Human rights features added to GRI reporting standards plus first sector standard for oil and gas

Risk standard-setter GRI has rolled out revised and strengthened reporting standards used by more than 10,000 companies, which it said will increase transparency in corporate non-financial risk with the most significant update since it began setting standards in 2016. Updated standards now incorporate human rights disclosures and due diligence. Companies are being encouraged to begin early adoption of universal standards ahead of the changes taking effect for reports from 1 January 2023. The updated universal standards, which follow consultation last year, “strengthen the very foundations of all reporting”, GRI said, and will position users to respond to new regulatory disclosure requirements, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. The universal standards form the core of GRI’s reporting standards and consist of GRI 101: Foundation, GRI 102: General disclosures, and GRI 103: Management approach. GRI said the new-look universal standards “provide the first and only reporting standards to fully reflect due diligence expectations for organisations to manage their sustainability impacts, including on human rights”. Judy Kuszewski, chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board, which initiated the update, said: “With the most significant change since the GRI Standards launched in 2016, the revised Universal Standards set a new global benchmark for corporate transparency. Fully addressing gaps between the available disclosure frameworks and intergovernmental expectations for responsible business, including human rights reporting, they will enable more effective and comprehensive reporting than ever before.” The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights welcomed the alignment of GRI standards with UN guidance, and the potential for more companies to report their impact on human rights. “We need the right tools to speed up and scale up implementation of the Guiding Principles, therefore I encourage all companies to apply the Universal Standards, demonstrating how they are fulfilling their responsibility to respect human rights,” said Dante Pesce, member of the UN human rights working group. Alan Jorgenson, head of the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct, said: “Applying a risk-based due diligence approach across all major areas of business ethics – not just for human rights but to environmental impacts and corruption as well – is the best way for business to ensure that risks are identified, avoided or addressed effectively.” GRI has also published its first sector standard for the oil and gas industry, in the first of 40 sectors that will be assigned specific standards. GRI said the oil and gas standard would “unlock” reporting on the sector’s sustainability challenges and its transition to a low-carbon future. The standard covers 22 topics, from climate adaption and resilience to biodiversity and the rights of indigenous people. Users will have to both disclose direct greenhouse gas emissions and indirect emissions caused by the end use of their products. The sector standard will come into effect for reporting companies from 1 January 2023, with GRI expected to launch a sector standard for coal in early 2022. Mia D’Adhemar, senior manager, GRI sector programme, said: “The urgent need to quicken the transition to a low-carbon economy, and mitigate the effects of climate change, is clear for all to see. By committing to transparency through the GRI Sector Standard, oil and gas organisations can demonstrate that they want to be a part of the solution, highlighting the business case for change.”

Human rights features added to GRI reporting standards plus first sector standard for oil and gas

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