A deep dive into new GRI standards with Professor Jan Bebbington

Professor Jan Bebbington, Lancaster University

In the first BIOPATH Dialogue, a learning workshop for the members of the consortia, Professor Jan Bebbington, expert in the field of sustainability reporting and disclosure, Lancaster University, gave a thorough briefing about the new Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, coming into effect in 2023.

The GRI is an international, independent, and non-profit organisation whose mission is to support businesses in their sustainability reporting. The purpose of GRI sustainability reporting is to provide organisations with a universal language for sustainability reporting. The framework helps organisations to understand and manage their environmental and climate impacts and facilitates communication, visibility and comparison of efforts related to sustainability.

Materiality is a key concept

Materiality represents an organisations most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including human rights. A starting point is therefore to identify where these impacts arise. In particular, for this session, a look at biodiversity and loss of biodiversity – what is the state of biodiversity where you operate? What ecosystems are affected? How do you manage biodiversity related impacts? Furthermore, how is your organisation attempting to halt and reverse biodiversity loss? And how are you dealing with access to genetic resources and benefit sharing, an aspect that is sometimes abbreviated ABS.

Many aspects need to be considered such as the full supply chain of your operations. In which locations do they have an impact and are there risks for specially protected areas and are there any connections with indigenous people and traditional rights concerned.

In-depth reporting on biodiversity loss

For each of the drivers of biodiversity loss, according to the IPBES approach, the organisation must report on activities related to Climate change (CO2 emissions), Invasive alien species (for each site), Land or Sea use change (type of activities, area size and type of converted natural ecosystem), Overexploitation of resources (type of activities, quantity of used resources and species extinction risk) and Pollution (type of activities and quantity of generated pollutants). In addition, there is a requirement on how to monitor the supply chain and clarification on methodology used.

“All these aspects require access to relevant data and considerable scientific literacy, says Jan Bebbington. The extinction risks are priority and showing impacts from the set baseline until the present day”.

Management of biodiversity impacts

To support those who are new to the reporting format, the guidelines provide examples and recommendations, explanations, and background information. In the section on how to work with management of biodiversity-related impacts the requirements follow the mitigation hierarchy for reporting on how the organisation acts to:

• Avoid negative impact

• Minimise negative impact

• Restore ecosystems

• Maintain ecosystems

• Take transformative actions

All these measures need to be described along with management plans for the actions, how the data was obtained and compiled, use of standards and methodologies and biodiversity-climate change synergies.

Start the learning journey now

The development of the GRI standards is an on-going process.  Input from the 2030 targets of the Convention of Biodiversity’s post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and 2050 goals are being addressed. Therefore, there are requirements on reporting on the extent that the organisations have applied these policies and commitments in their activities. The indicators used to evaluate progress should be defined as well as how the targets have been defined using science-based approaches.

All these requirements will be applicable most likely from January 2025 according to Jan Bebbington. So, her final advice is that there is plenty of time to learn how to do this and not be overwhelmed with all the details:

“ If your organisation is well managed, you will most likely have this data. But there is a lot to cover both for your own operations as well as suppliers and downstream effects. The materiality assessments mean it is not all things, it is about everywhere”.

Link to Global Reporting Initiative and more information about GRI 304