Guidance Documentfor

Sustainability Repor�ng

Based On GRI Standards 2021
2ND EDITION

Dhaka Stock Exchange PLC.

Message From The
Managing Director of DSE

Bangladesh is one of the fasted growing economy in the world having a steady GDP growth of around 7%
during a decade. It is the second-largest economy in South Asia, and 33rd largest in the world in nominal
terms, and 25th largest by purchasing power parity. One of the key drivers of its economy is the vibrant andgrowing corporate sector. A sound ﬁnancial market structure of the country contributes to become an attractive investment destination of the region.
Dhaka Stock Exchange PLC (DSE) is the main bourse of Bangladesh and has been contributing to thecountry’s industrialization, development of infrastructure and overall economic growth for a period of 70
years. With the advancement of economy, DSE is also shaping its role in providing an efﬁcient and transparent market place for domestic and foreign investors. It is also in line with the world wide campaign of sustainability reporting to ensure and achieve sustainable development goal. Despite of various global and domestic challenges, DSE has been continuing its thrives towards sustainable development through building local
and international partnership. As a part of its collaboration, DSE has been maintaining a mutual understanding and cooperation with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for last 6 years.
We proudly recognize and record a fruitful advancement of sustainability reporting practices among
the listed securities of Dhaka Stock Exchange PLC. We are hopeful that this initiative will be landmark
event which will pave the way not only for advancement of sustainability reporting but also will create
opportunity through exchanging views to identify challenges and way forward in the days ahead.
GRI has been helpful since 2018, conducting a number of workshops and events, creating the awarenessamong the key stakeholders which culminated into DSE’s publication of the “Guideline on sustainability
reporting for Listed Companies in Bangladesh” in the year 2019. GRI is revising the Guideline, in order toalign it with the GRI Universal Standards 2021.
On behalf of Dhaka Stock Exchange, I express my gratitude to GRI and other partners who have done thisexcellent work for the beneﬁt of the industry of Bangladesh and global communities at large.

Thank You

Dr. ATM Tariquzzaman, CPA
Managing Director

Dhaka Stock Exchange PLC.

Message From The
Chief Executive of GRI

We are living in a world that is changing fast. With the advent of new technologies and capabilities, disruptive intervention is taking place in manufacturing, trade and commerce. Coupled with the high rate ofchange throughput, impacts on economy, environment and people are also increasing, both in positive andnegative directions. On the one hand, 2023 happens to be hottest year in the history of mankind, which sees
ever increasing climate breakdown, high number of heatwaves, high rate of downpours, ﬂoods andcyclones, and on the other hand, it is a year also that is seeing greater consensus of global players on
climate action and social justice.
With every passing day, need for a globally uniform, comparable and detailed standard for measuring andreporting on sustainability performance of enterprises in diverse sector, is becoming more and more
pronounced. Since 1997, GRI is working hand in hand with the industry to help organizations to be transparent and take responsibility for their impacts, so that a sustainable future can be weaved.
GRI has created the global common language for organizations to report their impacts - which enables
informed dialogue and decision making around those impacts. Thus, GRI has earned the global recognitionof a standard setting organization, focusing on impact reporting and sustainable development.
Today, GRI provides the most comprehensive sustainability reporting Standards, on which 78% of the G250
companies report their sustainability performance. The use of GRI standards is consistently growing, which
not only is adding value to the organizations themselves, but also making great contributions to sustainable
development and achievement of the SDGs.
The call for adopting sustainable development models and reporting on sustainability performance transparently and materially, is growing louder every day. GRI alone can not achieve its central objectives of enhancing sustainability performance by setting standards. It needs active participation of the industry groups,
associations, and other platforms with their own initiatives to bring organizations into the practice, culture
and where applicable, jurisdiction for reporting on sustainability performance.
It is a matter of great pleasure that Dhaka Stock Exchange had published its “Guideline on sustainability
reporting for Listed Companies in Bangladesh.” It was written in line with the requirements of GRI Universal
Standards 2021.
It is a matter of great pleasure that Dhaka Stock Exchange had published its “Guideline on sustainability
reporting for Listed Companies in Bangladesh.” It was written in line with the requirements of GRI Universal
Standards 2016.
This edition of the document is being released with all the updates necessary to fulﬁll the requirements of
GRI Universal Standards 2021. This is a remarkable service by GRI South Asia, which supported Dhaka
Stock Exchange to have this revision done.
I wish Dhaka Stock Exchange all the success for promoting sustainable development in Bangladesh.

Thank You
Signature

Eelco van der Enden
Chief Executive, GRI

1.0 About the document1

2.0 Background on sustainability reporting1

3.0 Why report on sustainability

3

3.1 Investor interest in sustainability issues

5

3.2 Getting ahead of regulatory developments

5

3.3 Strengthening ﬁnancial performance5

4.0 Sustainability context in Bangladesh

55.0 Business beneﬁts for action to contribute to sustainable development andreporting on sustainability performance9

5.1 Internal Beneﬁts

10

5.2 External Beneﬁts

10

6.0 About GRI standards

11

7.0 Basic Requirements of GRI standards for sustainability reporting

14

7.1 Key Concepts of sustainability reporting with GRI standards

14

7.2 Applying 8 reporting Principles

17

7.3 Types of sustainability report to undertake20

7.4 Requirements for reporting in accordance with the GRI standards

21

7.5 Requirements for reporting with reference to the GRI standards

24

7.6 Integrating SDGs in the sustainability report25

8.0 Way Forward30Declaration
This revision of the Guidance Document for preparing sustainability report, compiled for Dhaka
Stock Exchange, has been compiled using the previous version of the guidance document. All
the sections and texts which were written based on GRI Universal Standards 2016 have beenedited to make it fully aligned with the GRI Universal Standards 2021. In doing so, extensive useof GRI 1: Foundation 2021, GRI:2 General Disclosures 2021 and GRI 3: material topics 2021,
have been made. In some cases, the requirements of aforementioned standards have beenused verbatim to ensure ﬂawlessness. Integration of SDG in the sustainability report has beenaddressed using the 3 publications of GRI and UNGC (Business Reporting on the SDGs)
mentioned in the appendix 2. This document is dynamic and subject to revision, updation or
correction, at any point in time, as the situation warrants.
The best practice checklist of writing sustainability report is for reference only. Reportingorganization needs to comply with all the requirements of GRI standards for writing asustainability report in accordance with the GRI standards. If there is any conﬂict between thisdocument a requirement of the GRI standards, the latter shall prevail.

1.0 About the document
During the last 2 decades, a transformational shift of paradigm has taken place with respect tostandardizing disclosures for reporting sustainability performance of enterprises. Numerous
guidance documents, standards and platforms have emerged, in line with the prevailing
authoritative inter-governmental instruments, aiming to facilitate uniform sustainability reporting
practices. GRI Published its ﬁrst version of Guideline Document (G1) in the year 2000, which was
the ﬁrst ever framework for reporting on sustainability performance. The GHG Protocol was ﬁrst
published in 2001 and the CDP had its reporting platform in 2002. Sustainability reporting gained
pace year over year, creating progressively compulsive environment for the enterprises to reporton their impact on the Tripple Bottom Lines.
In a survey of more than 1,000 corporate CEOs, 93% stated they consider sustainability importantto the future success of their business.
Adoption of the SDGs in 2015 by the UN was a transcendental milestone which has catalyzed
reporting culture profoundly, across the world. SDGs demand disclosure of performance by theenterprises that contribute to sustainable development. Speciﬁcally, SDG 12 and its target 12.6
requires large enterprises to report sustainability information into their reporting cycles.
German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act needs organization to enhance sustainability
performance and report publicly. EU Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive (CSRD),
adopted in 2022, took one step further to legally require certain organizations to report on theirsustainability performance.
Establish in 2009, Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative is progressively bringing in guidelines forreporting sustainability
performance to the bourses of the world, through inﬂuence andadvocacy.
Both Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange subscribe to SSEI and hence it isimperative that they provide sustainability reporting guidelines to the listed companies.
DSE, with support from GRI, published a Guidance Document for sustainability reporting for themember companies in 2018. Obviously, it was written addressing the requirements of the GRI
Universal Standards 2016. From January 2023, GRI Universal Standards 2016 have been madeobsolete and therefore the Guidance Document was in need to be updated.
This document addresses the above needs, and it is prepared considering various changes in therequirements, including introduction of new requirements, as per the GRI Universal Standards
2021.

