gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

Item 02 – GRI Topic Standard Projectfor Biodiversity – Proposed member
for Technical Committee
For GSSB Approval
Date

10 March 2023

Meeting28-29 March 2023

Project

Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity

Description

In accordance with the approved project proposal, the GSSB established atechnical committee in November 2021 and appointed independent experts withrelevant knowledge and expertise to support and advise in the content
development process.
This document presents a revised membership for the GRI Biodiversity TechnicalCommittee for approval by the GSSB.

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

© GRI 2023

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Contents
Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Background ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Selection criteria ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Proposed technical committee expert ..................................................................................................... 4

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Background3

The GSSB approved the GRI Topic Standard Project for Biodiversity - Final project proposal on 23

4September 2021. In addition, the GSSB confirmed its intention to form a technical committee (TC) to5

develop the revised GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016.

6The technical committee provides biodiversity-specific technical expertise to ensure a comprehensive

7

revision of GRI 304. The members represent diverse, multi-stakeholder backgrounds and bring an

8excellent combination of relevant knowledge and experience in biodiversity.

9The GSSB approved the membership of the GRI Biodiversity Technical Committee in November 2021

10after the presentation of the proposed members at their meeting in October 2021. The GSSB

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approved one additional technical committee member from the business enterprise constituency

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during its November 2021 meeting.

13

Since the approval of the membership in November 2021, one business enterprise representative,

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Jonty Knox, has taken on a new role within Rio Tinto and is no longer in a position to participate in the15technical committee. He has therefore withdrawn his membership to the Biodiversity Technical16

Committee. An alternative business enterprise candidate has been identified to ensure continuity in17

perspective and maintain business representation within the technical committee.

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Selection criteria

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The principal criterion for selecting the experts for the technical committee was relevant knowledge

20and experience relating to business and biodiversity, including ecosystems. This includes familiarity

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with the goals and targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and experience in identifying and22

measuring the impacts of businesses on biodiversity. When selecting suitable candidates, the23

following was considered:24•

relevant knowledge of sustainability reporting on biodiversity;

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

26•

related experience with multi-stakeholder initiatives;

27•

understanding and willingness to work in a consensus-based, multi-stakeholder workinggroup;

28
29

•

working level of English.

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Proposed technical committee

31expert32

Below presents the background and experience of the proposed expert for membership to the33

Biodiversity Technical Committee for GSSB approval. Personal information has been excluded.
Constituency:

Business Enterprise

Title:

Principal Advisor Biodiversity, Environment Area of Expertise

Organization:

Rio Tinto

Region of Work:

GlobalExtract of background and experience:
As an environmental professional, they have worked for 13 years in consulting, research, oil andgas, and mining sectors with experience in Australia, Senegal, Myanmar, New Zealand, andCambodia.
This work has spanned approvals and operational roles in mining and offshore oil and gas; marine
ecology and fauna research; oil spill response execution; marine fisheries spatial planning andprotected area assessment; environmental assurance; carbon abatement; terrestrial field
monitoring and development of ESIAs and EMPs. Their technical experience lies in ecology,marine science, spatial science, and environmental management.
Currently, their role involves the administration of the Rio Tinto biodiversity standard andimplementation of external biodiversity and reporting standards. In addition, they provide technicalbiodiversity, environmental management, and strategic support for activities across a range ofgeographies, mining lifecycle stages, and within Iron Ore, Copper, Minerals, and Aluminium.

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