Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
biodiversity@globalreporting.org

Item 07 – GRI Topic Standards
Project for Biodiversity – TechnicalCommittee terms of reference
For GSSB information
Date

19 October 2021

Meeting

21 October 2021

ProjectGRI Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity

Description

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) has identified the review ofGRI 304: Biodiversity 2016 as a priority project for commencement in 2021.
This paper presents the Terms of Reference outlining the mandate of theTechnical Committee for the GRI Topic Standards Project for Biodiversity(Biodiversity Technical Committee) for information of the GSSB.

1This document has been prepared by the GRI Standards Division and is made available to observers
at meetings of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB). It does not represent an official
position of the GSSB. Board positions are set out in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. TheGSSB is the independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit
www.globalreporting.org.

© GRI 2021

2

Contents
Terms of Reference ................................................................................................................................ 3
Background ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Mandate of the Biodiversity Technical Committee .............................................................................. 3
Scope of work .................................................................................................................................. 3
Responsibilities of other parties ....................................................................................................... 4
Additional considerations ................................................................................................................. 4
Composition of the Technical Committee ............................................................................................ 5
Selection criteria .............................................................................................................................. 5
TC commitments ................................................................................................................................. 6
Public communications protocol .......................................................................................................... 6
Appendix 1. Project timeline and milestones....................................................................................... 8Appendix 2. Meeting schedule .......................................................................................................... 10Contact
Email: biodiversity@globalreporting.org

Page 2 of 10

3Terms of Reference

456

These Terms of Reference outline the mandate of the Technical Committee for the GRI TopicStandards Project for Biodiversity (Biodiversity Technical Committee), including its selection andappointment, primary objectives and time commitments.

7Background89

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), GRI’s independent standard-setting body, has
identified the review of GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016 as a priority project for commencement in 2021.

10111213

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

14151617181920

The primary objective of this GRI Topic Standards Project for Biodiversity is to develop a Topic
Standard that enables an organization to publicly disclose its most significant impacts on biodiversity
and how the organization manages these impacts and improve the global comparability and quality ofreported information on these impacts. The review of GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016 will bring the contentof this Standard in line with internationally agreed best practice and relevant authoritativeintergovernmental instruments, and with recent development in the field of biodiversity. It will be
carried out following the GSSB Due Process Protocol.

21

See the project proposal for more information.

22

Mandate of the Biodiversity Technical Committee

232425262728

Topic Standards are developed using multi-stakeholder expertise, authoritative intergovernmental
instruments, and other relevant evidence. The Biodiversity Technical Committee is to contribute theirexpertise to the revision of the Topic Standard for Biodiversity. The overall work of the Biodiversity
Technical Committee should support sustainability reporting as promoted by the GRI SustainabilityReporting Standards (GRI Standards), which is to provide transparency on how an organization
contributes or aims to contribute to sustainable development.

29

Scope of work

30
31

The Biodiversity Technical Committee (TC) will be responsible for reviewing GRI 304: Biodiversity
2016 for the consideration of the GSSB.

32

The TC will be tasked with providing recommendations on:

33•

revising the existing ‘Background context’ information within GRI 304;

34•

developing the topic management disclosures, considering contents in35

the existing management disclosures section within GRI 304, including:o36

developing new requirements, recommendations, and guidance;

37
38

•

ensuring the revised management disclosures are compatible for organizations to use
together with GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.

3940•developing topic disclosures for biodiversity, building on the existing topic disclosures (alongwith their related reporting requirements, recommendations and guidance) including:41orevising the existing content;

42
43

o

developing new disclosures, requirements, recommendations, and guidance toaddress areas not currently covered by the Standard.

Page 3 of 1044•

revising and updating the existing Bibliography related to biodiversity.

4546

•

revising existing definitions in the GRI Standards Glossary and, where applicable, developing
new ones.
which GRI Sector Standards content related to biodiversity should be revised to ensurealignment and consistency with the revised Topic Standard for Biodiversity.

•47
48
49
5051

The TC will also be responsible for proposals to delete existing content, where applicable. This may
be the case when content is outdated or not useful for reporting an organization’s impacts onbiodiversity. The TC may also provide recommendations on considerations that may be relevant toother GRI Topic Standards. Changes to the overarching GRI system of standards, like the ‘inaccordance criteria’, are not within the remit of the TC.

