Initiatives
GRI ... Global Reporting Initiative

STEPS TOWARDS STANDARDIZATION

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

STEPS TOWARDS STANDARDIZATION ​The growing need to recognize GRI as a formal standard for the disclosure of non-financial information was highlighted recently by a response from GRI’s Chairman, Christianna Wood, to an article published in the Financial Times (FT) on 20 May.

​The original FT article – headed ‘Give investors access to all the information they need’ and written by Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Mary Schapiro, former chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission – commented on the need for standardization on the disclosure of sustainability information.

In her reply, published in the FT on 27 May, Ms. Wood pointed out that “Of the more than 5,000 companies that have been reporting on their sustainability issues over the past year, almost 80 percent did so with reference to the GRI’s framework. To date, government ministries and market authorities in 23 countries have referred to or recommended the GRI guidelines in their policy and regulatory instruments.”

She welcomed the recent EU directive on non-financial reporting – which also refers to GRI – acknowledging it a positive development and commented that, for similar initiatives to flourish, information and guidance on sustainability reporting needs to be standardized globally.

While GRI has long been accepted as ‘de facto standard setter’ in providing sustainability reporting guidance, the formal recognition of its pre-eminence in this field needs further strengthening. To this end, GRI has announced its intention to adjust its governance structure, following a Public Comment Process, in order to demonstrate that it meets all the requirements and responsibilities expected of a publicly referenced standard setter.