Why leading organisations are using both GRI and ISSB

Sustainability reporting serves many audiences. Investors want insight into risks and opportunities that could affect long-term value, while employees, customers, regulators and communities are often looking for a broader understanding of an organisation’s impacts.

As a result, organisations are discovering that no single reporting framework answers every question.

The latest global reporting data reflects this reality. GRI’s State of Sustainability Reporting research found that organisations are not replacing GRI with newer reporting standards. Instead, many are using multiple frameworks together to address different reporting objectives.

What the latest data tells us

GRI is referenced by 40 per cent of the world’s largest listed companies, representing 62 per cent of global market capitalisation, across 107 jurisdictions.

However, the most significant finding isn’t the scale of GRI adoption. It’s the fact that organisations are using it alongside other reporting standards and frameworks rather than treating them as alternatives.

Many organisations use GRI alongside the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to address different reporting objectives and stakeholder information needs.

This trend is particularly evident in the relationship between GRI and ISSB. 80 per cent of companies that use the ISSB Standards also reference GRI. Similarly, 70 per cent of organisations reporting under ESRS do the same.

These findings challenge the idea that organisations need to choose between voluntary sustainability reporting and investor-focused disclosures.

Different frameworks, different purposes

ISSB Standards focus on sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect an organisation's financial performance and long-term value. This information is particularly relevant for investors and capital markets.

GRI takes a broader perspective, focusing on an organisation’s impacts on the economy, environment and society. This information can be relevant to a wider range of stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, regulators and supply chain partners.

These perspectives are different, but they are not mutually exclusive.

For many organisations, GRI and ISSB provide complementary insights. Together, they help organisations understand both their broader sustainability impacts and the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect long-term value.

A more connected future for sustainability reporting

For a long time, conversations about sustainability reporting have often centred on choosing the right framework. However, as stakeholder expectations continue to progress, many are approaching the question differently. Rather than looking for a single reporting solution, they are combining frameworks to meet the needs of different audiences.

This explains why GRI continues to be widely used alongside newer reporting standards, including those of the ISSB. Each framework offers a different lens, and together they can provide a more complete picture of an organisation’s sustainability performance, impacts, risks and opportunities.

For organisations embarking on a sustainability reporting journey, the opportunity may be less about choosing between GRI and ISSB and more about understanding how different standards can work together to meet a broader reporting strategy.

Finding the right reporting mix

There is no single sustainability reporting framework that suits every organisation, audience or objective. The challenge is understanding which frameworks are most relevant to stakeholders and how they can work together to tell a clearer sustainability story.

Our sustainability team can help organisations assess reporting needs and develop a reporting approach that aligns with sustainability objectives.