IFRS Foundation and GRI Expand Collaboration on Sustainability Reporting Alignment

The IFRS Foundation and the Global Reporting Initiative released a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to align GRI and ISSB sustainability reporting standards and reduce duplication for companies reporting under both frameworks. The collaboration, initially launched in 2022, now covers common disclosures across climate, nature and sector-specific reporting.

The new statement identifies instances where the same information satisfies both the investor-focused ISSB standards and GRI's impact-focused standards, reducing the reporting burden for companies complying with multiple regimes. A notable example cited is the ability for IFRS S2 reporters to use GHG Protocol-measured Scope 1, 2 and 3 data to simultaneously meet GRI 102 climate change requirements. The statement follows a meeting between ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber and GSSB Chair Susanne Stormer.

The two standard-setting regimes serve different but complementary purposes: the ISSB focuses on financially material sustainability information for investors, while GRI addresses impacts on the environment, economy and people, including non-financial materiality. For Indian companies reporting under BRSR and increasingly engaging with international investors and supply chain counterparts requiring ISSB or GRI disclosures, closer alignment means reduced duplication when navigating multiple reporting expectations.

Ongoing areas of collaboration highlighted in the statement include nature-related disclosures, interoperability between GRI and the TNFD, sector standard development across both GRI and the ISSB's SASB-based standards, and human capital disclosures. The ISSB counts 42 jurisdictions that have moved to adopt or use its standards. EFRAG has also been seeking greater ESRS–ISSB alignment as part of the EU's Omnibus simplification process, reinforcing the global importance of the IFRS–GRI coordination effort.

Key figure — 42 jurisdictions adopting or using ISSB standards