The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) have released a joint resource mapping the alignment between TNFD’s Disclosure Recommendations and GRI Standards. This detailed overview highlights the synergy between the two frameworks.
Over the past two years, GRI and TNFD have collaborated to enhance each other’s guidance—GRI contributed to TNFD’s Recommendations released in September 2023, while TNFD provided input into GRI’s newly published Biodiversity Standard.
In response to market feedback, this new guidance document and correspondence table are designed to help GRI’s 14,000 global reporters align with TNFD Recommendations and assist TNFD Adopters in their sustainability reporting using GRI Standards.
The mapping underscores the high level of alignment achieved between the TNFD Recommendations and metrics and the GRI Standards reporting requirements and datapoints. It includes the use of consistent nature-related concepts and definitions, including the five direct drivers of nature and biodiversity loss, as defined by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and reference and incorporation of GRI’s materiality approach focusing on impacts in the TNFD Recommendations and guidance, following the TNFD’s flexible approach to materiality.
Also, all disclosures in GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 are reflected in the TNFD Recommendations and all of the TNFD Recommendations are reflected in the GRI Standards, except those exclusively covering nature-related risk and opportunity identification and assessment.
The resource shows strong consistency between the TNFD core global disclosure metrics and the related metrics in the GRI Standards along with adapting the TNFD LEAP approach – guidance for identifying and assessing nature-related issues – is referenced in GRI 101.
The GRI 101 uses the TNFD definitions and criteria when considering an organization’s location in or near ecologically sensitive areas.
Bastian Buck, Chief Standards Officer at GRI, said, “The ongoing collaboration of GRI with the TNFD has resulted in this detailed mapping tool, supporting thousands of organizations worldwide that already report their biodiversity impacts using the GRI Standards. This resource enables them to seamlessly integrate the TNFD recommendations, allowing for simplified, single-source reporting. GRI and the TNFD will continue to cooperate to prevent the need for double reporting and ensure organizations can transparently and accountably disclose their impacts.”
Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer of City Developments Limited (CDL), TNFD Taskforce Member and GRI Supervisory Board Member said, “Nature risks are business risks that should be measured and disclosed in a more robust manner. As we look towards adopting the new GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 in our upcoming sustainability reports, we welcome the interoperability between TNFD and GRI to harmonize the global sustainability reporting landscape.”
Tony Goldner, Executive Director of the TNFD said, “The release of today’s mapping from GRI and the TNFD will further support market participants needing, or wanting, to report on their nature-related dependencies and impacts leveraging GRI Standards and metrics and in line with the TNFD Recommendations.”
