Sector Standards Project for Financial Services
Standards for banking, capital markets and insurance
Public Comment Period closed
The exposure drafts of the GRI Sector Standards for banking, capital markets, and insurance were made available for public comment between 5 March and 31 May 2025. Submissions to the consultation will be published on this page.
The Global Sustainability Standards Board is now reviewing comments received. The final Standard is expected to be approved in Q2 2026.
Sector Standards for banking, insurance and capital markets
Financial services organizations are intermediaries between all other economic actors, allocating capital through investments, channeling funds from savers to borrowers, facilitating payments, and allowing people and companies to transfer risk. The significance of these sectors lies in their central position in the economy, in which few activities would function without credit, insurance, capital markets or payment services.
Financial services organizations have impacts through their operations - such as employment practices, customer privacy, and financial inclusion, - and their business relationships, including their customers and investees, such as impacts on biodiversity, local communities and rights of Indigenous Peoples, and child labor. By financing, investing in, or insuring activities, these organizations enable various sectors to operate, facilitating both positive and negative impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including their human rights.
About this project: development of the Standards
In February 2023, the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) approved the project proposal for the development of the banking, capital markets, and insurance Sector Standards, as part of priority group one. Sectors are prioritized based on the significance and magnitude of their impacts,
In July 2023 the GSSB appointed three multi-stakeholder Technical Committees to develop Standards for Banking, Capital Markets and Insurance sectors. Each Committee consists of financial service experts representing civil society, mediating institutions, business enterprises, labor and investment institutions with expertise in impacts and reporting expectations for these sectors.
Since their establishment, the three committees are providing technical advice for the development of Standards contents. To address the overlap between these three sectors, the technical committees collaborate through cross-sector exchanges to align the approach on reporting impacts from shared activities, like capital allocation.
For more information about the responsibilities of the Technical committees, see the Terms of Reference.
The project follows the GSSB Due Process Protocol, which oversees the development of the GRI Standards accordingly.
If you have questions or would like more information about the Financial Services project please contact [email protected].
Project Overview
Q3 2023
Appointment of Technical Committees
Q3 2023 – Q4 2024
Development of exposure draft
Q1 - Q2 2025
Public comment period
Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
Consideration of public comment and revision of Standards
Q2 2026
Expected release of Standards
Related Documents
| GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services –Explanatory Memorandum to the exposure drafts for Banking, Capital Markets, and Insurance | file | 14 Feb 2025 | English | 233 KB | |
| GRI Sector Standards Project for Financial Services – Banking exposure draft | file | 20 Feb 2025 | English | 2 MB | |
| GRI Sector Standards Project for Financial Services – Capital Markets exposure draft | file | 20 Feb 2025 | English | 2 MB | |
| GRI Sector Standards Project for Financial Services – Insurance exposure draft | file | 20 Feb 2025 | English | 1.9 MB | |
| GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services – External FAQs | file | 28 Feb 2025 | English | 195 KB | |
| GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services – Exposure drafts public comment questionnaires | file | 04 Mar 2025 | English | 565 KB | |
| GRI Sector Program Description | file | 07 Feb 2019 | English | 449 KB | |
| Draft GSSB Work program 2023-2025 | 21 Nov 2022 | English | |||
| GRI Sector Standard project for Financial Services - Project proposal | file | 20 Feb 2023 | English | 288 KB | |
| GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services - Banking Technical Committee member biographies | file | 02 Apr 2025 | English | 121 KB | |
| GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services - Capital Markets Technical Committee members | file | 02 Apr 2025 | English | 427 KB | |
| GRI Sector Standard Project for Financial Services - Insurance Technical Committee members | file | 02 Apr 2025 | English | 428 KB |
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