GRI cheat sheet

GRI 1 sets the purpose, structure, and reporting principles of the GRI Standards and is applied together with GRI 2 and GRI 3.

The Universal Standards are GRI 1, GRI 2, and GRI 3; Topic Standards are numbered in the 200 (economic), 300 (environmental), and 400 (social) series.

The eight reporting principles in GRI 1 are accuracy, balance, clarity, comparability, completeness, sustainability context, timeliness, and verifiability.

Reporting 'in accordance with GRI Standards' requires applying all three Universal Standards, reporting every GRI 2 disclosure, determining material topics under GRI 3, and reporting topic disclosures for each material topic.

A report prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards includes a statement to that effect and the organization notifies GRI of the use.

The reporting process sequence is: apply reporting principles; determine material topics; report GRI 2 general disclosures; report GRI 3 and topic-specific disclosures.

If an applicable Sector Standard exists, the organization uses it to identify likely material topics and to report the sector-specific disclosures.

When prior-period information is restated, GRI 2-4 requires disclosure of the reason and the effect of the restatement.

GRI 2 contains 30 general disclosures grouped into organizational details and reporting practices (2-1 to 2-5), activities and workers (2-6 to 2-8), governance (2-9 to 2-21), strategy and policies (2-22 to 2-28), and stakeholder engagement (2-29 to 2-30).

GRI 2-1 reports legal name, ownership and legal form, headquarters location, and countries of operation.

GRI 2-2 reports entities included in sustainability reporting; GRI 2-3 reports reporting period, frequency, and contact point.

GRI 2-4 covers restatements; GRI 2-5 covers external assurance policy and practice.

GRI 2-7 reports employees by gender, region, and contract type; GRI 2-8 reports workers who are not employees.

GRI 2-9 to 2-21 cover governance structure, nomination and selection, chair role, oversight of impacts, delegation, reporting role, conflicts of interest, critical concerns, collective knowledge, performance evaluation, and remuneration.

GRI 2-22 to 2-28 cover strategy statement, policy commitments, embedding policies, remediation, advice and concerns mechanisms, compliance, and membership associations.

GRI 2-29 covers stakeholder engagement and GRI 2-30 covers collective bargaining agreement coverage.

All GRI 2 disclosures are required for in-accordance reporting; if a disclosure is not applicable, the organization states that.

GRI 3 requires three disclosures: 3-1 process to determine material topics, 3-2 list of material topics, and 3-3 management of each material topic.

Material topics are those that represent the organization's most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including human rights.

GRI 3 uses impact materiality: actual and potential, negative and positive impacts are assessed regardless of whether they are financially material.

The four-step process is: understand the organizational context; identify actual and potential impacts; assess the significance of impacts; prioritize the most significant topics.

Significance assessment considers scale, scope, irreversibility, and likelihood for potential impacts.

GRI 3-1 reports how stakeholders were engaged, how impacts were identified and assessed, the criteria used, and any changes to the process.

GRI 3-2 lists material topics and any changes from the prior period, including where impacts occur in the value chain.

GRI 3-3 reports the management approach for each material topic: policies, commitments, goals, responsibilities, resources, actions, grievance mechanisms, remediation, and tracking effectiveness.

The 200 series covers economic topics: 201 Economic Performance, 202 Market Presence, 203 Indirect Economic Impacts, 204 Procurement Practices, 205 Anti-corruption, 206 Anti-competitive Behavior, and 207 Tax.

The 300 series covers environmental topics: 301 Materials, 302 Energy, 303 Water and Effluents, 304 Biodiversity, 305 Emissions, 306 Waste, 307 Environmental Compliance, and 308 Supplier Environmental Assessment.

The 400 series covers social topics, including 401 Employment, 403 Occupational Health and Safety, 405 Diversity and Equal Opportunity, 406 Non-discrimination, 408 Child Labor, 409 Forced or Compulsory Labor, and 413 Local Communities.

Topic Standards are applied only when the topic is material; management approach is reported under GRI 3-3 and topic-specific data under the relevant Topic Standard disclosure.

GRI 305-1 reports gross direct Scope 1 GHG emissions in metric tons of CO2 equivalent; 305-2 reports energy indirect Scope 2 emissions; 305-3 reports other indirect Scope 3 emissions.

GRI 302-1 reports total energy consumption within the organization; 302-3 reports energy intensity using an organization-specific denominator.

GRI 306-3 reports total waste generated by type and disposal method; 306-4 and 306-5 cover waste diverted from disposal and directed to disposal.

GRI 403 covers occupational health and safety management, worker participation, hazard identification, incidents, and worker health promotion.

GRI Sector Standards identify likely material topics and sector-specific disclosures for organizations in a defined sector; they supplement the Universal and Topic Standards.

Published sector standards include GRI 11 Oil and Gas, GRI 12 Coal, GRI 13 Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing, and GRI 14 Mining.

An organization uses an applicable Sector Standard to identify material topics and report sector disclosures; the GRI 3 materiality process still applies.

Sector Standards do not replace GRI 1, GRI 2, or GRI 3; they add sector context and disclosure requirements.

Sector Standard applicability is determined by the organization's activities and the sector definition in the standard, not by headquarters location.

Sector-specific disclosures use the sector standard number, for example GRI 11 disclosures, and are reported alongside relevant Topic Standard disclosures.

If no Sector Standard applies, the organization determines material topics using GRI 3 and reports the relevant Topic Standards.

Sector Standards are developed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board with multi-stakeholder input and public consultation.