The Global Reporting Initiative published the new version of its G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, representing the 4th generation of Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.
The new Guidelines are influenced by changes in the reporting field, such as the introduction of new concepts, trends and stakeholders' requirements, while aims to drive and direct sustainability reporting towards a simplified and materiality focused process. Key procedural issues related to the new G4 GRI guidelines include:
- Principles: The Report Content and Report Quality Principles remain same.
- Materiality: Describing how an organisation has identified its Material issues to be addressed in the Report and which those are, is becoming a more imperative aspect.
- Generic Disclosures: A single generic disclosure standard can be reported on for material aspects, instead of presenting specific standard disclosures per Aspect.
- New Disclosures: Up-to-date disclosures on governance, ethics and integrity, supply chain, anti-corruption and GHG emissions have been included.
- Aspects: Aspects such as Supplier Assessment and Grievance Mechanisms have been added to all categories and sub-categories (besides Economic and Product Responsibility).
- Indicators: The segmentation of indicators as Core and Additional is discontinued.
- Application Levels: The A,B,C Application Levels will be discontinued and replaced by an “in accordance with” statement at two levels, “Core” and “Comprehensive”.
- Level Check: Application Level checks will continue, but a decision will be taken in September 2013 for how long and under what form.
- Transition: There will be transition period of two reporting cycles ending end of 2015, during which reporters will have the option to use G3 and G3.1.
In case you have any queries on the new G4 GRI Guidelines, please contact us or visit the respective link.