52

Responsibilities of other parties

53

The Standards Division is responsible for:•overall project management and ensuring compliance with the GSSB Due Process Protocol;•

facilitating, providing logistical support and preparing materials for TC meetings;•maintaining an online collaboration platform for the TC;•engaging with the GSSB and other GRI Governance bodies;•engaging other experts and interested parties in a peer review and on an as needed basis;•coordinating public exposure of the draft Topic Standard, including collecting andsummarizing feedback for consideration by the TC;•undertaking research to support the development of the Topic Standard; and•drafting the content of the Topic Standard.

5455
56
5758

The Standards Division will draft the Topic Standard and other relevant deliverables in accordancewith the recommendations of the TC and in accordance with template and house rules forterminology, style and presentation. The Standards Division will also be responsible for editing thestylistic and grammatical presentation of the deliverables to ensure consistency with existing GRI
documents.

59
60
6162
63
64

The GSSB votes on the approval of the final draft Topic Standard for public exposure and the finalcontent of the Topic Standard. The GSSB will review the drafted contents and may ask the TC toconduct further research and/or develop the draft recommendations further. TC members should becommitted to support the revision of draft contents in addition to the development of these contents.
Further information on the role and authority of the GSSB can be found in the GSSB Due ProcessProtocol.

65

Additional considerations

6667
68

The revision of GRI 304 is to be carried out within the existing structure and template of the GRI TopicStandards, including preserving the hierarchy, coherence and implementation approach of theGRI Standards as outlined in GRI 1: Foundation 2021.

69

The Standards Division will provide the TC with a template structure to refer to in revising the content.

7071
72

The TC should ensure that the revised Topic Standard is applicable to organizations of any size, type,
sector or geographic location; and that it reflects and supports best practice of biodiversity
management reporting, while remaining accessible and practicable for a global user base.

7374

The TC should aim to develop disclosures (and related methodologies) that are clear, consistent, andfocused on the measurement and reporting of impacts on biodiversity.

7576

The TC should seek to revise content in line with international authoritative instruments, and otherrelevant standards and developments.

Page 4 of 10

77
78
79
80
81

The TC should aim to develop topic descriptions that are clear, consistent, and focused on impacts
from a sustainable development perspective. Content should also seek to be in line with key
authoritative inter-governmental instruments (such as instruments of the United Nations, theInternational Labour Organization, and the OECD) and consider the content of other business andhuman rights reporting frameworks.

82
83

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

84

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

85

Composition of the Technical Committee

86
87
88
89

It is anticipated that the Technical Committee (TC) will have up to 15 members. The TC will aim tohave at least one person drawn from each of the stakeholder constituencies on which themembership of the GSSB is based: business enterprises, investment institutions, labor, civil society,and mediating institutions.

90
91

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

92

Table 1: Descriptions of stakeholder constituencies represented on the TCa) An enterprise (other than a mediating or investment institution) that has
Businessbeen established in order to generate a profit for the benefit of its
enterpriseinvestors or owners; orb) An organization representing the collective interests of those falling into
category ‘a’.
Investment
institution

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

Labor

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

Civil society

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

Mediatinginstitution

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

93

A GSSB sponsor(s) may join TC meetings.

94

Selection criteria

95
96
97
98
99

In accordance with the GSSB Due Process Protocol, members of the TC are appointed by the GSSB.
The principal criterion for selecting the TC is relevant knowledge and experience relating to businessand biodiversity, including ecosystems. This includes familiarity with the goals and targets of theConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and experience in identifying and measuring impacts ofbusinesses on biodiversity.

100
101

Members shall be available and able to participate in TC meetings held in English, review the draftsand provide written English feedback when requested.

102

In addition, the following criteria will be considered:103•

relevant knowledge of sustainability reporting on biodiversity;

Page 5 of 10

104•familiarity with the needs of users of sustainability reports;

105•

related experience with multi-stakeholder initiatives;

106
107

•

understanding of and willingness to work in a consensus-based, multi-stakeholder working
group.

108

TC commitments

109

TC members are expected to:

110
111

•

act in an individual capacity, exclusively in the public interest, and according to due process
as defined in the GSSB Due Process Protocol;

112
113

•

review the materials provided by the Standards Division in advance of TC meetings, in order
to be able to actively participate;

114
115

•provide timely feedback on documents or other materials distributed by the Standards
Division;

116•work in the manner that aims at achieving consensus.

117
118

The revision of the Biodiversity Standard is expected to take up to 12 months following theappointment of the TC. See the timeline included in Appendix 1.

