The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced a new cooperation agreement for the development of EU sustainability reporting standards and supporting convergence with global standards.

Judy Kuszewski, Chair of the GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board, said:

“The EU and GRI are both committed to standards that are multi-stakeholder inclusive and address the impacts organizations have on the environment, society and the economy, based on international and authoritative instruments.”

EFRAG was mandated by the European Commission in June 2020 to prepare for new EU sustainability reporting standards, as part of the revision of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), and is currently leading the technical work to develop European sustainability reporting standards for companies, as required by the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal.

Under the new collaboration, GRI and EFRAG have agreed to share technical expertise to foster the development of the reporting standards, as well as the progress of converged standards at the international level.

GRI Chairman Eric Hespenheide said:

“The CSRD has the potential to raise the bar for corporate accountability and transparency, in Europe and beyond. There are strong parallels between the double materiality-based proposals in the CSRD and the GRI Standards.

“We firmly believe that requirements that position sustainability reporting on an equal footing with financial disclosure – as set out in the EU proposals – will ensure transparency for all stakeholders on the impacts of companies while acting as an enabler for responsible business conduct and societal dialogue on pivotal issues.”

Patrick de Cambourg, Chair of the EFRAG Project Task Force, added:

“In the spirit of co-construction and convergence we promote, we want to benefit from long-standing precursors and avoid reinventing the wheel while contributing at the same time to further substantial progress globally.”