2.0 Background on sustainability reporting
Since the publishing of the Brundtland Commission Report in 1987, the world is gradually coming
to terms with the growing urgency for action for responsible business practices and counteract
negative impacts on the environment, economy, people, including on human rights. In recent
years, the global supply chains are undergoing substantial transformation, facing mounting

1demand from stakeholders to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals. Along with this, agrowing demand for transparency about the impacts on economy, environment, and people, hasbeen fostering a culture of sustainability reporting across all the geographies and sectors.
The GRI standards, which is one of the many frameworks for reporting sustainability, have been thepioneer in championing the sustainability reporting culture. Used by more than 10,000
organizations in more than 100 countries, the standards are advancing the practice ofsustainability reporting, and enabling organizations and their stakeholders to take action thatcreates economic, environmental, and social beneﬁts for everyone.
A survey conducted across the world has revealed that GRI provides the ‘ﬁrst and foremost’ global
standards, used by more large companies than ever before.
The 2022 survey of the KPMG on sustainability reporting examined the disclosure practices of theworld’s biggest 250 companies by revenue (the G250), as well as, the top 100 businesses in eachof 58 countries (the N100).

Great strides have been made in advancing the culture of sustainability reporting inpast years which is manifest in the KPMG report. Some highlights are:•78% of the G250 now adopt the GRI Standards for Reporting (up from 73% in 2020);•

68% of the 5,800 N100 companies use GRI standards (up from 67% in 2020, when
N100 was a smaller sample size);•

Overall, 96% of G250 (unchanged from 2020) and 79% of N100 (77% in 2020) reporton sustainability or ESG ;•Carbon reduction is widely disclosed (80% of G250 and 71% of N100) – yet under half
(46% of G250, 40% of N100) report on biodiversity.

•

Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (74% of G250, 71% of N100) report on the
SDGs;

•

GRI offers the only reporting standards used by a majority of surveyed companies inall regions (75% in the Americas, 68% in Asia-Paciﬁc and Europe, 62% in ME &Africa).

The realization that the risks and opportunities arising from the impact of an organization’s activities
and business relationships on the economy, environment and people can be material tounderstanding an organization’s ﬁnancial performance, has also inﬂuenced the investor
communities and users of general-purpose ﬁnancial reports.
Sustainability reporting provides a broader view of a company’s performance than ﬁnancial
disclosures alone. The idea that 75% of the value of an organization’s intangible has an inherent
risk of disproportionate value collapse arising out of events not foreseen to be critical, related the2organization’s adverse impact on environment and people. Many precedents are available, fromthe Exxon Valdez and Enron to the recent cases of bankruptcies and divestments.
In recent years, extreme climatic events, and natural disasters have caused a deeper introspectionin the stakeholders across the world, including the investors community, asset owners, asset
managers, regulators, and governments. Progressively stringent requirements are emerging
through international collaboration, in the form of authoritative intergovernmental instruments,
legislature, policy frameworks, guidance documents, and best practice documents. Advocacy
and activist mobilizations are on the rise around the world. Various decisions of the investor
communities are also going in favor of Sustainable Development and transparent disclosure ofsustainability performance.
The cumulative effect of all the above-mentioned factors has now reached a tipping point, wherereporting on sustainability performance has become not only a necessity for information users’
decision making process, but also a hallmark of responsible business enterprises in both themature and developing economies.

3.0 Why report on sustainability
Gone are the days when proﬁtability and growth used to be the sole yardsticks to measure thesuccess of an enterprise. Since the day of the “Our Common Future” and the Rio Summit,
information on risks and opportunities arising from the organization’s impact on economy,
environment and people became material to the users of the general-purpose ﬁnancial reports.
Adoption of the millennium Development Goals and the SGDs subsequently lent momentum to theneed for reporting on sustainability performance.
Integrating environmental, social, and corporate governance (Sustainability) policies andpractices into a company’s strategy and daily operations is increasingly being recognized byinvestors as relevant to the company’s ability to capture long-term value. Therefore, transparency
around how a company manages its sustainability risks and opportunities is part of its value
proposition, and the ﬁnancial communities are increasingly recognizing that, to thoroughly assess
an investment, it must also analyze relevant sustainability factors.
The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative encourages stock exchanges toprovide guidance to their issuers on Environmental, Social and Governance (Sustainability)
reporting. Acting as conduits between issuers, investors, regulators and other capital market
stakeholders, stock exchanges are ideally placed to support the transition to greater sustainability
disclosures and thereby to attract new investment ﬂows with a focus on sustainability.
“Institutional investors need a higher volume of companies, both public and private, reporting
quality sustainability information. Different investors have different informational needs, but there isa growing level of consistency in incorporating material sustainability factors into investment
decision-making.”
As of today, 71 out of 122 Stock Exchanges tracked by SSEI have published their sustainability
reporting guidance documents.

3

The SSE’s supports stock exchanges to provide listed companies with guidance on sustainability
reporting by providing Model Guidance Document (https://shorturl.at/coGKV). The purpose of themodel guidance compiled by the SSE is to help exchanges address the need for member
exchanges to publish their own guidance document for sustainability reporting. In addition to thisguidance, stock exchanges can ﬁnd a number of other tools available to them on SSEI webpage.
The SSE also tracks the sustainability related activities of stock exchanges in the SSE database,for example, how many stock exchanges require sustainability reporting as a listing rule, provide
sustainability-related training or have written guidance on sustainability reporting.
Examples of these guides are the LSEG's Your Guide to sustainability reporting and more locallythe sustainability guidance of the Bombay Stock Exchange guidance document on sustainability
disclosures. There is also the sustainability reporting guidelines by the Philippine Securities andExchange Commission. Many more can be found in the SSE Database. The present guidance
document is one of the latest. The model guidance on reporting sustainability information toinvestors was also prepared by the SSE.
The guidance document serves as a voluntary technical tool for stock exchanges. As stated in theguidance: “Once a company has established which sustainability themes to report on, it can begin
to disclose speciﬁc performance indicators to demonstrate progress. These indicators may begeneric, industry-speciﬁc or company-speciﬁc. It is recommended that companies use widely
accepted indicators developed via a credible national or international process. The GRI, forexample, produces the most widely used set of indicators for corporate sustainability reportingwith detailed guidance on their application.”
There is a growing trend for governments, stock exchanges and other regulators to translate global
goals into laws, regulations and requirements for sustainability performance and reporting on
non-ﬁnancial data. For example, the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has published revised
sustainability guidance for their member exchanges. The WFE sustainability Guidance and Metrics
represents the best sustainability practices, and covers indicators such as emissions, climate risk
mitigation, gender, human rights, ethics, and anti-corruption, in full alignment with the GRI
sustainability reporting standards. Businesses that are at the start of their reporting journey canadopt the GRI standards to elaborate their sustainability reporting and use this linkage document
to map their disclosure against WFE guidance.
The SDGs are the underlying roadmap for the business communities of the world for sustainable
development and thus the stakeholders, specially the investors rely on the sustainability reports
where the contribution of the organization to the SDGs can be traced.
To understand these dynamics better, publications such as In focus: Addressing Investor Needs in
Business reporting on the SDGs can help companies make their disclosures most relevant forinvestors.
In any case, the investors community has decided to manage their investment risks throughjudicious decision-making based on the information obtained through the sustainability reports ofthe enterprises.
Therefore, sustainability reporting by the listed companies is of paramount importance and for thatto happen, the exchange should provide guidance documents to be followed by the listed
enterprises.

4

If we summarize why enterprises need to report on their sustainability
performance, there will be 3 key points:

3.1 Investor interest in sustainability factors
By the middle of 2015, the UN Supported organization Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
had nearly 1,400 signatories with USD 54 trillion in assets under management (AUM), which had
800 signatories with USD 22 trillion AUM in 2010. The growth is highly signiﬁcant, which indicatesthat the asset managers are moving towards sustainable business practices faster than before.

3.2 Getting ahead of regulatory developments
Governments around the world are taking action to address the demands for high-quality
corporate reporting on sustainability information. A number of jurisdictions have introduced
regulatory requirements governing corporate disclosure of sustainability information. In 2013 there
were over 180 sustainability-related disclosure regulations and other
instruments across 45 countries (a threefold increase since 2006). 19 of the G20 member states
and nine of 32 national securities commissions on the board of the International Organisation of
Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have implemented at least one mandatory reporting initiativeor regulation on social and environmental matters.
Publishing sustainability reports may be optional today for some jurisdictions, but the trend showsthat sooner than later, this is going to be regulatory matters for the listed companies.

