One Earth supports Global Reporting Initiative on development of biodiversity reporting standard

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced today that it has received backing from a group of organizations for the development of an updated and revised biodiversity standard for sustainability reporting. Supporters of the updated standard development include KPMG IMPACT, Ambipar, and One Earth, along with a private individual donation. Karl Burkart, Deputy Director of One Earth, said,

The GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Standards are the most commonly accepted global standards for sustainability reporting by companies, developed to enable consistent reporting across companies and industries, providing clearer communication to stakeholders regarding sustainability matters. Funding for the revised standard forms a special project under the GRI’s Global Standards Fund, which enables the continued independent and multi-stakeholder development of the standards, as well as advocacy to drive uptake of the standards, along with further development of sector-specific sustainability reporting standards.

According to GRI, the current Biodiversity Standard is used annually by at least 2,000 organizations. With this revised standard, the GRI aims to reach more organizations in order to enable them to address their role in biodiversity, and to help meet stakeholder expectations for transparency. Urgency for improved biodiversity reporting is given added significance by the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021, where one of four goals will be to ensure adaptation that protects natural habitats and restores ecosystems. Marco van der Ree, GRI Chief Development Officer, said,

With more and more companies making biodiversity commitments in the lead up to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China, the time is right for a new comprehensive reporting standard for businesses that want to reduce their impacts on the natural world.