Watch the video of this presentation here

GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018
Introduction
28 June 2018

About the GRI Standards• The GRI Standards are the most widely used framework forsustainability reporting. They provide the common language fororganizations to report publicly about their impacts on theeconomy, the environment, and society• Reporting publicly drives improvement within organizations andinforms decision makers such as investors or governments• The GRI Standards are structured as a set of interrelated,modular standards. They include:• Three universal Standards that apply to every organization
preparing a sustainability report• 33 topic-specific Standards (on e.g., water, occupational health andsafety, anti-corruption) for reporting on the identified materialtopics

Review of GRI 303
Development process• The Standard is issued by the Global Sustainability Standards
Board (GSSB), GRI’s independent standard-setting body,following its Due Process Protocol• The Standard has been developed through a transparent andinclusive process and in the public interest, including:• input from an expert multi-stakeholder working group, withrepresentatives from civil society, investors, business andinternational and governmental institutions• nearly 800 comments from stakeholders received on the exposure
draftsPlease visit the GRI website for more information about the standard
setting process and the development of this Standard

Review of GRI 303
Working group members:•ACTIAM•

Aditya Birla Group

•

CDP

•

Ceres

•

Glencore

•

Guess

•

Heineken•Industrial Development Corporation ofSouth Africa•

International Council on Mining and Metals(ICMM)•International Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN)•

Sustainability Standards Accounting Board(SASB)•

The Pacific Institute•

UN PRI•

World Resources Institute (WRI)•World Wildlife Fund (WWF)Development process• The Standard is issued by the Global Sustainability Standards
Board (GSSB), GRI’s independent standard-setting body,following its Due Process Protocol• The Standard has been developed through a transparent andinclusive process and in the public interest, including:• input from an expert multi-stakeholder working group, withrepresentatives from civil society, investors, business andinternational and governmental institutions• nearly 800 comments from stakeholders received on the exposure
draftsPlease visit the GRI website for more information about the standard
setting process and the development of this Standard

Why review GRI 303?
Objectives• To reflect internationally-agreed best practice and recent
developments in water stewardship and reporting• To harmonize with other reporting frameworks and address theneeds of various stakeholder groups:• Metrics, concepts, and data collection methodology from the CEO
Water Mandate Corporate Water Disclosure Guidelines and CDP
Water Questionnaire 2018 have been included• The Standard is grounded on the Sustainable Development Goals

Key features of updated GRI 303• New specific management approach content, to focus on how
water is managed as a shared resource and how impacts aremanaged at a local level• Revised water discharge content from GRI 306: Effluents and Waste
2016, including more detail on reporting the quality of waterdischarges• New disclosure to report water consumption, to measure waterthat is not returned to the environment• Greater emphasis on measuring impacts in areas with water stress,
to understand impact in the most sensitive locations

Key features of updated GRI 303• Provisions have been introduced to allow flexibility with reportingon both critical freshwater resources, as well as other water that anorganization is managing• New recommendations to report facility level information forwater withdrawal and water consumption• New quantitative and qualitative content to report impacts in thesupply chain, to start changing the status quo in how organizations
consider these impacts• Updated terminology and extensive guidance on how to compile
the data

Overview of disclosures
Management approach disclosures
303-1 Interactions with water as a shared resource
303-2 Management of water discharge-related impacts
Topic-specific disclosures
303-3 Water withdrawal
303-4 Water discharge
303-5 Water consumption
Each disclosure can have additional requirements on how to compile orpresent the information, along with recommendations and guidanceManagement approach disclosures
Disclosure 303-1 Interactions with water as a shared resourcea.

A description of how the organization interacts with water, including how andwhere water is withdrawn, consumed, and discharged, and the water-related
impacts caused or contributed to, or directly linked to the organization’sactivities, products or services by a business relationship (e.g., impacts causedby runoff).

b. A description of the approach used to identify water-related impacts, including
the scope of assessments, their timeframe, and any tools or methodologies
used.
c.

A description of how water-related impacts are addressed, including how theorganization works with stakeholders to steward water as a shared resource,and how it engages with suppliers or customers with significant water-relatedimpacts.

d. An explanation of the process for setting any water-related goals and targets
that are part of the organization’s management approach, and how they relate
to public policy and the local context of each area with water stress.

Management approach disclosures
Disclosure 303-2 Management of water discharge-related impactsa.

A description of any minimum standards set for the quality of effluent
discharge, and how these minimum standards were determined, including:i.
how standards for facilities operating in locations with no local discharge
requirements were determined;
ii. any internally developed water quality standards or guidelines;iii. any sector-specific standards considered;iv. whether the profile of the receiving waterbody was considered.

Topic-specific disclosures
Disclosure 303-3 Water withdrawala.

