Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched a global consultation to gather feedback on its proposed new sustainability reporting taxonomy. The taxonomy, a digital and structured framework utilising the GRI Standards, aims to help companies effectively organise and classify their disclosures and standards-related information.
The public comment period is open until 11 August 2024, and XBRL specialists and sustainability experts are encouraged to participate, providing insights into the taxonomy’s structure and content.
With digital tools becoming increasingly essential for organisations to disclose comprehensive information on their sustainability impacts, a fully digital taxonomy offers significant advantages. It enables the creation of computer-readable report formats, allowing seamless integration with various reporting frameworks and regulatory requirements. Moreover, it will enhance the accessibility of a wide range of sustainability data, streamlining reporting practices to be faster and more cost-effective.
The GRI sustainability taxonomy will be based on XBRL (standardised format for organising and exchanging business information) to enable organisations to issue reports in a digital format, meaning the entities will be able to apply digital tags to reported information using the GRI Standards. Sustainability data can then be quickly and easily utilised for research and comparison with existing sustainability information.
The other advantages will include automatic validation ensuring that sustainability reports are submitted in ‘accordance with’ or ‘with reference to’ the GRI Standards, interoperability opportunities facilitating the use of the same data across various reporting standards in the future, the option of direct filing with GRI, and integration and testing for tool developers allowing GRI software partners to integrate the Taxonomy into reporting tools, with access to a ‘sandbox’ environment for testing.
The public comment period offers a chance to give feedback on the clarity, completeness, and relevance of the GRI taxonomy content.
