New sector-specific sustainability reporting guidance from GRI

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13 May 2014

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has released six new 'Sector Disclosure' documents relating to its 'G4' Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

Under the GRI's 'G3' and 'G3.1' Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the GRI published 'Sector Supplements' which provided additional sector-specific disclosures and requirements.  Sector Supplements deal with the sustainability reporting issues that characterise each industry sector, often because they are encountered more frequently or in greater measure than in other sectors, e.g. the oil and gas sector supplement included disclosures about topics such as reserves and resources, use of renewable energy, biodiversity risk, water disposal, drilling waste, indigenous communities and decommissioning. 

Following the May 2013 launch of the GRI's fourth generation 'G4' Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the GRI has been reorganising and updating the Sector Supplements, and reissuing them in a new format as 'Sector Disclosures' for use with the G4 guidelines.  In February 2014 the GRI announced the launch of the first four 'Sector Disclosures' documents which covered financial services, oil and gas, mining and metals and electric utilities.

The GRI has now launched six additional Sector Disclosures for the following sectors:

  • airport operators
  • construction and real estate
  • event organisers
  • food processing
  • media
  • non-governmental organisations (NGOs). 

These six additional Sector Disclosures complete the conversion of the Sector Supplements under the G3 and G3.1 guidelines, and all ten G4 Sector Disclosures can be downloaded from the GRI website.  GRI does not currently have any further Sector Disclosures in development.

GRI is expecting all entities to complete the transition to G4 in sustainability reports published after 31 December 2015. Entities wishing to be 'in compliance' with the G4 guidelines must also comply with the specific specific disclosures included in the Sector Disclosures, although the level of compliance depends on whether the report is meeting the 'core' or 'comprehensive' classifications under the guidelines.

In conjunction with the release of the new Sector Disclosure documents, the GRI has also announced a new GRI-CDP 'linkage document', showing the alignment between the G4 Guidelines and CDP's 2014 Climate Change Information Request.

The press release and additional information can be accessed on the GRI website.

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