3.3 Strengthening ﬁnancial performance
Studies show that there are business cases for companies to fully integrate sustainability into theirbusiness strategy. The evidence suggests that strong sustainability performance of corporates
correlates positively with improved cost of capital and ﬁnancial performance.
A 2015 study suggests that companies that perform well on material sustainability topics
signiﬁcantly outperform peers with poor performance on these.
In all respects, with the hind-sights and fore-sights, promotion of sustainability reporting ofcorporate sustainability performance is becoming an imperative across the entire spectrum ofbusiness and investments. This lays a deﬁnitive responsibility to the exchanges to guide their listedcompanies for publishing high-quality sustainability reports on their sustainability performance.

4.0 Sustainability context in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a rapidly growing economy, maintaining a 6% to 7% growth rate since 1996. This
growth trajectory is taking Bangladesh to the doorsteps of the global community and Bangladesh
is now required to look into the emerging business standards and best practices that enable the5countries to play positive roles in the context of sustainable development.

* GDP in Purchasing Power Parity terms with added estimates for the size of the informal economy
and adjustments for out-of-date GDP base year data.
There is a substantial collaboration between Bangladesh and the international business
community, beyond the commercial interaction, through exchange of knowledge, support fortechnology and capacity buildings, and through Foreign Direct Investments. The audience thatjudge the performance of the enterprises of Bangladesh are no more conﬁned to the local
population, rather it is progressively becoming multi-national and multi-cultural, with consequenttransformation of the needs and expectations that the businesses face today.
Adoption of the emerging trends, standards and best practices is crucial for the industry of
Bangladesh as it depends heavily on exports. In every sphere of business, trade and commerce,
Bangladesh needs to focus on how it can promote the principles and practices that matureeconomies have accepted as established norms.
Measuring the performance of an enterprise in the context of its contribution to sustainable
development is already an established norm in the mature economies. This is being done
systematically, based on regulations, standards, benchmarks, and best practices around theworld. Same has to be the case for Bangladesh, more so, as it is going to graduate as a developed
economy in the year 2041, as projected.
Bangladesh is highly aware of this and when it comes to the protection and improvement of theenvironment and biodiversity, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh states that,“The state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to preserve and safe- guard
the natural resources, biodiversity, wetlands, forest and wildlife for the present and future citizens.”

6

The pursuit of sustainable development is, therefore, the central focus of all development activities
in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is highly aware of this and when it comes to the protection and improvement of theenvironment and biodiversity, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh states that,“The state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to preserve and safe- guard
the natural resources, biodiversity, wetlands, forest and wildlife for the present and future citizens.”
The pursuit of sustainable development is, therefore, the central focus of all development activities
in Bangladesh.
All development plans and programs inherently endeavor to conform to this dictum of theconstitution.
The 8th ﬁve year plan of Bangladesh (July 2020 to June 2025) has emphasized on appropriate
policies, frameworks and has devised suitable and sustainable development strategies forpromoting prosperity.
There are 6 core themes that dominate the current ﬁve-year plan, which are:
4.1 Rapid recovery for COVID-19 to restore human health, conﬁdence, employment, income
and economic activities.
4.2 GDP growth acceleration, employment generation, productivity acceleration and rapid
poverty reduction.
4.3 A broad-based strategy of inclusiveness with a view to empowering every citizen toparticipate fully and beneﬁt from the development process and helping the poor andvulnerable with social protection- based income transfers.
4.4 A sustainable development pathway that is resilient to disaster and climate change;
entails sustainable use of natural resources; and successfully manages the inevitableurbanization transition.
4.5 Development and improvement of critical institutions necessary to lead the economy
to UMIC status.
4.6 Attaining SDG targets and coping up the impact of Least Developed Country (LDC)
graduation.
Analyzing the 8FYP of Bangladesh, one will be very quick to grasp the fact that there is good
integration of the core themes of sustainable development and the prevailing SDGs and targets intoit, carried out in a meticulous manner. As it is often said, planning is half the battle, it can be said
that Bangladesh has done its due diligence in the planning phase for achieving the SDGs.
In this plan, and the previous ones as well, emphasis has been put on increasing productive labor,
creating more labor-intensive industries, and promoting small enterprises to increase jobs.
Raising productivity in all areas including agriculture, manufacturing and services will be given

7

special focus. To ensure the best possible opportunities for a productive and healthy life for thepeople while maintaining the balance in nature and ensuring sustainability for future generations,the country must have “human centered” sustainable development. Bangladesh will continue tomeet the challenges of creating favorable social, economic, and environmental conditions that will
support the overall sustainability of the nation. Sustainability has been deeply embedded within ourpeople and is integrated in the lifestyles, livelihood and culture of the people of Bangladesh. The
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) of Bangladesh has already taken initiative to ensure agreen environment and a pollution free people, environmental Sustainability, ecological balance,
forestry, conservation of natural resources and maintenance of quality of soil, air and water. Forsmooth implementation of this initiative, companies operating in Bangladesh should adopt a uniform
reporting practice for ensuring transparency, ﬂexibility, and progress towards Sustainability, building
awareness among stakeholders, in line with global standards. The government can be a catalyst for
ensuring speedy adoption of sustainability through policy initiatives which immediately pave theway for a sustainable people committed to sustainable development. A successful community cancreate demand for products and can also provide a supportive environment for business.
Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank and prime regulator of banks and non-bank ﬁnancial
institutions (NBFIs), has set an example by pioneering green banking initiatives, and proactively
guiding banks and NBFIs towards diverse sustainable banking endeavors since 2011. These green
banking initiatives can be broadly categorized into policy initiatives, monitoring the green banking
activities of banks and NBFIs, reﬁnancing facilities from BB in diverse green products/sectors(renewable energy, energy efﬁciency, solid waste management, liquid waste management,
alternative energy, etc.) and BB’s own initiatives for environmental management. Reporting on
GreenBanking
activities(GreenAnnualReport)following
GRI
Guidelines(https://tinyurl.com/55cwxyd8) has been made compulsory for banks under a guideline issued on
February 2011.
The publishing of sustainability reports in Bangladesh has gradually grown, as listed companies ofstock exchanges started publicly declaring a commitment to sustainability by publishing theirsustainability reports, and regulatory bodies have tried to promote this development. To elevate
corporate governance in the country, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission(BSEC) introduced the Corporate Governance Guidelines in 2006. Later, in 2012, BSEC madefurther progress and launched the Corporate Governance Guideline which established a basis forcompliance for listed companies. Issues of sustainability in general and environmental impacts
caused by the listed companies were not dealt with extensively. In June 2018, BSEC issued the
Corporate Governance Code (CGC), and these issues are now directly incorporated. The
transparency and accountability of a listed company can be increased when it complies with all theconditions contained in the new Code. All listed companies must comply with the new CGC as on
December 2018.

8

5.0 Business beneﬁts for action to contribute tosustainable development and reporting onsustainability performance
A sustainability report discloses an organization's most signiﬁcant impacts it caused or contributed
to, through its activities, as well as impacts directly linked to its operations, products, or services by
its business relationships. It aims to capture all the signiﬁcant impacts, positive or negative, causedby itself and by the value chain of which it is a part. The intent of the sustainability reporting
standards, e.g. GRI standards, is to draw a clear picture of such impacts on economy, environment
and people, including the impacts on huma rights, and how the organization is addressing those
impacts.
The scope of sustainability reports, thus extend from the organization itself, into the entire value
chain.
However, there is always a continuum of control and inﬂuence when information on impact isrequired and management of the impacts is expected of organizations, which are not part of thereporting entity. Depending on the degree of such inﬂuence, the organization can exert itself toderive desired improvement and fulﬁl the obligation of due diligence.
As the world community is highly aware of the SDGs and obligation to achieve those, even atorganizational levels, the stakeholders now seek information pertaining to the contribution of theorganization to the achievement of the SDGs. Thus the report users intention is not only to obtain
information about the organization’s impact, but also whether those impacts contribute positively or
negatively to the relevant SDGs.
Reporting on contributions to the SDGs in the sustainability report makes them more value added
as the information for information users, speciﬁcally the investors, become more comprehensive
and decision-useful.
The beneﬁts of integrating sustainability into operations has been well documented over the last two
decades. In the “Better Business, Better World” report, the Business & Sustainable Development
Commission states that, “The growing body of evidence showing that higher sustainability
performance means better ﬁnancial performance is steadily gaining traction with investors. In areview of 200 studies on sustainability
and corporate performance, Oxford University andArabesque Partners, an investment management ﬁrm, concluded that 90 percent of studies in thisarea found that high environmental, social and governance (sustainability ) standards reduced
companies’ cost of capital, and that 80 percent show a positive correlation between stock priceperformance and good sustainability practices.”
However, only transparent reporting and communicating about company’s sustainability works,
performance and progress towards its goals can help a company capture the value of sustainability.
“Research shows that companies managed with a long-term sustainability-friendly approach and aclear focus on sustainability, perform better ﬁnancially than those that aren’t. A study by Harvard
and London Business Schools found that a dollar invested in 1993 in a value-weighted portfolio ofhigh sustainability ﬁrms would have grown to US$22.60 by 2010, compared with US$15.40 for low
sustainability ﬁrms.”

