Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

In recent years, the market and policymakers are paying more attention to issues of sustainable development. This has made more organisations implement systems to monitor their social and environmental performance and report them externally. This is part of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting responsibilities.

As sustainability reporting evolves, new technologies and methodologies are being integrated to enhance the reporting process. Digital platforms and data analytics tools are increasingly being used to streamline data collection, improve accuracy, and provide deeper insights into sustainability performance. These innovations are helping organisations produce more comprehensive and user-friendly sustainability reports.

While disclosing sustainability information to stakeholders as part of ESG, you need to use credible standards. Only then will you inspire trust from consumers, governments and interested parties in general.

International working groups have created guidelines to standardise sustainability reporting processes and content preparation. Among the best known are GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and AA 1000 (Accountability). GRI standards are the most widely used guideline for producing these sustainability reports. The adoption of GRI standards is expected to grow as more organisations recognise the value of sustainability reporting.

In addition to more organisations producing sustainability reports, more stakeholders expect external audits of the reports themselves, by independent third-party auditors. GRI recommends an independent evaluation of the sustainability reports to verify the truthfulness of the information organisations report. TÜV SÜD is qualified to perform these independent third-party evaluations.

If an organisation uses GRI reporting to disclose their sustainability information, report verification by an independent third party provides multiple benefits.

It verifies the accuracy, and comparability of data reported to achieve consistency and alignment with other reporting. It ensures that you have comprehensively checked materiality themes and GRI indicators in line with the standard. It also assures that the statements made in the sustainability report document are accurate and true. 

Furthermore, GRI reporting helps you identify areas of further improvement in line with GRI principles, which is essential for advancing sustainability goals. It improves the reliability of sustainability report as it describes the rationale and contents of assurance. It also helps procurement managers, investors, and consumers make decisions through independent information.

TÜV SÜD supports companies as an independent third-party verifier of sustainability reports, providing unbiased assurance of the accuracy and reliability of sustainability reports. Our auditors are highly skilled and experienced in sustainability reporting and verification.

We verify the reports based on the material topics identified by your organisation. This will be according to GRI sustainability reporting guidelines. 

TÜV SÜD has created robust verification methodology that aligns with international verification standards and guidelines to ensure that sustainability reports meet these standards. This helps ensure that the reports are accurate and follow guidelines. 

With our global reach, we can support you in different regions and provide high-quality GRI sustainability reporting services worldwide.

Our team will initiate verification of your GRI reporting by conducting interviews with you. The purpose of these interviews will be to understand your company's structure and data collection processes. 

Our experts normally conduct the verification process in different stages and agree with you on every stage. This guarantees the most effective and efficient organisation also while checking the information and data. 

We conduct GRI indicators verification to guarantee the reliability of the information. We will also verify how accessible the information is in the layout of your sustainability report. This is because we understand the importance of providing effective disclosure to fulfil the expectations of your stakeholders.

As a final result of the verification process, we will issue an assurance report. You can integrate this with the final version of your sustainability report and make it available to the public. 

The components of the GRI standards are: 

1. Universal Standards – These standards apply to all organisations and provide the foundation for all sustainability reporting. They include GRI 101: Foundation, GRI 102: General Disclosures, and GRI 103: Management Approach. 
2. Sector Standards – These are tailored for specific sectors, addressing the specific sustainability impacts of each sector. They help organisations in these sectors to provide more relevant and meaningful disclosures.
3. Topic Standards – These standards cover specific economic, environmental, and social topics. Organisations select the relevant Topic Standards based on their material topics, which are those topics that reflect their significant impacts and are of most importance to their stakeholders.