Alignment between GRI and ESRS
December 1st, 2023
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which substantiates the benefits of the alignment achieved between the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the GRI Standards.
This [draft] Index is a mapping tool that helps entities understand the commonalities between the two sustainability reporting standards regarding impacts. It also supports the target of avoiding double reporting and allowing to the ESRS applicants to also comply with GRI standards.
Given the high level of interoperability achieved, entities reporting under ESRS can be considered as reporting ‘with reference’ to the GRI Standards (see GRI 1: Foundation 2021).
The [draft] index shows the relationship between the ESRS and GRI disclosures to facilitate reporting ‘with reference’ to the GRI Standards. The [draft] index may also support ESRS reporters that want to report ‘in accordance’ with the GRI Standards (see GRI 1: Foundation 2021), in which case they would have to report the additional applicable GRI requirements not covered by the ESRS in their sustainability statement, in accordance with the provisions of ESRS 1 paragraph 114.
This [draft] ESRS-GRI Interoperability Index will be subject to the SRB’s approval on the 13 December 2023 and subsequently released. In addition, GRI and EFRAG are working on a digital correspondence table to achieve digital interoperability for the ESRS and GRI Standards.
Shared disclosures tagged under the ESRS digital taxonomy and the GRI digital taxonomy could be cross-referenced to allow for a streamlined digital reporting exercise on the preparer’s side.
