New GRI Biodiversity Standard demands reporting of drivers of biodiversity loss, impact on Indigenous Peoples

Subject: Environment

Section: Int Conversation

Context:

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched an updated Biodiversity Standard, GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024,aimed at enhancing global transparency in reporting biodiversity impacts.

Details:

Developed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), this standard is designed to help businesses, governments, and other organizations report on their environmental impact, including issues related to climate change, human rights, and corruption.
The new standard focuses on providing a detailed account of an organization’s impact on biodiversity through its supply chain and operations, addressing the urgent need to mitigate the pressures on nature, with over one million plant and animal species at risk of extinction.
Scheduled for formal implementation from January 1, 2026, the document is currently available for early adoption and pilot testing.
It is aligned with critical global biodiversity developments, such as the United Nations Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Science-Based Target Network, and the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures.
The standard aims to meet the increasing demands for information on biodiversity impacts from various stakeholders, offering full transparency throughout the supply chain and requiring disclosure of location-specific impacts, direct drivers of biodiversity loss, and effects on communities and Indigenous Peoples.
The updated standard will help in raising transparency and understanding the risks and dependencies associated with biodiversity loss.

The Science Based Target Network (STN):

It aims to transform economic systems and protect the global commons – our air, water, land, biodiversity and ocean.
Vision: A global economy in which companies and cities operate within environmental boundaries on a socially equitable basis through the setting of science-based targets (SBTs) to transform their impact.
Mission:
- Develop methods for cities and companies to set integrated targets across all Earth systems.
- Build on the progress of establishing science-based targets for climate to achieve widespread adoption of science-based targets on water, land, biodiversity and ocean.
- Demonstrate significant progress in line with key global policy milestones like the SDGs, and goals and targets under the UNFCCC, UNCCD, CBD, by developing an indicator framework that tracks how SBT setters deliver progress.
- Work to embed adoption of science-based targets within capital markets by partnering with policy makers, financial institutions and service providers such as benchmarkers and credit agencies.

About Global Reporting Initiative (GRI):

Founded: 1997, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Founders: United Nations Environment Programme, Ceres, Tellus Institute
GRI is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing them with the global common language to communicate those impacts.
The GRI Secretariat is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and they have a network of seven regional offices to ensure we support organizations and stakeholders worldwide.