9

Tackling sustainability issues, as well as, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will
require new regulations and some businesses are already taking the SDGs as signals of future
policy and market direction. “These are likely to include measures to address greenhouse gas
emissions and encourage resource efﬁciency, like mandated carbon and water pricing;regulations to protect labor rights and address discrimination in employment; and policies thatstrengthen governance, for instance, by tackling corruption and clarifying land rights.”
Companies that pursue sustainability
have a competitive advantage over those that choose
business as usual; sustainability helps companies spot and open up new market opportunities. As
stated by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission, “The 60 fastest growing market
opportunities opened up by achieving the Global Goals across the world in just four key economic
systems could be worth up to US$12 trillion a year for the private sector by 2030. This amountrepresents about 10 percent of forecast global GDP in 2030.”

5.1 Internal Beneﬁts
5.1.1 Vision and Strategy: Companies can set direction by placing their purpose, vision, andstrategy into the context of global sustainability. The sustainability reporting process helps
to make this explicit to stakeholders.
5.1.2 Management Systems: sustainability management and reporting require management
systems; this improves the quality of information on environmental, social, economic andgovernance topics. Tracking data on these areas offers opportunities for improvement,
efﬁciency, and cost savings. One report shows that many companies have achieved anaverage internal rate of 27 percent on their low-carbon investments.
5.1.3 Strength and Weakness: Early warnings of emerging issues can help management
seize opportunities or evaluate potentially challenging developments before they emerge
as unwelcome surprises.
5.1.4 Employee Motivation: Engaging the workforce in sustainability efforts reduces
absenteeism, attracts, and retains talent and increases productivity through a motivatedworkforce. “A 2015 survey of 7,800 future business leaders from 29 countries found that 75
percent think businesses are focused on their own agendas rather than improving people,
and over 50 percent would take a pay cut to ﬁnd work that matches their values. Similarly, a
study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that morale was 55 percent
better in ﬁrms with strong sustainability programmes, employee loyalty 38 percent better, andworkforce productivity increased by 21 percent.”

5.2 External Beneﬁts
Reputation and Trust: Proactive and transparent communication about sustainability efforts builds
goodwill and reduces reputational risks in long term. It also improves product image and brand
name. More sustainable companies tend to be more trusted by consumers and B2B customers, and10trust makes customers more likely to buy.
5.2.1 Attracting Capital: Reducing risk through actions on sustainability and reporting
indicates sound management, providing potential for new sources of capital at lower costs.
“There has been a huge rise in interest in responsible and sustainable investment among asset
managers and owners and rapid growth among companies providing sustainability analysis“Now 96 percent of the world’s 250 largest companies report on sustainability or ESG. Most
fund managers now claim to include assessing sustainability performance in their investment
process.”
5.2.2 Stakeholder Engagement: sustainability reporting is a powerful tool to build or restore
trust among stakeholders – shareholders, lenders, regulators, clients, customers, employees,
and others – through continual learning, feedback and recommendation. It also allows to
anticipate growing pressure for sustainable practices as well as ensures the license tooperate.
.
5.2.3 Regulatory Compliance: A vital area of sustainability reporting is associated with theregulatory compliance of the organization in economic, environmental and social
performance. For Bangladesh, the associated regulators are DoE (Department ofEnvironment), NBR (National Board of Revenue), DIFE (Department of Inspection of
Factories and Establishments), SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) etc. Publishingsustainability report requires organizations to report on their regulatory compliance in manyof the disclosures in various sustainability standards. This enables organizations to be better
informed about applicable regulatory requirements and reporting compliance to those on
regular basis.
5.2.4 Competitive Advantage: reporting increases transparency towards stakeholders anddemonstrates good risk management while driving business development and the
optimization of business processes. “A 2014 McKinsey study found that 44 percent ofsustainable business leaders cite growth and new business opportunities as reasons fortackling sustainability challenges.18 Innovation is the key to ﬁnding them.”

6.0 About GRI standards
To remain duly adjusted to the rapidly changing business eco-system locally and globally,
companies have to gradually undertake the programs of publishing their sustainability reports.
However, sustainability report is not an assay that can be written, remaining disconnected from thereal life impacts of their activities and business relationships that the enterprises cause andcontribute to or are directly linked with, on the economy, environment and people, including impacts
on human rights.
Sustainability reports are an organizations manifestation of its commitment to sustainable
development in all its forms and intents, which is expected to be deeply embedded into its entire
business operation and value chain. Thus an organization undertakes a journey of responsible
business practices and creates a culture of sustainable development, within itself and within its
value chain.

11

To remain duly adjusted to the rapidly changing business eco-system locally and globally,
companies have to gradually undertake the programs of publishing their sustainability reports.
However, sustainability report is not an assay that can be written, remaining disconnected from thereal life impacts of their activities and business relationships that the enterprises cause andcontribute to or are directly linked with, on the economy, environment and people, including impacts
on human rights.
Sustainability reports are an organizations manifestation of its commitment to sustainable
development in all its forms and intents, which is expected to be deeply embedded into its entire
business operation and value chain. Thus an organization undertakes a journey of responsible
business practices and creates a culture of sustainable development, within itself and within its
value chain.

GRI Universal Standards
The GRI sustainability reporting Standards (GRI standards) are a modular system of interconnected
standards that can be used by any organization to report its impacts on the economy, environment,
and people, including impacts on their human rights. The GRI standards include three Universal
Standards. And they are:
GRI 1: Foundation 2021
GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021
GRI 3: material topics 2021

12

There are 3 sectors standards and 32 topic Standards that encompass the requirements ofdisclosures pertaining to impacts on economy, environment, and people. This is the status as ofnow, and as time passes, more sector and topic standards would be introduced, meeting the
evolving impact scenarios and the There are 3 sectors standards and 32 topic Standards thatencompass the requirements of disclosures pertaining to impacts on economy, environment, andpeople. This is the status as of now, and as time passes, more sector and topic standards would be
introduced, meeting the evolving impact scenarios and the stakeholder needs.
The GRI standards are compiled through a transparent, multi-stakeholder process and are issued
by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), an independent standard-setting body
created by GRI.
An organization begins by consulting GRI 1: Foundation 2021. GRI 1 introduces the purpose andsystem of GRI standards and explains key concepts for sustainability reporting. It also speciﬁes therequirements and reporting principles that the organization must comply with to report inaccordance with the GRI standards .
GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 contains disclosures that the organization uses to provide
information about its reporting practices and other organizational details, such as its activities,
governance, and policies. This information gives insight into the proﬁle and scale of the organizationand provides a context for understanding the organization’s impacts.
GRI 3: material topics 2021 provides step-by-step guidance on how to determine material topics.
GRI 3 also contains disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its process ofdetermining material topics, its list of
material topics, and how it manages each topic

Sector Standards
The Sector Standards provide information for organizations about their likely material topics. The
organization uses the Sector Standards that apply to its sectors when determining its material
topics, and when determining what information to report for the material topics.

