Project Update

A multi-stakeholder Technical Committee and subgroup members have been appointed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) in May 2023. The role of the Committee for the Climate Change Standard(s) will be to provide technical expertise for the development of the content of the Standards, with the objective of having the public exposure draft(s) ready by the end of 2023. The Technical Committee will be supported by the members of the subgroup who will provide insights on specific topics.

The (GSSB) approved the project for Climate Change Final Proposal in February 2023. The project will follow the GSSB's Due Process Protocol, the implementation of which will be overseen by the Due Process Oversight Committee. Get familiar with the GSSB Terms of Reference for more details.

About this project

The primary objective of this project is to review and revise GRI climate change-related Standards and to incorporate new issues that reflect stakeholder expectations on climate change impacts that go beyond energy consumption and GHG emissions. As part of the revision of GRI Climate Change Standard(s), the project will review the content of GRI 302: Energy 2016, GRI 305: Emissions 2016 (Disclosures 305-1 to 305-5), and GRI 201: Economic Performance 2016 (Disclosure 201-2: Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change). Disclosure 201-2 will be revised to avoid duplication of requirements with other standards that focus on climate change-related financial disclosures.

The objective of the revision is to represent internationally agreed best practice and align with the recent developments and the relevant authoritative intergovernmental instruments in the field of climate change, GHG emissions and energy consumption.

The project will not be limited to reviewing the current contents of existing GRI climate change-related disclosures. It will also incorporate new topics such as transition plan, GHG emissions reduction targets, consideration of a just transition, as well as beyond value chain mitigation. The impacts that a transition to keep global temperatures below 1.5 C° can have on employers and workers, local communities, and other vulnerable groups and stakeholders is of particular relevance and importance for GRI. Topics such as beyond value chain mitigation will be researched and considered with particular attention on the impacts on local communities, vulnerable groups, and other stakeholders, including their human rights.

The development of Climate Change Standard(s) will enable organizations to publicly disclose their most significant impacts on climate change issues and how they are managing those impacts.

The importance of Climate Change Standard(s)

As part of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) Work Program 2020-2022, the review of climate change-related disclosures in GRI 302: Energy 2016, GRI 305: Emissions 2016 (Disclosures 305-1 to 305-5), and GRI 201: Economic Performance 2016 (Disclosure 201-2: Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change) was identified as a priority for 2022.

Since the GRI Standards and disclosures on climate change-related issues were last revised in 2013, the topic of climate change has received significant attention at the international level and in the global sustainable development agenda. This attention is in line with the increasing recognition of the need for more effective climate action, as recognized in the Paris Agreement (2015) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s reports as well as the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Read the Project Proposal for more information.