Robin Hodess, CEO of GRI
GRI welcomes ISSB plans for standard setting on nature-related risks and opportunities, drawing on the TNFD framework
Given the prevalence of nature and biodiversity themes highlighted during COP30 in Brazil, GRI supports the recent announcement by the IFRS Foundation that the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will develop incremental disclosure requirements on nature-related risks and opportunities.
These ISSB nature-related standard setting efforts will draw from the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Over the past three years, GRI and the TNFD have worked closely together to support the development of each other’s activities, including TNFD recommendations, metrics and guidance, and the revised GRI 101 Biodiversity Standard.
Biodiversity has been a feature of GRI’s work since its first sustainability guidelines launched in 2000. Given the substantial update in 2024 through GRI 101, and coverage of topics such as water, waste and emissions, the GRI Standards comprehensively address reporting of nature-related impacts. Recent GRI and TNFD collaboration has included resources that help companies assess and disclose nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities – with corporate case studies illustrating how these dimensions interconnect, and interoperability mapping confirming strong alignment between the GRI Standards and the TNFD framework.
As jointly recognized by GRI and the IFRS Foundation, GRI and ISSB Standards complement each other and, when used together, facilitate reporting on an organization’s impacts, risks and opportunities. GRI and the IFRS Foundation first signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022, renewed in 2024, under which the two organizations committed to coordinate work plans and standard-setting, including on nature.
GRI’s fruitful collaborations with both ISSB and the TNFD underline the opportunities for a comprehensive, seamless future system of nature reporting for those looking to meet the information needs of both investors and a broader range of stakeholders, in which:
- The GRI Standards address the information needs of all stakeholders on nature-related impacts, including on biodiversity;
- ISSB’s forthcoming incremental disclosure requirements address reporting gaps on nature-related risks and opportunities, responding to the common information needs of investors.
Robin Hodess, CEO of GRI, said:
“Nature and biodiversity are now widely acknowledged as critical to mitigate risk and build resilience, for people and planet. GRI has been at the forefront of nature reporting for more than a decade and has collaborated with the ISSB on its biodiversity and ecosystems project since 2024. We are therefore delighted to welcome the ISSB announcement to begin standard setting work to introduce incremental disclosure requirements on nature-related risks and opportunities.
Their take-up of TNFD’s work on risks and opportunities is significant. As cooperation between our three organizations is already well established, we are in an excellent position to ensure a coherent set of complementary nature-related standards that cover impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities to drive accountability, strategy and investment.”
Tony Goldner, Executive Director of TNFD, said:
“GRI’s experience on impact assessment and reporting was instrumental in informing the TNFD’s approach and recommendations, while our two organizations have closely collaborated to respond to market needs for practical guidance on how to assess and report nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. We look forward to continuing to support both GRI and ISSB as they draw on the TNFD recommendations to further evolve their respective standards for market participants.”
Note:
GRI 101 builds on the TNFD by incorporating its definitions and criteria for ecologically sensitive areas and referencing the LEAP approach for identifying where impacts are most likely to be present and significant. Conversely, the TNFD Recommendations reference GRI’s materiality approach focusing on impacts.
Key elements of GRI 101 include location-specific reporting on biodiversity impacts, new disclosures on the direct drivers of biodiversity loss, and requirements to disclose associated impacts on society. GRI 101 consolidates and strengthens the impact dimension of biodiversity-related reporting.
Together with Standards on topics such as water, waste, materials, and emissions, GRI provides comprehensive coverage for reporting of an organizations’ most significant impacts on nature. GRI adoption tracking of more than 7,000 listed companies that reported using the GRI Standards in 2024 finds that 29% included biodiversity as a material topic.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the creator of the common global language to assess and report environmental, social and economic impacts, as articulated through the GRI Standards – the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards.
GRI engages in a multi-stakeholder approach to define and refine the best practice for sustainability reporting. In addition to standards, GRI provides tools and training that empower organizations of all sizes to build sustainable, long-term value – benefiting people and planet.
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