Topic Standards
The topic Standards contain disclosures for the organization to report information about its impacts
in relation to particular topics. The topic Standards cover a wide range of topics. The organization
uses the topic Standards according to the list of material topics it has determined using GRI

13

7.0 Basic Requirements of GRI standards forsustainability reporting
7.1 Key Concepts of sustainability reporting with GRI standards :The key concepts that lay the foundation for sustainability reporting with the GRI
standards are :• Impact• Material topic• Due diligence• stakeholders

7.1.1 Impact
In the GRI standards impact refers to is deﬁned as “the effect the organization has or could haveon the economy, environment, and people, including on their human rights, which in turn can
indicate its contribution (negative or positive) to sustainable development”. Impacts can be actualor potential, negative, or positive, short-term or long-term,
intended or unintended, and reversible or irreversible. In essence sustainability
of anorganization depends on how it manages its impact, i.e., how does it prevent, mitigate, or address
the negative impacts and enhance its positive impacts.
The more an organization is focused on managing its impact, the better is the sustainability
performance of the organization.
The organization’s impacts on the economy refer to the impacts on economic systems at local,
national, and global levels. An organization can have an impact on the economy through, forexample, its competition practices, its procurement practices, and its taxes and payments togovernments. The organization’s impacts on the environment refer to the impacts on livingorganisms and non-living elements, including air, land, water, and ecosystems. An organization
can have an impact on the environment through, for example, its use of energy, land, water, andother natural resources.
The organization’s impact” on people refer to the impacts on individuals and groups, such ascommunities, vulnerable groups, or people. This includes the impacts the organization has on
people’s human rights. An organization can have an impact on people through, for example, its
employment practices (e.g., the wages it pays to employees), its supply chain (e.g., the working
conditions of workers of suppliers), and its products and services (e.g., their safety oraccessibility).
Impacts are identiﬁed and evaluated in the context of Sustainability, i.e., the global sustainability
context that includes Climate Change, Loss of Biodiversity, Ozone Depletion, Acidiﬁcation of14

Oceans etc. The sustainability Context makes the identiﬁed impacts relevant to sustainable
development, which is a modern mantra of the global community.

7.1.2 Material topics
The GRI standards deﬁne material topics as “topics that represent the organization’s mostsigniﬁcant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their humanrights”. Material topics are, on the one hand, deﬁning the organizations Sustainability, in short,medium, and long terms, and on the other hand, the information users are interested to know
information about the material topics for their decision making.
An organization may identify many impacts on which to report. When using the GRI standards, theorganization prioritizes reporting on those topics that represent its most signiﬁcant impacts on theeconomy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights. In the GRI standards,
these are the organization's material topics.
Examples of material topics are anti-corruption, occupational health and safety, economic
performance, procurement practices and water and efﬂuents. There are 32 topic standards,
however, organizations do not need to conﬁne to those while reporting on impacts. Organizations
impacts are the sole deciding factors on which topic to report.
A topic need not be limited to impacts on the economy, the environment, or people; it can cover
impacts across all three dimensions.
The process of determining material topics is informed by from the organization’s ongoing
identiﬁcation and assessment of impacts. The ongoing identiﬁcation and assessment of impacts
involves engaging with relevant stakeholders and experts and it is conducted independently of thesustainability reporting process. See section 1 in GRI 3: Material topics 2021 for more information
on determining material .

7.1.3 Due diligence
Organization causes, contributes to or are directly linked to a number of negative impacts on
economy, environment or people. Some of these impacts are known to the organization. Some arenot. Therefore, due diligence process enables organizations to address its negative impacts
effectively and rationally.
In the GRI standards, due diligence refers to the process, through which an organization identiﬁes,
prevents, mitigates, and accounts for how it addresses its actual and potential negative impacts
on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights. The
organization should address potential negative impacts through prevention or mitigation. It should
address actual negative impacts through remediation in cases where the organization identiﬁes it
has caused or contributed to those impacts.

15

The way the organization is involved with negative impacts (i.e., whether it causes or contributes tothe impacts, or whether the impacts are directly linked by its business relationships) determines how
the organization should address the impacts. It also determines whether the organization has a
responsibility to provide for or cooperate in the remediation of the impacts. The organization should
avoid causing or contributing to negative impacts through its own activities and address suchimpacts when they occur by providing for or cooperating in their remediation through legitimate
processes.
In the case of negative impacts that are directly linked to the organization’s operations, products, orservices by its business relationships, the organization should seek to prevent or mitigate these
impacts even if it has not contributed to them. In such a case, organization is not responsible forproviding for or cooperating in the remediation of these impacts, but it can play a role in doing so,
depending on the degree of leverage it has on the organization in the value chain.
Because of the high number of impacts that any organization causes, contributes to or are directly
linked with, it is imperative to do a prioritization of the impacts and carry out due diligence to address
those on a differentiated approach. If it is not feasible to address all identiﬁed impacts on theeconomy, environment, and people at once, the organization should prioritize the order in which toaddress potential negative impacts based on their severity and likelihood. In the case of potential
negative human rights impacts, the severity of the impact takes precedence over its likelihood. See
section 1 in GRI 3: material topics 2021 for more information.

7.1.4 Stakeholder
The GRI standards deﬁne stakeholders as "individuals or groups that have interests that are
affected or could be affected by the organization's activities".
Common categories of stakeholders for organizations are business partners, civil people
organizations, consumers, customers, employees and other workers, governments, local
communities, non-governmental organizations, shareholders and other investors, suppliers, tradeunions, and vulnerable groups.
In the GRI standards, an interest (or ‘stake’) is something of value to an individual or group, which
can be affected by the activities of an organization. Not all interests are of equal importance, andthey do not all need to be treated equally. Human rights have a particular status as an entitlementof all people under international law. The most acute impacts the organization can have on people
are those that negatively affect their human rights The term 'rightsholders' refers to stakeholders
whose individual human rights or collective rights (held by groups such as indigenous peoples)are or could be affected.
Stakeholder interests can be negatively or positively affected by the activities or business
relationship of the organization and due diligence focuses on identifying stakeholder interests thatare or could be negatively affected by the organization’s activities.

16

Stakeholders may not always have a direct relationship with the organization. For example, theworkers in the organization's supply chain can also be its stakeholders, or there can be individuals
or groups living at a distance from the organization's operations who can be affected or potentiallyaffected by these operations. They may not be aware that they are stakeholders of thatorganization, especially if they have not yet been affected by its activities. The organization should
identify the interests of these and other stakeholders who are unable to articulate their views (e.g.,
future generations).
Engaging with stakeholders helps the organization identify and manage its negative and positive
impacts. Not all stakeholders will be affected by all activities of the organization. The organization
should identify the stakeholders whose interests have to be considered in connection with a
speciﬁc activity (i.e., 'relevant stakeholders').Where it is impossible to engage with all relevant
stakeholders directly, the organization can engage with credible stakeholder representatives orproxy organizations (e.g., non-governmental organizations, trade unions).
In addition to engaging with stakeholders, the organization can consult with experts in speciﬁc
issues or contexts (e.g., academics, non-governmental organizations) for advice on identifying
and managing its impacts making stakeholder engagement the foundation for identifying
signiﬁcant impact on economy, environment, people and on human rights is an imperative forcompiling sustainability reports that renders value to the information users.

7.2 Applying 8 reporting Principles
The GRI standards specify eight reporting principles which are fundamental to achieving
high-quality sustainability reporting.
The reporting principles guide the organization in ensuring the quality and proper presentation of
the reported information. High-quality information allows information users to make informed
assessments and decisions about the organization's impacts and its contribution to sustainable
development (Please see the section 4 of GRI 1: Foundation 2021)

7.2.1 Accuracy
The Accuracy principle requires the organization
to report information that is correct andsufﬁciently detailed to allow an assessment of the impacts of the organization on economy,
environment, and people and on their human rights. Accuracy is a broad term which includes
detailedness of information, methodology for quantiﬁcation, measurement uncertainties, dataconsistency and repeatability etc. Without accuracy of data, the reports would mislead the report
users and cause loss of trust in the organization.
In case of estimated data, the organization should explain the underlying assumptions andtechniques used for the estimation as well as any limitations of the estimates.

17

7.2.2 Balance
The Balance principle requires the reporting organization to report information in an unbiased way
and make a fair presentation of the organization’s negative and positive impacts.
The balance principle calls for presenting information in a way that allows information users to see
negative and positive year-on-year trends in impacts. It should enable information users to
distinguish clearly between facts and the organization’s interpretation of the facts. Balance also
calls for avoidance of omission of material information that may make negative impacts obscure or
unclear, as well as, not emphasizing the positive impacts beyond what is reasonable and justiﬁed.
A balanced report should not present information in a way that is likely to inappropriately inﬂuence
the conclusions or assessments of information users.

