Statement of Cooperation signed by GRI and EFRAG. The announcement of a Statement of Cooperation between GRI and EFRAG Project task Force sees both organizations agree to share technical expertise to co-construct new EU sustainability reporting standards and contribute to further global convergence.
This collaboration aims to
assist the European Commission in fulfilling its objective to increase
corporate transparency in support of the European Green Deal.
Requirements for companies to report to new European sustainability
reporting standards is set out in the new Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal. EFRAG’s Project Task Force on
European Sustainability Reporting Standards is leading the technical
work to develop those standards.
In the announcement, John Berrigan, Director General for Financial
Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European
Commission, states: “European sustainability reporting standards
should build on and contribute to the progress of existing standards and
frameworks that are widely used by companies. I welcome this Statement
of Cooperation between EFRAG and GRI as an important step towards
promoting convergence between European and global sustainability
reporting standards.”
Patrick de Cambourg, Chair of the EFRAG Project Task Force, highlights that: “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”.
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.
This agreement is the first step towards establishing a long-term
strategic collaboration on the co-construction of standards which meet
the requirements of the CSRD to become legally binding in the EU but
also can be incorporated in the voluntary global standards from GRI.
Standard development will therefore be guided by both EFRAG’s due
process and the GRI due process.”
GRI Chairman Eric Hespenheide
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. Therefore, we look forward to contributing
our knowledge and expertise to EFRAG and engage with the Project Task
Force in the co-construction of new EU sustainability standards.”
Judy Kuszewski, Chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board
In June 2020, EFRAG was originally mandated by the European Commission to prepare for new EU sustainability reporting standards, as part of the revision of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive. This next phase builds on the recommendations of the Project Task Force for preparatory work for EU non-financial reporting standards (PTF-NFRS).
In May, GRI participated in the High-Level Conference on a Proposal for a CSRD,
where Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner McGuiness
highlighted the importance of international convergence and cooperation.
Research by the Alliance for Corporate Transparency
(2020) indicated that 54% of EU companies use the GRI Standards (the
most commonly cited framework) to meet their non-financial reporting
requirements.
announcement of a Statement of Cooperation
GRI
© GRI - Global Reporting Initiative
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