119
120
121
122
123
124

A total time commitment of 75 hours across the entire project is estimated for each TC member.
Members commit to attending up to 25 hours of meetings and reviewing the draft Standard for aminimum of three times during that period. TC members also commit to plan sufficient time to preparefor meetings, review other materials and engage in supplementary content creation methods. It isestimated that this may result in up to 50 hours of time commitment across the project (excluding any
necessary travel time).

125
126
127
128

Meetings and other engagement methods will vary depending on the needs of the TC and the project.
Commonly used methods include virtual TC meetings, sub-group meetings and or workshops, anduse of digital content creation platforms. The use of these methods will also take into account any
travel restrictions or risk factors related to Covid-19.

129
130
131

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

132
133

In the event of an in-person meeting (which we do not foresee at this moment), TC members will be
asked to attend a two-day meeting in Amsterdam (excluding travel time).

134

See Appendix 2 for the proposed minimum meeting schedule and an itemized time commitment.

135
136
137

TC members volunteer their time. There is no fee or compensation associated with participation in theTC. Upon request, TC members will be eligible for travel and accommodation reimbursement for inperson meetings, in accordance with GRI policies.

138

Public communications protocol

139
140
141

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

142
143
144
145

The names and bios of members will be published on the GRI website. Members are welcome topublicize their participation in, and the activities of the TC, in channels such as press releases or onsocial media. Members are asked to work with the Standards Division or GRI’s communication team
to coordinate any such activity ahead of time.

146

TC members are advised to use the following when referring to their participation in this process:Page 6 of 10

147
148
149

“[name of member] has been appointed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), GRI’s
independent standard setting body, to serve on the Biodiversity Technical Committee to help thereview of GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016.”

150

These links are also available at the project website.

Page 7 of 10

Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
biodiversity@globalreporting.org

Appendix 1. Project timeline and milestones

151

Phases and milestones•

Phase 1 – Project initiation and commencement

152
153

Research phase, project proposal prepared: approved by GSSB: September 2021

154

Formation Technical Committee, approval TC members by GSSB: October 2021

155•

Phase 2 – Content development

156
157

Initial scoping - Interviews with individual TC members, and drafting a preliminary discussion
paper by the GRI Standards Division: November 2021

158

TC review and input to the development of the exposure draft: December 2021 – March 2022

159

Technical and editorial review, final TC agreement on the exposure draft: March 2022

160

Exposure draft is submitted to the GSSB for approval for public exposure: March 2022

161•

Phase 3 – Public exposure

162

Draft Topic Standard is launched for public consultation: April 2022

163

Public comments are collected and analyzed: May 2022
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 2021

164

•

Phase 4 – Standard revision

165
166

Based on the analysis of public comments, the Standards Division will develop proposed
revisions to the draft Standard: May-June 2022

167
168
169

Comment analysis and proposed revisions to the draft Standard are presented to the TC forreview and consideration. Recommendations for revision of relevant content in the Sector
Standards is discussed in TC meetings: June – July 2022

170
171

Final content of the draft Standard and recommendations to revise the Sector Standards arediscussed in meeting with the TC: August 2022

172
173
174

Final Standard and recommendations are submitted to GSSB for approval: September 2022
•Phase 5 - Standard approval and publication

Page 9 of 10

Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
biodiversity@globalreporting.org

175

Appendix 2. Meeting schedule

176
177
178
179
180
181

The following table outlines the minimum number of meetings expected to occur throughout thecourse of the project. Engagement as a technical committee is currently predicted to be completely
virtual as it is anticipated that international travel and in-person meetings may still be challenging. If
this changes, an in-person meeting may be planned and replace some virtual engagements. In thiscase, the TC will be provided with sufficient notice and scheduling will be subject to member
availability.

182
MeetingTime commitment

Approximate dateMeeting 1

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

December 2021

Meeting 2

2-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review
of preparatory materialsJanuary 2022

Meeting 32-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review
of preparatory materials

February 2022

Meeting 44-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review
of preparatory materials

March 2022

Public exposure period

183
184
185
186

Meeting 52-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review
of preparatory materials

June 2022

Meeting 62-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review
of preparatory materials

July 2022

Meeting 72-hour virtual meeting + 2 hours review
of preparatory materials

September 2022

In addition to the meetings listed above, it is expected that the TC member will provide input before
meeting 1 via one or more interviews, review the draft Standard in-full several times, three times prior
to the public exposure and twice following, and participate in stakeholder engagement activities during
the public exposure period and to support the launch of the Standard as relevant.

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 2021