7.2.3 Clarity
The Clarity principle requires the organization to present information in a way that is accessible andunderstandable. Speciﬁc accessibility needs of information users, associated with abilities,
language, and technology should be considered. Information users should be able to ﬁnd theinformation they want without unreasonable effort. Abbreviations, technical terms, or other jargon
likely to be unfamiliar to users should be avoided. Information should be reported in a concise way
and aggregated where useful without omitting necessary details.
Graphics and consolidated data tables should be used to make the information accessible andunderstandable

7.2.4 Comparability
The information users would desire to see the trends and performance of the organization over a
period, on top of the performance of any speciﬁc period. The Comparability principle requires theorganization to select, compile, and report information consistently to enable an analysis ofchanges in the organization's impacts over time and an analysis of these impacts relative to thoseof other organizations.
For the purpose of comparability, an organization should present information for the current
reporting period and at least two previous periods, as well as any goals and targets that have been
set. The metrics used should be internationally accepted ones and standard conversion factors
and protocols should be used.
The report should provide contextual information and present the current disclosures alongsiderestatements.

18

7.2.5 CompletenessCompleteness principle requires organization to provide sufﬁcient information to enable anassessment of the organization’s impacts during the reporting period.
This can be achieved by presenting activities, events, and impacts for the reporting period inwhich they occur. This includes reporting information about activities that have a minimal impact inthe short-term, but a reasonably foreseeable cumulative impact that can become unavoidable orirreversible in the long-term. Completeness also means not omitting information that is necessary
for understanding the organization’s impacts.
If the information for a disclosure or a requirement in a disclosure for which reasons for omission
are permitted is unavailable or incomplete, then the organization is required to provide a reason foromission. When information is incomplete, the organization is required to specify with part ismissing.

7.2.6 Sustainability context
This principle requires an organization to prepare the report within the wider context of sustainable
development.
Sustainable development has been deﬁned as ‘development which meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. The objective ofsustainability reporting using the GRI standards is to provide transparency on how an organization
contributes or aims to contribute to sustainable development. For this purpose, the organizationneeds to assess and report information about its impacts in the wider context of sustainable
development.
The major sustainability issues should be part of the report, e.g, climate change, biodiversity,ozone depletion, chemical pollution, corruption, impacts on human rights etc.
The report should provide ample understanding of the reports users about how the organization iscontributing positively or negatively towards sustainable development.
In order for the report to be prepared in the context of sustainability, the organization needs to draw
on objective information and authoritative measures on sustainable development to report
information about.
its impacts (e.g., scientiﬁc research or consensus on the limits and demands placed on
environmental resources).
It needs to report information about its impacts in relation to sustainable development goals andconditions (e.g., reporting total greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions as well as reductions in GHG
emissions in relation to the goals set out in the United Nations [UN] Framework Convention on
Climate Change [FCCC] Paris Agreement [4]).
The organization should report information about its impacts in relation to societal expectations

19and expectations of responsible business conduct set out in authoritative intergovernmental
instruments with which the organization is expected to comply (e.g., Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development [OECD] Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights) and in other recognized sector-speciﬁc, local, regional,
or global instruments.
When an organization is operating in a range of locations, it should report information about its
impacts in relation to appropriate local contexts (e.g., reporting total water use, as well as water
use relative to the sustainable thresholds and the social context of Given catchments).
Understanding the sustainability context provides the organization with critical information todetermine and report on its material topics (see GRI 3: material topics 2021). The GRI Sector
Standards describe the sectors’ context and can help the organization understand its
sustainability context.

7.2.7 Timeliness
The Timeliness principle requires the organization to report information on a regular schedule andmake it available in time for information users to make decisions.'
The usefulness of information is closely tied to whether it is available in time for information users
to integrate it into their decision-making. Thus, the Timeliness principle refers to how regularly andhow soon after the reporting period the information is published.
The organization should report the information for the same reporting period as covered in its
ﬁnancial reporting and publish the information at the same time as its ﬁnancial reporting.'

7.2.8 Veriﬁability
The veriﬁability principle requires organization to gather, record, compile, and analyze informationin such a way that the information can be examined to establish its quality.
For enhancing veriﬁability, organization should set up internal controls and organize documentationin such a way that individuals other than those preparing the reported information (e.g., internal
auditors, external assurance providers) can review them.
Organization should be able to provide representation from the original sources of the reported
information, attesting to the accuracy of the information within acceptable margins of error.
The uncertainties associated with the reported information should be clearly explained.

7.3 Types of sustainability report to undertake
The GRI Universal Standards 2021 allows one way of reporting in accordance with the GRI
standards, replacing the previous Core and Comprehensive options in the GRI Universal
Standards 2016. An organization can still report with reference to the GRI standards. (Refer to the20section 3 of GRI1: Foundation 2021, for more information about reporting in accordance with orwith reference to GRI standards )7.4 Requirements for reporting in accordance with the GRI standards
There are nine requirements an organization must comply with to report in accordance with the GRI
standard. They are:7.4.1 Apply the reporting principles: As mentioned earlier, there are 8 reporting principles
and those need to be applied in the report.
7.4.2 Report the disclosures in GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021. General disclosuresprovide information about the organization's reporting practices and other organizational
details, such as its activities, governance, and policies. This information gives insight into the
proﬁle and scale of the organization and provides a context for understanding theorganization's impacts. Disclosures provide contextual information of the organization whichenables the information users to understand the organization’s impacts.
7.4.3 Determine the material topics: To determine material topics, the organization identiﬁes
and assesses its impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on
their human rights, while engaging with relevant stakeholders and experts. Impacts can be
actual or potential, negative, or positive, short-term, or long-term, intended or unintended, andreversible or irreversible.
The signiﬁcance of an actual negative impact is determined by the severity of the impact(scale, scope, and irremediable character), while the signiﬁcance of a potential negative
impact is determined by the severity and likelihood of the impact. The signiﬁcance of an actual
positive impact is determined by the scale and scope of the impact, while the signiﬁcance ofa potential positive impact is determined by the scale and scope as well as the likelihood of
the impact.
Then, the organization prioritizes its most signiﬁcant impacts for reporting and, in this way,
determines its material topics.
The organization should deﬁne a cut-off point or threshold to determine which of the impacts it
will focus its reporting on. The signiﬁcance of an impact is the sole criterion to determine
whether a topic is material for reporting.
Section 1 in GRI 3: material topics 2021 provides step-by-step guidance for organizations on
how to determine material topics.
It is important to note that the success of Materiality Assessment is the most important
determinant of the value of the sustainability Report in the eye of a information user. Henceample care must be exercised to determine material topics that truly represent the impacts of
the organization on economy, environment and people, including on the human rights.

21

7.4.4 Report the disclosures in GRI 3: material topics 2021GRI 3: material topics 2021
contains three disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its processof determining material topics, its list of material topics, and how it manages each
topic.Reasons for omission are only permitted for Disclosure 3-3 Management of material
topics.
7.4.5 Report disclosures from the GRI topic Standards: for each material topic. For eachmaterial topic, the organization needs to identify disclosures from the GRI topic Standards toreport. The organization is required to report only those disclosures relevant to its impacts inrelation to a material topic. The organization is not required to reportdisclosures that are not relevant.Reasons for omission are permitted for all disclosures fromthe topic Standards.
For each topic in the applicable GRI Sector Standards determined as material, theorganization is required to report the disclosures from the GRI topic Standards listed for that
topic. If any of the topic Standards disclosures listed in the Sector Standards are not relevantto the organization's impacts in relation to the material topic, the organization is required to list
these disclosures in the GRI content index, provide the 'not applicable' reason for omission,and to brieﬂy explain why the disclosures are not relevant.
The organization is required to comply with this requirement only if GRI Sector Standards that
apply to its sectors are available.
When reporting the topic Standards disclosures listed in the Sector Standards, theorganization can use any of the four reasons for omission if it cannot comply with thedisclosure or with a requirement in the disclosure.
It is important to understand that there are 2 separate steps here – ﬁrstly, to ensure all the likely
material topics contained in a Sector Standard are reviewed carefully and22none is excluded from its list of material topics, unless it is adequately established that a
particular likely Material topic is not relevant speciﬁc to the organization, and secondly, toomit those disclosures from topic Standards which are not applicable using the reason foromission as “not applicable”. The organization then goes on to report on the disclosures
which are applicable, taking those from the topic Standards. At this stage, if due to somereason reporting on any of the applicable disclosures is not possible, the organization will
use the appropriate reason for omission.
7.4.6 Provide reasons for omission for disclosures and requirements that the organization
cannot comply with: If the organization cannot comply with a disclosure or with a requirement in
a disclosure for which reasons for omission are permitted, the organization is required to specify
the disclosure or the requirement it cannot comply with in the GRI content index. It is also required
to provide one of the permitted reasons for omission and the required explanation for that reason.
The four permitted reasons for omission are: not applicable, legal prohibitions, conﬁdentiality
constraints, and information unavailable / incomplete.All omissions need to be explained in thereport so that the information user can understand
why the relevant information is missing and when those would be made available.

