20 things you need to know about GRI G4, the latest reporting framework developed by the Global Reporting Initiative. Developed by iCompli Sustainability in collaboration with CLT envirolaw

1. 20 THINGS
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GRI G4
1
IT’S ALL ABOUT MATERIALITY
G4 focuses on identifying an organisation’s Material Aspects – those issues
that reflect:
• he organisation’s significant economic, environmental and social
t
impacts; or
• substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.
2
G4 TAKES A BROADER VIEW OF WHAT AN ORGANISATION’S
‘BOUNDARY’ IS: FOCUSING ON IMPACT RATHER THAN LEGAL CONTROL
Boundary refers to where an impact occurs for each Material Aspect
identified. Impacts can be of an internal or external nature, that is,
throughout the value chain.
3
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF
MATERIALITY
If you’re not engaging with your stakeholders and addressing their material
issues – including joint ventures and other impact locations – you better start.
4
G4 INCORPORATES A PRINCIPLES BASED APPROACH
This covers content and data quality principles.
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G4 IS BOTH BIGGER AND SMALLER THAN ITS PREDECESSOR
The number of Profile-type disclosures go from 42 to 58, Performance
Indicators increase from 84 to 91, and Aspects from 37 to 46. BUT you only
have to report on what’s material to your organisation, which means there
could be less to report than under G3.1.
APPLICATION LEVELS (A, B AND C) HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED.
In their place, an organisation can report “in accordance with GRI” to either
the Core or Comprehensive Levels.
THE CORE OPTION CONTAINS ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
The Core option contains the essential elements of a sustainability report
– 34 of the 58 General Disclosures and one Specific Disclosure for each
Material Aspect identified.
THE COMPREHENSIVE OPTION REQUIRES ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE
Additional disclosure is required on strategy and analysis, governance,
supply chain and performance metrics – all 58 General Disclosures and ALL
Specific Disclosures for each Material Aspect reported.
ABOUT ICOMPLI
iCompli is a division of BPA Worldwide,
a not-for-profit auditing organization
established in 1931 to audit circulation
for publishers, advertisers and their
agencies. Today, BPA’s audit services
have expanded to include external
assurance of government and industry
standards and independent verification
of companies’ technology and service
claims. iCompli provides third party
assurance and certification services for
leading global sustainability standards.
ABOUT CLT ENVIROLAW
CLT envirolaw is a niche sustainability
consultancy providing expertise to
companies and directors specializing
in sustainability strategy and reporting,
risk management, ISO20121,
environmental compliance and
governance, sustainability policies,
human rights due diligence, sustainable
procurement, training and research.
Our legal experience helps clarify the
relationship between sustainability
and the law.
SUPPLY CHAIN DISCLOSURE AND DATA CHALLENGE
The new disclosures on supply chain could pose a resource and data
challenge for all companies but particularly for large, multinational
companies with a complex supply chain.
GOING BEYOND THE CORE LEVEL
You can declare your report “in accordance with GRI” at the Core Level
but go beyond that to report on as many General Disclosures and Specific
Disclosures as you see fit.
from BPA Worldwide

2. 20 THINGS
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GRI G4
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GRI WILL NOT BE CHECKING CORE OR
COMPREHENSIVE REPORTS FOR COMPLIANCE
G4 IS OFFERING A ‘MATERIALITY MATTERS’
CHECK, INSTEAD OF THE APPLICATION LEVEL
(A/B/C) CHECK FROM G3.1.
The ‘Materiality Matters’ check verifies that the
10 standard disclosures for Identified Material
Aspects and Boundaries (G4-17 through G4-23) and
Stakeholder Engagement (G4-24 through G4-27)
are correctly located in the Content Index and
the final report.
G4 HAS A NUMBER OF NEW DISCLOSURES ON
COMPENSATION
The good news is that some can be satisfied with
information from your Proxy report.
GOVERNANCE DISCLOSURES “POISON PILLS”
There are TWO potential “poison pills” in the new
Governance Disclosures that could make reporting
at the Comprehensive level problematic for
even the biggest companies. You have to report
compensation ratios for highest-paid individual in
EACH country of significant operations.
DISCLOSURE ON MANAGEMENT APPROACH
You must have a Disclosure on Management
Approach (DMA) for each of the Material Aspects
you’re reporting on (in theory that could be up to 46
for a large global enterprise), but if you are managing
a number of Aspects similarly, you can combine
the DMAs in your report (as long as you make clear
which ones you have combined) so you don’t end up
reporting separately on 40+ DMAs.
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SECTOR DISCLOSURES
Sector Supplement Indicators (now called Sector
Disclosures) if available for an organisation’s sector,
will be required for both Core and Comprehensive
levels – if they are material. If not, no need to
report on sector disclosures.
G4 DISCLOSURES CAN BE REFERENCED TO
OTHER REPORTS FROM YOUR COMPANY
G4 Disclosures can be referenced to other reports
from your company: annual reports, proxy
statements, voluntary statements, a CDP response,
etc. G4 wants specifics – no general references –
with the section, table or pages that address the
disclosure.
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CONTEXT INDEX
The Content Index now asks for the location of
each Standard Disclosure (page reference or link to
other reports), and whether it has been externally
assured. The G3.1 Content Index sections for the
“Level of Reporting” (Fully/Partially/Not) or the
“Type of data” (qualitative/quantitative) did not
make the move to G4.
19
THIRD PARTY ASSURANCE
If you have any disclosures assured by a third party
you have to indicate those that have NOT been
assured as well.
20
INFORMATION CAN BE EXCLUDED
Information can be excluded if reliable data is
unavailable or there are specific legal prohibitions
or confidentiality issues at play
For more information
Francis Stones
Colleen Theron
Head of Sustainability
EMEA Director at BPA Worldwide
Sustainability lawyer
and consultant
2 John Street,
London WC1N 2ES,
United Kingdom
tel: +44 (0)771 497 9936
tel: +44(0)193 223 1876
Mobile: +44 (0) 787 234 2694
Direct: +44 (0) 203 405 4255
www.clt-envirolaw.com/services
colleen.theron@clt-envirolaw.com
Skype: francis.stones
FStones@bpaww.com
www.icomplisustainability.com
from BPA Worldwide