GRI Assessment: Requirements, Timeline and How to Prepare

A GRI Assessment is a sustainability report prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards. GRI is the most widely used sustainability reporting framework globally, used by thousands of companies across more than 100 countries. GRI reporting is based on materiality — companies identify which sustainability topics matter most to their business and stakeholders, then report on those topics using GRI's topic-specific Standards (e.g., GRI 302 Energy, GRI 305 Emissions, GRI 401 Employment). Companies can report "in accordance" with GRI (comprehensive) or with reference to selected Standards.

• Companies seeking global investor and stakeholder recognition
• Suppliers to multinational customers with ESG reporting requirements
• Companies preparing for future mandatory disclosure under ISSB, ESRS, or SEC climate rules
• Organizations publishing standalone sustainability or ESG reports

GRI Standards are organized into three series:

• GRI 100 series (Universal): GRI 1 (Foundation), GRI 2 (General Disclosures), GRI 3 (Material Topics)
• GRI 200 series (Economic): GRI 201 (Economic Performance), GRI 202 (Market Presence), GRI 203 (Indirect Economic Impacts), GRI 204 (Procurement Practices), GRI 205 (Anti-corruption), GRI 206 (Anti-competitive Behavior)
• GRI 300 series (Environmental): GRI 301 (Materials), GRI 302 (Energy), GRI 303 (Water and Effluents), GRI 304 (Biodiversity), GRI 305 (Emissions), GRI 306 (Waste), GRI 307 (Environmental Compliance), GRI 308 (Supplier Environmental Assessment)
• GRI 400 series (Social): GRI 401 (Employment), GRI 402 (Labor/Management Relations), GRI 403 (Occupational Health and Safety), GRI 404 (Training and Education), GRI 405 (Diversity and Equal Opportunity), GRI 406 (Non-discrimination), GRI 407 (Freedom of Association), GRI 408 (Child Labor), GRI 409 (Forced Labor), GRI 410 (Security Practices), GRI 411 (Rights of Indigenous Peoples), GRI 412 (Human Rights Assessment), GRI 413 (Local Communities), GRI 414 (Supplier Social Assessment), GRI 415 (Public Policy), GRI 416 (Customer Health and Safety), GRI 417 (Marketing and Labeling), GRI 418 (Customer Privacy)

• Over 40 topic-specific Standards require judgment on which are material
• Data must be collected from multiple departments and geographic locations
• No single mandated report format leads to inconsistent structure
• Stakeholder engagement and materiality assessment require dedicated processes
• Keeping pace with GRI Standard updates (e.g., GRI Universal Standards 2021) requires ongoing effort

• GRI Standards template: Pre-built GRI-aligned structure covering Universal, Economic, Environmental, and Social topic areas
• Materiality support: Guided materiality assessment to identify relevant GRI topics for your company
• Cross-framework output: Generate GRI reports from the same data used for BRSR, CBAM, ESRS, and IFRS
• AI-assisted drafting: First draft of GRI content from uploaded policy, metric, and stakeholder data
• One-click export: PDF and Word formats for stakeholder distribution

1. Conduct materiality assessment: Identify which ESG topics are material to your company and stakeholders
2. Select applicable GRI Standards: Choose topic-specific Standards based on material topics
3. Collect data: Gather metrics for each selected topic (energy, emissions, employment, safety, etc.)
4. Draft the report: Use SustainableX's AI-assisted GRI template to generate disclosures for each material topic
5. Publish and communicate: Export the report and share with investors, customers, and other stakeholders