Quick Guide: Key Sustainability Disclosure Regimes: GRI standards

The GRI Standards enable organisations to report, voluntarily, on their most significant impacts on the economy, environment and people, including human rights impacts and how these are managed. 

The GRI applies the concept of “impact materiality” - focusing on the effects of organisational activities beyond financial outcomes. This differs from, for example, the International Sustainability Standards Board (“ISSB”) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) frameworks, which are based on “financial materiality”, and from the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”) under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”), which use “double materiality” (both financial and impact).

The first GRI Guidelines were published in 2000. In 2021, the GRI was established as an independent non-profit organisation. The Guidelines were updated multiple times until 2016, when the GRI transitioned from issuing guidelines to setting global standards for sustainability reporting - the GRI Standards.

The GRI Standards cover a broad range of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) topics, including human rights, labour practices, biodiversity, energy and emissions.

According to the GRI website, more than 14,000 organisations in over 100 countries report using the GRI Standards.

The ISSB and GRI have both commented that their respective standards are complementary – for example, entities using the ISSB Standards could choose to also report using the GRI Standards to cover both the financial and impact aspects of their activities. 

Voluntary  

The GRI Standards first became available in October 2016, replacing the previous GRI G4 Guidelines from 1 July 2018. 

The Universal Standards were updated in July 2021 and came into effect on 1 January 2023. Any sustainability reports published from that date, which claim to use GRI, must apply the revised GRI Universal Standards 2021.

The GRI Standards are structured as a system of interrelated standards, organised into three series:            

• GRI Universal Standards:

1. GRI 1: Foundation 2021 specifies the requirements that an organisation must meet to report in accordance with the GRI Standards.
2. GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 includes disclosures for the organisation to provide information about its reporting practices and organisational details, such as activities, governance, and policies.
3. GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 provides guidance on how to determine material topics. It also includes disclosures for reporting information about the process of identifying material topics, the list of material topics, and how each topic is managed.

• GRI Sector Standards provide information for organisations on their likely material topics. Organisations use the applicable Sector Standards for their sectors when determining material topics and reporting on each one.
• GRI Topic Standards contain disclosures for reporting impacts relating to specific topics. Organisations use the Topic Standards according to the list of material topics determined using GRI 3.

To report “in accordance with” the GRI Standards, an organisation must comply with several requirements set out in the Standards. 

If an organisation cannot comply with all these requirements, it can state that it has prepared the reported information “with reference to” the GRI Standards, subject to certain conditions, including notifying the GRI. 

The GRI aims to develop standards for 40 sectors, beginning with those that have the greatest impact.

The following Sector Standards have been released: 

• Oil and Gas (GRI 11)
• Coal (GRI 12)
• Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing (GRI 13)
• Mining (GRI 14) 

The Sector Standards for textiles and apparel, as well as banking, capital markets, and insurance, are currently under development. 

GRI 102: Climate Change requires an entity to disclose information about its transition plans, including policies and actions, alignment with the latest scientific evidence, expenditures incurred in implementing the transition plan, transition targets, governance aspects, and integration within the organisation’s overall business strategy.

The GRI does not require entities to produce a transition plan if they do not have one, or to publish an existing plan. If an entity does not have a transition plan, it may report this and explain the reasons or describe any plans to develop one.

According to the joint statement from the GRI and the IFRS (which oversees the ISSB), GRI 102 complements the work of the Transition Plan Taskforce (“TPT”), including requirements related to transition planning with a focus on impacts. 

The GRI Standards align with other frameworks and initiatives, such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”), ISSB Standards and SASB Standards, among others. 

See GRI collection of documents for information on the connections between the GRI Standards and other frameworks. 

More specifically, for interoperability between the GRI Standards and the: 

• ESRS under the CSRD, see here and here;
• ISSB Standards, see here and here;
• Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (“TNFD”), see here and here. 

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (“GSSB”) develops a new work programme every three years, which includes projects to review existing GRI Standards and develop new ones. 

The latest updates to the GRI Standards include: 

• In January 2024, the GRI updated its Biodiversity Standard (GRI 101), which will come into effect on 1 January 2026.
• In June 2025, the GRI released two revised standards: GRI 102: Climate Change and GRI 103: Energy. These standards support the disclosure of climate-related and energy impacts and show how entities manage these impacts in line with global sustainability goals. Both standards will take effect on 1 January 2027.
• The GRI is revising eight labour-related Topic Standards. GSSB approval of all revised standards is planned for the second half of 2026.
• The Sector Standards are being aligned with the new Biodiversity, Climate Change and Energy Topic Standards. Exposure drafts for these aligned Sector Standards were available for public comment until 13 July 2025, with final aligned standards planned for release by January 2026.
• The GRI plans to review and update the set of Topic Standards related to economic impact. GSSB approval of the revised standards is expected in Q2 2026.
• The GRI is preparing new pollution-related disclosures, aimed at facilitating reporting on emissions to air, soil, and water, including management strategies for emissions and responses to critical incidents. Drafts are expected to be available for public comment in Q1 2026.
• Exposure drafts of the GRI Sector Standards for banking, capital markets, and insurance were available for public comment until May 2025. The final standard is expected to be approved in Q2 2026.
• The Textiles and Apparel Sector Standard exposure draft is available for public comment until 28 September 2025, with release of the final standard planned for Q2 2026.

• GRI homepage
• GRI Standards by language - the GRI Standards are developed in English, with authorised translations in 10 languages.
• Questions and answers
• Reporting support

• Blog post - GRI materials on the interaction between EU ESRS and GRI Standards
• Blog post - GRI and TNFD publish interoperability mapping on nature and biodiversity disclosures