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The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has revised its climate change and energy standards for companies to take into account their wider social impacts and provide better alignment with other frameworks.
“We need organisations to be transparent and accountable for their impacts. Data is a torch, a torch that can help us light the path to that accountability,” said CEO Robin Hodes.
The updated climate change standards, called GRI 102, include reporting on the impact of local communities, workers, Indigenous people and nature, taking into account a just transition. A separate update, GRI 103, includes disclosures on energy efficiency and transitioning to renewables.
Around 14,000 companies around the world use GRI standards, with 65% using its climate and energy standards. The first GRI climate change standard was introduced 25 years ago and is one of the most widely used voluntary reporting methods.
“Even if political will slackens, as we’ve seen with the backtracking on the EU green deal, the US once again leaving the Paris Agreement, or the UK delaying its net zero commitments, the urgency of the climate crisis is undiminished,” said Hodes.
GRI 102 includes a section on incorporating just transition as well as a transition plan for climate change mitigation. This includes reporting on policies and actions and aligning with the latest scientific evidence.
The standards also include a section on disclosing climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and progress. Companies can report their emissions reductions for all aspects of the supply chain (known as scope 1, 2 and 3) separately or combined.
A new section is also included on carbon credits to increase transparency around their use, including any credits that are cancelled and providing information around where such credits were purchased.
GRI aligned the new updates with other popular standards so companies can use the same information instead of repeating data sets. Most notably, they align with the IFRS sustainability disclosure standards which are set by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
Companies can use both standards to meet their reporting needs and disclose key information about climate-related risk, the GRI and ISSB said in a joint statement, which means they need just one set of greenhouse gas emissions disclosures to meet both standards.
The interoperability will mean companies can provide “information to investors and a broader range of stakeholders about their climate-related impacts, risks, and opportunities in an efficient manner,” said Sue Lloyd, vice-chair of the ISSB.
The GRI updates also align with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the European sustainability reporting standards.
The new standards come into effect in January 2027 with a pilot programme before the end of 2025.
This page was last updated June 27, 2025
Written by
Moriah Costa is the Editor-in-Chief of Green Central Banking and has over a decade of experience writing about banking and finance. She is an award-winning American journalist based in Paris and has written for major international publications, including Reuters, The Guardian, and S&P Global. Having grown up in water-stressed Arizona, she has always had a strong interest in bringing awareness to climate and environmental issues.