Total water withdrawal from all areas in megaliters, and a breakdown of thistotal by the following sources, if applicable:i.
Surface water;
ii. Groundwater;iii. Seawater;
iv. Produced water;v. Third-party water.

b. Total water withdrawal from all areas with water stress in megaliters, and abreakdown of this total by the following sources, if applicable:i.
Surface water;
ii. Groundwater;iii. Seawater;
iv. Produced water;v. Third-party water, and a breakdown of this total by the withdrawal
sources listed in i-iv.
(continues on next slide)Topic-specific disclosures
Disclosure 303-3 Water withdrawal (continued)c.

A breakdown of total water withdrawal from each of the sources listed inDisclosures 303-3-a and 303-3-b in megaliters by the following categories:i.
Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids);
ii. Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids).

d. Any contextual information necessary to understand how the data have been
compiled, such as any standards, methodologies, and assumptions used.

Important information for compiling the data:•Required to use publicly available and credible tools and methodologies to assess areas with water stress

Definition of ‘freshwater’:water with concentration of total dissolved solids equal to or below 1,000 mg/L

Topic-specific disclosures
Disclosure 303-4 Water dischargea.

Total water discharge to all areas in megaliters, and a breakdown of this total
by the following types of destination, if applicable:i.
Surface water;
ii. Groundwater;iii. Seawater;
iv. Third-party water, and the volume of this total sent for use to otherorganizations, if applicable.

b. A breakdown of total water discharge to all areas in megaliters by thefollowing categories:i.
Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids);
ii. Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids).
c.

Total water discharge to all areas with water stress in megaliters, and a
breakdown of this total by the following categories:i.
Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids);
ii. Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids).
(continues on next slide)Topic-specific disclosures
Disclosure 303-4 Water discharge (continued)d. Priority substances of concern for which discharges are treated, including:i.
how priority substances of concern were defined, and any international
standard, authoritative list, or criteria used;
ii. the approach for setting discharge limits for priority substances ofconcern;iii. number of incidents of non-compliance with discharge limits.
e. Any contextual information necessary to understand how the data have beencompiled, such as any standards, methodologies, and assumptions used.
Important information for compiling the data:•Guidance on how to define substances of concern

Definition of ‘freshwater’:water with concentration of total dissolved solids equal to or below 1,000 mg/L

Topic-specific disclosures
Disclosure 303-5 Water consumptiona.

Total water consumption from all areas in megaliters.

b. Total water consumption from all areas with water stress in megaliters.
c.

Change in water storage in megaliters, if water storage has been identified ashaving a significant water-related impact.

d. Any contextual information necessary to understand how the data have been
compiled, such as any standards, methodologies, and assumptions used,
including whether the information is calculated, estimated, modeled, orsourced from direct measurements, and the approach taken for this, such as
the use of any sector-specific factors.
Definition of ‘water consumption’:sum of all water that has been withdrawn and incorporated into products, used in the production of crops orgenerated as waste, has evaporated, transpired, or been consumed by humans or livestock, or is polluted to the pointof being unusable by other users, and is therefore not released back to surface water, groundwater, seawater, or athird party over the course of the reporting period
Important information for compiling the data:•

Recommended formula for calculating water consumption:water consumption = water withdrawal – water discharge

Topic-specific disclosures
Important guidance supporting compilation of data for all topic-specific disclosures

Changes to the GRI Glossary
New and updated terms:•

catchment•

effluent•

freshwater•

groundwater•produced water•runoff•seawater•surface water•

third-party water•

water consumption•

water discharge•

water stewardship•water storage•

water stress•water withdrawal

How to use this StandardRequirements for reporting disclosures in accordancewith the GRI Standards
Standards/Disclosures

CoreComprehensiveAllAllManagement approach disclosures
Disclosures 303-1 to 303-2

AllAllTopic-specific disclosures
Discloures 303-3 to 303-5

At least one

All

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016
Disclosures 103-1 to 103-3
GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018

Reasons for omisison apply for Disclosures 103-2 and 103-3 and all disclosures in GRI 303

How to use this Standard
Date by which the use of this Standard becomesmandatory

Effective date• The use of this Standard is required for reports or other materialspublished on or after 1 January 2021. Earlier adoption isencouraged• GRI 303: Water 2016 can continue to be used for reports or othermaterials published on or before 31 December 2020
Advice for new and existing reporters• New reporters are advised to start reporting with the new 2018
Standard• Existing users of GRI 303: Water 2016 are advised to start thetransition to the new 2018 Standard as soon as possible

Available resources

Frequently asked questions• Consult the frequently asked questions about this Standard on theGRI Standards website• For any questions that are not covered in the FAQ, send an email
to standards@globalreporting.org
Translations• Translations into key languages will be available from Q4 2018.
Keep an eye on the GRI Standards website for the upcomingtranslation scheduleAvailable resources (continued)

Sign up for the live webinars• 19 September (9-10 AM CEST). Register for free here.
• 19 September (4-5 PM CEST). Register for free here.

Download the GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018
Standard here.

THANK YOU
www.globalreporting.org/WaterStandardReview
standards@globalreporting.org
Amsterdam – Beijing – Bogota – Johannesburg – New Delhi – New York – São Paulo