GRI launches new Disclosure Standard for agriculture, aquaculture and fishing sectors.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced the launch of a new disclosure standard for the agriculture, aquaculture and fishing sectors this week. These sectors have become the main area of focus based on their immense impacts across economic, environmental, and social dimensions. This includes impacts on climate change and biodiversity, food security, farming and fishing practices, and community engagement. According to GRI, the standard will increase the completeness and comparability of sustainability information for all organizations around the world involved in crop cultivation, animal production, aquaculture or fishing.
Dr. Leah Samberg, Lead Scientist for Global Policy, Rainforest Alliance, and a member of the GRI working group on the standard, said:
“Companies in the agriculture sector must play a key role in the achievement of global goals for climate, forests, human rights, and sustainable development. By providing a comprehensive blueprint for standardized reporting on progress toward these goals, in alignment with the Accountability Framework and other guidance, GRI enables downstream buyers, investors, financiers, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to gather the information they need to make informed decisions related to company performance.”46% increase”.
Currently, only 40% of the 5,800 lading companies around the world are reporting on biodiversity. The hope is of course that more companies will begin tracking this. The GRI Biodiversity Standard also includes specific reporting across the supply chain to help organizations identify areas that will have the most impact within a business; new disclosures to help identify biodiversity loss such as on climate change, pollution and overusing resources; biodiversity human-rights requirements; and requests for location-specific data.
“The effects of biodiversity loss are directly undermining the sustainable development agenda and, if it continues unabated, will have disastrous consequences – on the environment, the economy and people,” Judy Kuszewski - chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board
Currently, this revision to GRI to now include biodiversity has been approve by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) and is open to public comment to test the clarity, feasibility, completeness, and relevance of the drafted Standard. This will continue until February 28th 2023.
Sources:
https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/standards-development/topic-standard-project-for-biodiversity/
https://esgclarity.com/gri-beefs-up-biodiversity-standards-draft/
https://www.esgtoday.com/gri-unveils-sustainability-reporting-standard-for-agriculture-fishing-sectors/
https://www.globalreporting.org/media/33uagl2h/aaf_basis_for_conclusions.pdf
