economic Impact – Draft project
proposal

52

Matthew Dunn, Manager Standards, presented the following points for consideration and approval by53

the GSSB:

54

•49
50

55
56

The project will revise and align economic impact-related GRI Topic Standards withauthoritative intergovernmental instruments.

•The topics under revision include GRI 201: Economic Performance 2016, GRI 202: Market57

Presence 2016, GRI 203: Indirect Economic Impact 2016, GRI 204: Procurement 2016, GRI

58

205: Anti-Corruption 2016, GRI 206: Anti-Competitive Behavior 2016, and GRI 415: Public

59

Policy 2016.

6061•The project's three phases will focus on the themes of distributed value, impacts oninstitutions, economic multipliers, job creation, and goods and services.

Page 5 of 6

6263
64

•

Two working groups (WG) are planned to support this project. WG 1 will support the project's
first two phases, whereas WG 2 will support Phase 3.

The GSSB approves the following:

GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.1603 – GRI Topic Standard Project for Economic Impact – Draft project proposal

66

Session 4: GSSB Work Program 20232025 approval

67

Chief of Standards, Bastian Buck, presented the GSSB Work Program 2023-2025 for final approval

68

with a brief mention of amendments made based on public comment feedback and the changes made69

to the text of the preamble.

70

The GSSB commented on whether renewables and utilities should be kept as separate sectors or71

combined. SD recognizes that this issue is important, and the discussion is tabled for a later stage.

72

The GSSB approves the following:

65

GSSB Decision

Item number

2023.1704 – GSSB Work Program 2023-2025

73

Session 5: Close of public meeting74

No other business was raised, and the Chair closed the public meeting at 13.26 Central European75

Summer Time (CEST).

Page 6 of 6