A new joint report from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) reveals that while the world is at the halfway point on the path to achieving SDGs, efforts are still falling short. Similarly, efforts to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C are also off track. While governments are responsible for leading the transformation, they cannot succeed without full cooperation from businesses. The report highlights a key issue: the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms to hold influential companies accountable for their role in contributing to global sustainability goals. As a result, corporate sustainability performance remains insufficiently impactful in advancing sustainable development.
To address this challenge, GRI and WBA’s report emphasises the critical role of corporate sustainability reporting in driving progress on global sustainability agendas and improving corporate accountability. The report’s key findings show a strong correlation between companies publishing a GRI content index and higher scores on WBA’s Social Benchmark. Companies that publish a GRI index achieve Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) scores at least 47% higher than their counterparts. Additionally, those adhering strictly to GRI Standards tend to outperform companies that only partially comply.
The report also notes that most companies scoring zero on WBA’s core social indicators do not publish a GRI content index, further reinforcing the positive link between GRI reporting and strong sustainability performance. Companies with high CSI scores overwhelmingly use GRI Standards, though some follow other reporting frameworks, underscoring the connection between adherence to established standards and enhanced social sustainability performance.
The report urges UN Member States to build on the demonstrated positive correlation between corporate sustainability reporting and improved performance, advocating for mandatory corporate reporting to help accelerate progress towards global sustainability goals.