GRI Standards, decoded
GRI is the world's most-used sustainability reporting standard, built by a private Dutch foundation through three tiers of standards — Universal, Sector and Topic. The 2021 Universal Standards are current, three new Topic Standards have reassigned the numbers 101, 102 and 103 to mean something completely different, and no UK instrument requires any of it.
How the GRI system fits together
Three series of standards, one standard-setting board, and a private foundation behind all of it.
1 The GRI Standards are set by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB). GRI itself — the organisation behind the name — is Stichting Global Reporting Initiative, a Dutch foundation: a private standard-setter, not a government or intergovernmental body.
The Standards are organised into three series. Universal Standards apply to every reporting organisation regardless of sector: 2 GRI 1: Foundation 2021, GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 and GRI 3: Material Topics 2021. Sector Standards apply by sector. Topic Standards apply by material topic — an organisation reports from whichever ones match the topics it has actually identified as material.
Universal Standards — used by every organisation
GRI 1: Foundation 2021 sets out the reporting principles and the requirements for using the Standards.
GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 covers organisational details, governance and stakeholder engagement.
GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 sets out the process for determining and reporting on material topics.
All three apply regardless of sector or which topics turn out to be material.
Sector Standards — by sector
Standards written for a specific sector’s likely material topics, so a reporting organisation in a covered sector starts from a sector-specific list rather than a blank page.
Four are published so far, covering oil and gas, coal, agriculture/aquaculture/fishing, and mining.
Topic Standards — by material topic
Standards for a single topic — emissions, biodiversity, energy, tax, waste, and so on — each setting out the disclosures relevant to that topic.
An organisation reports from the Topic Standards that match the material topics it has actually identified, not from all of them.
Published is not the same date as effective
GRI's own wording, verbatim: the revised Universal Standards were published in October 2021 and came into effect for reporting on 1 January 2023.
The 2021 Universal Standards replaced GRI 101: Foundation 2016, GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016 and GRI 103: Management Approach 2016.
GRI 101, 102 and 103 mean something different now
The single most useful thing to know about GRI: the same three numbers were reassigned in 2024, from Universal Standards to Topic Standards, and a bare citation to any of them is now ambiguous.
GRI 101, 102 and 103 now mean Biodiversity, Climate Change and Energy — Topic Standards, not the Universal Standards the same numbers used to carry. Before that, GRI 101, 102 and 103 meant Foundation, General Disclosures and Management Approach. The reassignment happened in two steps, seventeen months apart: GRI 101 in January 2024, GRI 102 and GRI 103 in June 2025 — so "since 2024" is true of the number 101 only.
Before 2024: GRI 101, 102, 103 were the Universal Standards
GRI 101: Foundation 2016, GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016 and GRI 103: Management Approach 2016 were the numbers everyone used to reporting "in accordance with GRI" through 2016–2021.
The 2021 Universal Standards replaced all three in substance, but for a few years the old numbers simply went unused rather than being reassigned.
Now: GRI 101, 102, 103 are Topic Standards (101 from Jan 2024; 102 and 103 from June 2025)
GRI 101 now means Biodiversity 2024.
GRI 102 now means Climate Change 2025.
GRI 103 now means Energy 2025.
None of the three has anything to do with Foundation, General Disclosures or Management Approach any more — those live in GRI 1, GRI 2 and GRI 3.
The rule: never cite "GRI 101" undated
A 2016-era citation to "GRI 101" means Foundation.
A 2026-era one means Biodiversity.
The bare number tells you nothing without the year attached — write "GRI 101: Foundation 2016" or "GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024", never "GRI 101" alone.
The new Topic Standards, one in force and two not yet
1 GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 was published on 25 January 2024. Its cover page states "EFFECTIVE DATE: 1 JANUARY 2026" — which means it is in force now. It updates, expands, and replaces GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016.
GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 and GRI 103: Energy 2025 were both published in June 2025, and both cover pages state "EFFECTIVE DATE: 1 JANUARY 2027" — published, but not yet effective. When GRI 102 comes into effect, GRI 305: Emissions 2016 (disclosures 305-1 to 305-5) and GRI 201-2 will be withdrawn; when GRI 103 comes into effect, GRI 302: Energy 2016 will be withdrawn the same way.
The nine requirements for reporting “in accordance with” GRI
GRI 1 sets out nine things an organisation must do to claim it has reported in accordance with the GRI Standards — and there is no fixed number of Topic Standard disclosures among them.
