What are the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines?

The Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are the core element of the Reporting Framework. They outline content that is broadly relevant to all organizations regardless of size, sector, or location. All organizations seeking to report using the GRI framework should start with the Guidelines.

What is a Sector Supplement?

Sector Supplements are developed to overcome the limitations of a one-size-fits-all approach and help capture the unique set of sustainability issues faced by different industry sectors (e.g., apparel, financial). Supplements complement, but do not replace, the Guidelines. Indicators from final versions of Sector Supplements are considered to be "core".

What is an Indicator Protocol?

An Indicator Protocol is the "recipe" behind each Performance Indicator and include definitions for key terms in the indicator, compilation methodologies, intended scope of the indicator, and other technical references.

What is a National Annex?

To be developed in the future, National Annexes will contain reporting guidance that reflects the unique circumstances and issues found at the country or regional level. This may include relationship of the GRI Guidelines to existing national-level mandated reporting requirements, or guidance on unique sustainability issues faced in the region. Annexes will be developed to be used in conjunction with the Guidelines, not in place of them.

What are Reporting Principles?

Reporting principles are integral to the reporting framework, equal in weight to the Standard Disclosures. The Principles ensure that reporter makers and report users share a common understanding of the underpinnings of a GRI-based report. For defining report content, apply the Principles of materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, and completeness. For ensuring report quality, use the Principles of balance, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity, and reliability. In the Guidelines, each Principle comes with a short definition, a longer explanation as to its relevance, and a short list of self-tests that can be used to apply the Principle.

What are Standard Disclosures?

Standard Disclosures are found in part 2 of the Guidelines. They consist of three different types of disclosures:

• Profile: These disclosures help the organization set the context for readers to understand its sustainability issues and approach. Profile disclosures cover: Strategy & Analysis, Organizational Profile, Report Parameters, and Governance, Stakeholder Engagement, & Commitments
• Management Approach: These disclosures help the organization set the context for understanding its performance results. Management Approach Disclosures include: Goals and Performance; Policy; Organizational responsibility; Training and Awareness; Monitoring and Follow-Up; Certifications; and Additional contextual information.
• Performance Indicators: These disclosures are used to communicate performance results. Indicators are organized by sustainability category for ease of reference – economic, environment and social. The social indicators are further categorized into labor practices, human rights, product responsibility, and society.  

What is the difference between "core" and "additional" indicators?

Both types of indicators have emerged from the GRI multi-stakeholder consultative process over the past decade as valuable measures. Core indicators are relevant to most reporting organizations and of interest to most stakeholders. Additional indicators either represent leading practice, or provide information of interest to stakeholders who are particularly important to some reporting entities. Additional indicators are deemed worthy of further testing for possible consideration as future core indicators. Core indicators should be considered for reporting unless deemed not material through the application of the Reporting Principles, whereas additional indicators can be looked upon as optional.

Why did GRI identify core indicators if every company has different key performance issues?

Taken together, the core indicators represent the issues and items that report makers and report users have identified as generally relevant and essential to comparability and transparency during the GRI multi-stakeholder Guidelines development processes over nearly a decade. Since every company is unique, there will be variations, but the core indicators serve as a generally applicable starting point for preparing reports.

How do I communicate with stakeholders how much of the Reporting Framework I have followed?

By using the GRI Applications Level system. Upon completion of your report check it against the GRI Applications Level criteria. There are three levels, C, B, and A. Plus (+) level status is available at each level (C+, B+, A+) and indicates that external assurance was utilized for the report. Criteria for each level reflects wider coverage of the GRI Reporting Framework (Guidelines and Supplements). Make a statement in your report declaring the reporting level achieved. It is optional to ask an assurance provider and/or the GRI secretariat check your self-declaration.

You can learn more at Application Level FAQs.

How are components of the Reporting Framework created and improved?

When a new GRI Reporting Framework component needs to be created (such as a new Sector Supplement), or an existing component needs to be updated (such as the recent work with the G3 Guidelines) GRI convenes groups of experts that discuss, in a consensus-seeking approach, the contents of the component and agree on the indicators and guidance that it should contain. These experts always represent a balance across geographies and stakeholder backgrounds (business, labor, civil society, professional organizations, etc.). There is always an opportunity for the public to get involved in these processes, mainly in the form of a public posting for a 90-day period of the component under development where everyone is welcome to submit their comments on how it is shaping up. There are various other sub-processes associated with the development process, including research, piloting, surveys, etc.