Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and 11 organisations in sustainable corporate reporting have published a joint public letter urging UN Member States to retain corporate sustainability disclosure provisions in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) negotiations.
In line with GRI’s commitment to a streamlined global reporting system, this joint letter comes just ahead of the FfD4 committee meeting in New York this week. It calls on all governments to adopt GRI and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards to ‘”facilitate swift government action” and “leverage the standards’ widespread adoption and complementation.” It lays out the advantages of these standards, for example, the fact they can expand market access, strengthen financial stability, reduce costs and underpin competitiveness.
Collectively, the coalition respond to concerns from various countries on the perceived burden of sustainability disclosures on developing economies.
The letter is co-signed by GRI, B Lab, B Lab Switzerland, Capitals Coalition, CDP, Danish Institute for Human Rights, GSG Impact, International Trade Union Confederation, Social Value International, Shift, UNI Global Union, and the World Benchmark Alliance.
Peter Paul van de Wijs, GRI chief policy officer, said: “Now is the time to strengthen the foundations of a global sustainability reporting system that serves businesses, society and the environment. By upholding corporate transparency provisions in the FfD4 negotiations, governments can ensure that sustainability reporting is an enabler for mobilizing capital for development.
“A clear, interoperable framework based on the requirement for companies to comprehensively report on their impacts, risks and opportunities, or as the UN call it, double materiality, will empower markets, support responsible investment and align capital with sustainable and inclusive growth.”
