The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. These Guidelines are for voluntary use by organizations for reporting on the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of their activities, products and services.
Established in 1997, Global Reporting Initiative became independent in 2002, and is an official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Program. The Global Reporting Initiative provides a reporting framework that outlines a core content broadly relevant to all organizations regardless of size, sector, or location. The GRI content Index covers:
• Vision and strategy;
• Governance structure and management Systems;
• Economic performance indicators;
• Environmental performance indicators, consisting of: – Materials; – Energy; – Water; – Biodiversity; – Emissions, effluents and waste; – Suppliers; – Products and services; – Compliance; – Transport;
• Social performance indicators.
Most of the indicators in the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines are covered by technical protocols providing detailed definitions, procedures, formulae and references so as to ensure consistency and comparability in reported information. The relevant example is the GRI Energy Protocol which is intended to clarify the measurement expectations for individual energy performance indicators.