1. Apply the reporting principles
The seven principles in GRI 1 — accuracy, balance, clarity, comparability, completeness, sustainability context and timeliness — govern how every disclosure is prepared, not just which ones are made.
2. Report the disclosures in GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021
All of them, unconditionally — organisational profile, governance, strategy and stakeholder engagement.
GRI 2 is not itself subject to a materiality filter.
3. Determine material topics
Following the process set out in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021, before deciding which Topic Standard disclosures to report.
4. Report the disclosures in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021
Disclosure 3-1 reports the process used to determine material topics; 3-2 reports the resulting list of material topics; 3-3 reports how each one is managed.
5. Report disclosures from the GRI Topic Standards for each material topic
There is no minimum number of Topic Standard disclosures — it depends entirely on which topics the materiality process in requirement 3 actually surfaced.
6. Provide reasons for omission
For any disclosure or requirement the organisation cannot comply with, stating the reason — information unavailable, a legal prohibition, or similar — rather than silently dropping it.
7. Publish a GRI content index
A table mapping every disclosure reported to where it appears, so a reader can check compliance without hunting through the whole report.
8. Provide a statement of use
A statement that the organisation has reported "in accordance with the GRI Standards" for a specified period, naming which standards and which sector standards, if any, were applied.
9. Notify GRI
The organisation notifies GRI that it has used the Standards, by the route GRI specifies — the final procedural step, separate from publishing the report itself.
What GRI's materiality test actually says
GRI's test is the significance of the organisation's own impacts. The Standards state it in those words — “impact materiality” is a gloss GRI uses in commentary, but never in the Standards themselves.
GRI 1: Foundation 2021, §2.2, verbatim: "An organization may identify many impacts on which to report. When using the GRI Standards, the organization prioritizes reporting on those topics that represent its most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights. In the GRI Standards, these are the organization's material topics."
The phrase "impact materiality" appears nowhere in that test, or anywhere else in the Universal Standards. GRI 1 and GRI 3 say material topics and most significant impacts, and nothing else. That matters when you are citing the Standards: quote what they say, not the shorthand.
The shorthand is not wrong, though, and it is worth being precise about why. GRI the organisation uses "impact materiality" freely outside the Standards — asking EFRAG to "align the definition of impact materiality with the GRI Standards", and recording in its own GSSB meeting summary of 20 April 2023 the view that "impact materiality is a precursor to financial materiality." So the term describes GRI's approach accurately; it just is not the Standards' own vocabulary, and it belongs to the double materiality debate rather than to GRI 1.
GRI's impact test versus UK SRS's financial test
GRI's test is the significance of the organisation's impacts on the economy, environment and people, per GRI 1 §2.2.
UK SRS S1's is whether information could reasonably be expected to influence primary users' decisions, judged by reference to cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital, per UK SRS S1 paragraphs 17 and 18.
Neither test is 'enterprise value' — that phrase appears in neither Standard.
Four sectors published, aligned to the new Topic Standards
GRI is working toward 40 sector standards. Four exist, and all four have been updated to align with the new Biodiversity, Climate Change and Energy standards.
GRI 11: Oil and Gas Sector 2021
Launched October 2021, in effect for reporting from January 2023 — the same timeline as the Universal Standards it was published alongside.
GRI 12: Coal Sector 2022
The second sector standard published, covering a sector GRI treats as a distinct high-impact category from oil and gas.
GRI 13: Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing Sectors 2022
Covers three related primary-production sectors under one standard.
GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024
The most recent of the four published sector standards.
The Sector Program's stated scope
GRI's own description of the Sector Program is that it is seeking to develop standards for 40 sectors.
Four are published — GRI 11 through GRI 14 — and two more are under development.
GRI 11 launched in October 2021 and came into effect for reporting in January 2023, the same effective date as the Universal Standards it was published alongside.
4 GRI 11–14 have all been aligned with GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024, GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 and GRI 103: Energy 2025. These aligned V1.1 versions are available for immediate use. The earlier, unaligned versions can still be used for reporting on climate-change and energy-related impacts until 31 December 2026, with early adoption of V1.1 encouraged rather than required.
Where GRI stands in UK law
No UK instrument names GRI — a narrow finding, not a verdict on whether GRI is worth using.