7.4.7 Publish the GRI Content Index: The information reported using the GRI standards can be
published or made accessible in a range of formats (e.g., electronic, paper-based) across one ormore locations (e.g., a standalone sustainability report, web pages, an annual report). The GRI
content index provides an overview of the organization's reported information, shows where
the information can be found, and helps information users access this information. The
content index also shows which GRI standards and disclosures the organization has used.
Requirement 7 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 speciﬁes the requirements for the content index.

23

Appendix 1 in GRI 1 provides guidance on how to prepare the GRI content index when reportingin accordance with the GRI standards. It includes an example that the organization can use toprepare the content index.
7.4.8 Provide a Statement of Use: The organization is required to include the following
statement in the GRI content index:[Name of organization] has reported in accordance with the GRI standards for the period[reporting period start and end dates].
The organization is required to insert the name of the organization and the start and end dates
of its reporting period in the statement, for example:'ABC Limited has reported in accordance with the GRI standards for the period from 1 January 2022
to 31 December 2022.'
7.4.9 Notify GRI:
The organization is required to notify GRI of the use of the GRI standards and the statement ofuse by sending an email toreportregistration@globalreporting.org.
• The legal name of the organization.
• The link to the GRI content index.
• The link to the report, if publishing a standalone sustainability report.
• The statement of use.
• A contact person in the organization and their contact details.
There is no cost involved in either using GRI standards or for registration of the reports.

7.5 Requirements for reporting with reference to the GRI standards
An organization can report with reference to the GRI standards if it cannot comply with all therequirements for reporting in accordance with the GRI standards. The organization should
transition to reporting in accordance with the GRI standards in time as it will provide acomprehensive picture of the organization's most signiﬁcant impacts on the economy,
environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights.
The organization can also report with reference to the GRI standards if it uses selected GRI
standards , or parts of their content, to report information about speciﬁc topics for speciﬁc
purposes, such as complying with a reporting regulation on climate change.
The organization must comply with the following three requirements to report with reference to the
GRI standards:

24

* Publish a GRI content index* Provide a statement of use* Notify GRI
For compiling the GRI Index for reporting with reference to GRI standards, following elements are
required:i. the title: GRI content index
ii. the statement of useiii. the title of GRI 1 used
iv. a list of the reported disclosures from the GRI standards, including the disclosure titles
v. the titles of the GRI standards that the reported disclosures come fromvi. the location where the information reported for each disclosure can be found.

If it publishes a standalone sustainability report and the GRI content index is not included in thereport itself, provide a link or reference to the GRI content index in the report.
The statement of use for a report prepared with reference to the GRI standards can be as below:[Name of organization] has reported the information cited in this GRI content index for the period[reporting period start and end dates] with reference to the GRI
Standards.

7.6 Integrating SDGs in the sustainability report
The new normal for iness areTransparency,
ResponsivenessandResponsible
Business
Conduct.
Transparency is speciﬁcally called for in
Target 12.6 of the SDGs, to encouragecompanies to adopt sustainable practices
and integrate sustainability information into
theirreporting. Throughsustainability
reporting, organizations can better
understand their own impacts on economy,
environment, and people, including on
human rights and communicate relevant
information.
This
again
enablesorganizations to manage their impacts andcontribute to the SDGs. The SDGs are the blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable
future for allThey address the global challenges we face, such as ending poverty and hunger,
reducing inequalities, tackling climate change, and protecting the environment, and building
strong institutions and partnerships. The 17 Goals are all interconnected and have to be25

implemented by 2030.
There is a role of sustainability reporting in advancing the SDGs. Information available in thesustainability report allows investors to channel investment to more responsible businesses andthus achievement of SDGs becomes possible.

The KPMG survey of 1141 companies from 7 industries in 31 countries show thata.

72% of the companies analyzed publicly mentioned the SDGs in their
published reportsb.

34% of those (25% of all companies analyzed) mentioned the SDGs in
sections of their reporting that discussed business strategyc.

21% speciﬁcally mentioned the SDGs in the statement from seniordecision-makers

d.

65% of the companies analyzed mentioned speciﬁc goals
There are 3 speciﬁc resources available in
the GRI website prepared jointly by GRI and
UN Global Compact that guide anorganization into integrating the SDGs in its
sustainability report. This means that thereport would report information on its mostsigniﬁcant impacts, along with its
contribution, positive or negative, towards
achieving the sustainable development
Goals. Integration of SDGs in sustainability
reporting is to be achieved through anumber of steps. Those are:26

7.6.1 Deﬁning Priority SDG Targets: here the organization needs to understand the 17 SDGs and
169 targets in the context of the organization, its activities and business relationship. It then has
to conduct Principled Prioritization of the SDG Targets. Principled Prioritization is a process to
identify the priority SDG targets for an organization to focus on to contribute to achieving the
SDGs. The principles used for this prioritization are:7.6.1.1 Assessing risks to people and the environment (entry point A): the contribution every
company can make to achieving the SDGs by meeting its responsibility to address potential
and actual negative impacts to people and the environment thatare linked to its operations and value chains.
7.6.1.2 Identifying beneﬁcial SDG-related products, services and investments (entry point
B): the additional contribution that companies can make to achieving the SDGs by applying
their knowledge, skills, and other capabilities to beneﬁt people and the environment.
7.6.1.3 Deﬁning the SDG related Report Content: here the organization needs to do
additional work in line with assessment of the material topics, so that the Materiality
Assessment process takes input from the Prioritized SDG Targets along with the signiﬁcant
impacts on Economy, Environment and Society, including impacts on Human Rights. This
allows the report to contain information on how the organization has contributed to achieving
certain SDG targets (i.e., Prioritized SDG Targets), through its management of impacts anddue diligence.
7.6.2 Measure and Analyze: Here the organization needs to identify and align its objectives andstrategies to contribute to the SDG targets that it has prioritized. In this step, the organization
focuses on setting objectives, selecting indicators to measure its impacts and analyzing its
performance against the SDGs.
There are 3 distinct steps through which the measurement and analysis can be executed.
7.6.2.1 When addressing the priority SDG targets based on priority risks to people and theenvironment, organization needs to identify strategies and speciﬁc objectives that go
beyond just avoiding harm, to ﬁnd opportunities to maximize positive outcomes. This will
support systemic and durable change and will help the company secure its license tooperate as well.
7.6.2.2 Once you have established objectives to contribute to each of your priority SDG
targets, identify the indicators you will use to measure progress against them. To adequately
report impacts, combine qualitative and quantitative (e.g., numerical metric, ratio, or
percentage) disclosures17. Qualitative disclosures provide narrative information on how andwhy a company identiﬁes, analyzes, and responds to its actual and potential impacts.

27

7.6.2.3 After an organization has selected indicators for measuring and reporting on itspriority SDG targets, the next step is to identify and collect quantitative and qualitative data
in relation to each indicator on a regular basis. Data relevant to its performance as priority
SDG targets might already exits within the company. As always, stakeholder engagement,
including engagement with internal stakeholders, can be helpful in this process. Rely on
existing data if it is relevant to company performance on the objectives set in relation to thepriority SDG targets.
Where data is not available for evaluating whether the company is achieving its objectives inrelation to SDG priorities, the organization needs to establish new indicators. Indicators
should be speciﬁc, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). It is bestpractice to assign indicators to a single owner and have appropriate management to monitor
progress towards the established objectives on a regular basis.
7.6.3 Report, integrate and implement change: Based on the outcomes of step 2, this step setsout what is needed for putting together the content of the sustainability report and reviewing
internally the implementation of change. This is performed in 3 distinct phases, which are:7.6.3.1 Consider General Feature of Good Reporting Practices: Organization needs toconsider general features of good practice when reporting on the SDGs. reporting on SDGs
should be based on established international reporting frameworks whenever practical.
Examples of relevant standards and reporting frameworks in the publication An Analysis of
the Goals and Targets.
Internal reporting to management and the board is useful for resource allocation andintegration of your SDG strategy into the company’s business model. External reporting to theshareholders and stakeholders fosters their constructive engagement in your company’s
overall performance and areas
for improvement.
SDG-related information is to be included in the sustainability report
to demonstrate how the SDGs are integrated into the company’s priorities and objectives(business strategy). The organization presents its priority SDG targets and its overall
performance in the broader context of sustainability.
7.6.3.2 Consider Data Users’ Information Needs: At this stage, the organization needs toconsider data users’ information needs. SDG reporting should provide shareholders andother stakeholders with a basis for their insights and decisions regarding the SDG
performance of the organization. While considering the information users’ need for
information, organization should consider the information needs of multiple information users
as discussed below:
Investor Community: Investors have an increasing interest in SDG-related data to assess
risks, including risks related to companies, and new business opportunities. The assessmentof business impacts on the SDGs can inﬂuence investors’ decisions to help them better28

