GRI launches project to expand pollution reporting beyond chemical emissions

The Global Reporting Initiative commissioned a pollution project to expand its standards beyond chemical disclosures to cover air and soil contamination plus noise, light, and odour pollution. Indian companies reporting under GRI-aligned frameworks should anticipate broader disclosure expectations covering previously under-reported pollution impacts on health, ecosystems, and local economies.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) undertook a significant project to expand the scope of its existing standards beyond the typical focus on chemical pollutants. The new effort aims to encompass air and soil contamination, as well as often-overlooked forms such as noise, light, and odour pollution. Commissioned by the Global Sustainability Standards Board, the project builds on Disclosure 305-6 on ozone-depleting substances, Disclosure 305-7 on NOx, SOx and other air emissions, and Disclosure 306-3 on significant spills, responding to growing demand for more robust data on corporate environmental impacts.

The expanded standards affect companies across industries that disclose environmental impacts under GRI, particularly those whose activities generate air, soil, noise, light, or odour pollution previously outside reporting scope. The project sets a higher benchmark for corporate environmental responsibility and improves comparability of pollution data across industries. Thamar Zijlstra, GRI Senior Standards Manager leading the Pollution Project, said the new standards intend to capture impacts previously under-reported, ensuring organisations cannot overlook the full breadth of their pollution impacts on health, ecosystems, and economies.

Companies should prepare to broaden environmental data collection beyond chemical pollutants to include air, soil, noise, light, and odour impacts ahead of the new standards. Reporting teams should review how the project builds on existing Disclosures 305-6, 305-7, and 306-3 and assess gaps in current measurement of under-reported pollution. Firms should monitor the Global Sustainability Standards Board's progress on the pollution project, positioning themselves to provide the clear, consistent disclosures investors, consumers, and communities increasingly demand.

Key figure — Reporting scope expansion: new standards build on Disclosures 305-6, 305-7, and 306-3