No UK instrument names GRI. The UK's mandatory non-financial reporting regime runs through Companies Act 2006 section 414CB, the climate-related financial disclosure regulations, SECR, and prospectively UK SRS via FCA rules — none of which references GRI.
The closest GRI comes to UK legal recognition is permissive, not mandatory: UK SRS S1 Appendix C permits an entity to consider other standard-setters' pronouncements when preparing its disclosures. That is a door left open, not a requirement to walk through it.
What are the three series of GRI Standards?
Universal Standards, used by every reporting organisation regardless of sector: GRI 1: Foundation 2021, GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 and GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.
Sector Standards, written for a specific sector's likely material topics — four published so far.
Topic Standards, one per material topic such as emissions, biodiversity, energy or tax, reported only where that topic is actually material to the organisation.
When did the 2021 GRI Universal Standards take effect?
GRI's own wording distinguishes the two dates precisely: "the revised Universal Standards were published in October 2021 and came into effect for reporting on 1 January 2023." Published and effective are not the same date — a organisation had roughly fifteen months between the standards existing and being required for reporting.
Does GRI 101 mean Foundation or Biodiversity?
It depends entirely on the date.
Before 2024, GRI 101, 102 and 103 were the Universal Standards — Foundation, General Disclosures and Management Approach (all 2016 vintage).
They now mean Biodiversity, Climate Change and Energy — Topic Standards.
The reassignment came in two steps: GRI 101: Biodiversity in January 2024, then GRI 102: Climate Change and GRI 103: Energy in June 2025.
A 2016-era citation to "GRI 101" means Foundation; a 2026-era one means Biodiversity.
Always date a GRI 101/102/103 reference — the bare number is ambiguous without it.
What are the requirements for reporting "in accordance with" GRI?
Nine, set out in GRI 1: apply the reporting principles; report the GRI 2 disclosures in full; determine material topics; report the GRI 3 disclosures (3-1 process, 3-2 list, 3-3 management); report Topic Standard disclosures for each material topic, with no fixed minimum count; give reasons for any omission; publish a GRI content index; provide a statement of use; and notify GRI.
What is GRI's materiality test, and how does it differ from UK SRS?
GRI 1 §2.2, verbatim: an organisation "prioritizes reporting on those topics that represent its most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights" — GRI calls these its material topics.
The phrase "impact materiality" appears nowhere in the Universal Standards — though GRI itself uses it outside them, including when asking EFRAG to align the ESRS definition of impact materiality with the GRI Standards.
UK SRS S1's test is different in kind: whether information could reasonably be expected to influence the decisions of primary users, judged by reference to the entity's cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital.
Neither test is "enterprise value" — that phrase appears in neither Standard.
Is GRI mandatory in the UK?
No UK instrument names GRI.
The UK's mandatory non-financial reporting sits in Companies Act 2006 section 414CB, the climate-related financial disclosure regulations, SECR, and prospectively UK SRS via FCA rules.
UK SRS S1 Appendix C permits an entity to consider other standard-setters' pronouncements — the closest GRI comes to UK legal recognition, and it is permissive rather than a requirement.
That is a narrow, negative finding, not a verdict on relevance: many UK companies report against GRI voluntarily, and it remains the most-used sustainability reporting framework globally.
What are the GRI Sector Standards, and how do they relate to the new Topic Standards?
Four are published: GRI 11 Oil and Gas Sector 2021, GRI 12 Coal Sector 2022, GRI 13 Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing Sectors 2022, and GRI 14 Mining Sector 2024, out of a programme seeking to cover 40 sectors in total — four published, two under development.
All four have been aligned with GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024, GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 and GRI 103: Energy 2025.
These aligned V1.1 versions are available for immediate use; the earlier versions remain usable for climate-change and energy-related impacts until 31 December 2026, with early adoption of V1.1 encouraged.
Related guides & references
ESG Frameworks UK: eight frameworks compared
Where GRI sits alongside UK SRS, IFRS, SASB, TCFD, CDP and ESRS
UK SRS S1: General Sustainability Disclosures
The financial-materiality test GRI’s impact-based test is compared against
Double materiality explained
The EU/ESRS test that sits between GRI’s impact focus and UK SRS’s financial one
The GHG Protocol
The emissions-accounting standard behind GRI 305 and the incoming GRI 102
CSRD vs UK SRS
How the EU’s mandatory double-materiality regime differs from UK SRS
SECR: Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
One of the UK instruments that actually is mandatory, unlike GRI