represent the values of their clients and offer differentiated sustainable ﬁnancial products,
while understanding their own SDG impacts across their portfolios. To have sounddecision-making, investors are seeking information on how companies are transforming theircompetitive advantage in relation to the SDGs into business results and on how relevant theSDGs are to overall company strategies.
For more information on this, use the guideline In Focus: Addressing Investors Needs in
Business reporting on the SDGs.
Civil Society: Civil people organizations assess SDG performance and hold companies
accountable as well as press for more transparency. These organizations can help improve
the SDG performance of an organization by providing expertise, becoming valuable partners
in liaising with affected communities and when engaging in relevant multi-stakeholder
dialogues on the SDGs.
Consumers and academia: Consumers might increasingly demand more sustainableproducts and services and base their choices on the assessment of corporate sustainability
information, including information on performance on the SDGs. Academia can use
corporate sustainability disclosures for their research and analysis.
7.6.3.3 Report and Implement Change: At this stage the organization needs to report andimplement changes. Organization needs to assess if it is meeting the objectives it had set inrelation to its priority SDG targets. It needs to identify improvements achieved and include
this information in the sustainability reports.
The organization also needs to review and assess its reporting cycle. For example,
synchronizing the internal reporting cycle with the external publishing of sustainability reportsaves lot of unnecessary works.
The organization needs to use the SDG reporting as a basis for driving informed
decision-making and integrating the SDGs into the strategy of the company. This canstimulate innovation and help the organization design products and services
that will contribute to achieving the SDGs. For further guidance on this, the organizationneeds to refer to The Blueprint for Business Leadership on the SDGs28, An Analysis of theGoal and Targets and other tools and publications.Guidelines and concepts about
integrating the SDG in sustainability reports can be easily visualized using the so called“SDG Compass” which graphically provides the sequence and subparts of each of the 3
main elements of this process. The SDG compass can be seen below.

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8. Way Forward
Dhaka Stock Exchange and GRI have collaborated to support and guide companies throughworkshops and tools like the “Guidance Document for Writing sustainability report Using GRI
Universal Standards 2021” This guidance provides an introduction to the GRI standards and thesustainability reporting process so that your company can take the ﬁrst step in its sustainability
reporting journey. This document intends to provide easy to follow guidance and explanation of the
GRI standards so that the challenges you may face while preparing your sustainability report for
the very ﬁrst time may be supported.
Unless an organization embarks on the sustainability reporting process, it will not realize various
practical difﬁculties and their resolutions.
We strongly encourage you to start preparing your ﬁrst report so that you can learn the process
through hands on experience, supported by the GRI standards and this document.

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Appendix 1
Changes between GRI Universal Standards 2021 and GRI Universal
Standards 2021
For better understanding of the changes in the GRI Universal Standards
2021 and GRI Universal Standards 2016, please refer to the following
document:
Mapping Between GRI 2021 and GRI 2016(https://globalreporting.org/search/?query=Mapping)31

Appendix 2
Additional Reference Documents for Writing
Sustainability Report0132

Appendix 3
Process of sustainability reporting in AccordanceWith the GRI standards
Some of the key points that a reporting organization needs to consider while
preparing a sustainability report:
01.
02.

03.

04.
05.

06.

07.
08.
09.
10.

11.

Make a high-level decision, endorsed by the Top Management for starting to publish
sustainability reports. .
Identify and select the sustainability reporting team that will co-ordinate the reporting
process. It is recommended that the company has a team of staff members,
preferably representing each of the departments in the company.
Choose the format of sustainability report, ie, hard copy, interactive online, pdf, aspart ofannual report etc.
Create internal awareness and get commitment about the process of compilingsustainability report and the project to publish the sustainability report.
Reach agreement on the action plan for the reporting process. This involves theactivities and decisions that are to be taken at each stage of the reporting process.
The plan should also include budget estimations and staff resources where
necessary.
Hold meetings with the company’s staff members to explain what is going to be done,
why. This is important for the company and what will be expected from different
departments at different stages of the reporting process. This should be thebeginning of ongoing communication with staff to ensure that there is understanding
and commitment across the company throughout the reporting process.
Consider your organization’s purpose, mission, visions, strategy, market, internal andexternal issues, sector proﬁle and determine the context of your organization.
Understand the broader sustainability Context that relates to the context of yourorganization.
Consider the proﬁle of your organization in terms of activities, services, products, andthe value chain.
Understand the actual and potential stakeholders and rightholders, including theinvestors, customer, supplier, regulators, civil people, communities, proxystakeholders, workers, government, whether affected actually or potentially, etc
Determine the existing method of engagement with the stakeholders and design therequired method of engagement with the relevant stakeholders whose views needs tobe addressed for determining the material topics, Priority SDG Targets and Salient
Human Rights that needs to be made part of the report. .

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12.

13.

14.
15.

16.
17.

18.

19.
20.

21.

22.

23.

Analyze organization’s activities, products, services, and the value chain tounderstand impacts on economy, environment, and people, including the impacts onhuman rights, by way of operations and business relationships of your organization.
Follow the guidance in GRI 3: Material topic, section 1, step1, 2, 3 and 4.
Consider SDG related materiality while executing step 06 above. Be guided bysection 1: deﬁne SDG Targets of the document “Integrating the SDGs in Corporate
reporting: A Practical Guide”.
Consider Human Rights related impacts in line with United Nation’s Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Determine the most signiﬁcant impacts that your organization causes, contributes to,or is directly liked with on economy, environment, and people, including on humanrights. Group these impacts into a set of consistent topics (the material topics) that r
epresent the most signiﬁcant impacts.
Prepare the list of the material topics and get and approval of the Top Management
about the selection of the material topics.
If there is a Sector Standard available, check your identiﬁed material topics against t
he likely material topics advised in the Sector Standards. Either adopt all those topics
or, in case some are not relevant to your organization, mention them in the GRI
Content Index and provide the reason why that are not applicable.
Identify disclosure that needs to be reported on for each material topics from topic
Standards. When there is a Sector Standard available, report on each requirementand disclosure from topic Standards for each Material topic. If there is no Sector
Standard, then report on all the disclosures from material topics.
If any requirement or disclosure is not possible to report on as in step 11 above,
mention the disclosure in the GRI Index and explain the reason for omission.
There are certain requirements and disclosures which can not be excluded at all.
Those are, disclosure 2-1 to 205 in section 1 of GRI 2: General Disclosure, anddisclosures 3-1 and 3-2 of GRI 3: material topics. If any of these are excluded fromthe report, the report is not eligible for claim of being “in accordance with” the GRI
Universal Standards 2021
Review organizations policy, strategy, mission, vision, governance, management
systems, structure, and other policies and processes and align them with the actions
needed to address the identiﬁed signiﬁcant impacts and the determined material
topics.
Set up a monitoring and measurement system to collect information and data, with
due level of accuracy and precision, along with a process of data analysis and data
representation,
Collect and analyze data, information, feedback, and opinions and put them into thesustainability report.

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24. Integrate SDG information in the report.
25. Consider information users information need and ensure all those
information is available in the sustainability report.
26. Communicate with Stakeholders about content of the report andintegrate any opinion of the those.
27. Create a story like that best ﬁts your taste, the information to bereported, and the purse the report should serve,
28. Create a GRI Content Index as per GRI 1: Foundation.
29. Prepare a Statement of Use.
30. Ensure the 8 principles which are expected to be followed in writing asustainability report have been met.
31. Publish the sustainability report.
32. Communicate to GRI as per the section 3, requirement 9 of GRI 1:
Foundation
33. Communicate to the Stakeholder and information users.
34. Showcase the report appropriately.

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