The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the IFRS Foundation have issued a joint statement to clarify how their respective bodies are working together to establish a seamless, comprehensive global sustainability reporting system.
The joint publication, titled Facilitating efficient reporting when using the GRI and ISSB Standards, outlines how the disclosures established by the GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) and the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) can be utilised concurrently. The guidance is targeted at corporations that are either choosing or are legally mandated to apply both frameworks to satisfy the information demands of investors and broader stakeholder groups.
The document highlights the common disclosures that the GSSB and ISSB have aligned to date, demonstrating how data provided under their respective standards can act complementarily while fulfilling distinct regulatory or analytical purposes. The statement builds upon a formal collaboration between the two standard-setters that was initiated in 2022, following a bilateral meeting between ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber and GSSB Chair Susanne Stormer.
Susanne Stormer, Chair of the GSSB, emphasised the ultimate objective of the alignment, stating: “I see the role of standard-setters as enabling organiations anywhere to determine what to disclose, for which purpose and audience, so they can report data that is meaningful, consistent and comparable. The commitment by GRI and the IFRS Foundation to facilitate efficient sustainability disclosures can support that aim, and I look forward to expanding our collaboration with the ISSB.”
Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB, welcomed the technical progress, adding: “Our ongoing work will deliver tangible benefits for entities that use both GRI and ISSB Standards.”
Moving forward, both organisations plan to deepen their technical alignment to minimise duplication, reduce administrative burdens for reporting entities, and improve the comparability of global sustainability data across financial and impact-driven disclosure regimes.
