GRI Unveils New Climate, Energy Reporting Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has released two updated sustainability reporting standards — GRI 102: Climate Change and GRI 103: Energy — designed to improve corporate accountability and support transparent climate-related disclosures. 

The updated standards, announced during Climate Action Week in London, reflect the Global Sustainability Standards Board’s (GSSB) prioritization of climate change-related disclosures, following a marked increase in stakeholder demands for transparency on climate action. According to GRI, these demands now go beyond emissions and energy consumption, encompassing broader environmental, economic, and social impacts.

GRI 102: Climate Change includes new requirements that focus on the development and disclosure of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. These include transition plans aligned with scientific evidence, targets and progress to phase out fossil fuels, and the use of GHG removals and carbon credits. The standard introduces “just transition” principles, requiring companies to report on the social impacts of climate-related plans, particularly on workers, Indigenous peoples, communities, and vulnerable groups.

GRI 103: Energy emphasizes disclosures related to energy consumption, efficiency, and sourcing, including renewable and non-renewable energy use. It also addresses management’s role in energy-related decision-making and the economic, environmental, and social impacts of transitioning to a decarbonized energy system. Companies will now need to report energy use both within their operations and across their value chains, as well as on energy intensity.

“Climate change is a deeply human issue, as much as it is an environmental one, and these new GRI Standards are unique in bringing these dimensions together. GRI 102 and 103 will enable transparency and action on climate and energy impacts that drive decision-making by companies, regulators, investors and other stakeholders,”  says Robin Hodess, CEO, GRI.

The GRI says that both standards are aligned with globally recognized frameworks, including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard.

“Amid an escalating climate emergency, the GRI Standards for Climate Change and Energy get to the heart of why companies need to be accountable for their impacts on people and the planet. By supporting organizations to disclose their climate change impacts in a comprehensive and comparable way, including the impacts of transition and adaptation plans, GRI 102 and 103 have a key role in the advancement of a cohesive and effective global system for climate reporting,” says Carol Adams, Chair, GSSB. 

With these updates, GRI aims to provide a clear and consistent framework for companies navigating evolving stakeholder expectations and regulatory requirements in the climate and energy domains.