The EFRAG and the GRI, a leading international organisation in sustainability reporting, have recently fortified their partnership.
This collaboration is marked by a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signifying the deepening of their alliance.
This strengthened partnership aims to align the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) with the GRI Standards, facilitating technical support for reporting companies. This initiative underscores the commitment of both organizations to work collaboratively in delivering efficient and comprehensive sustainability reporting frameworks.
EFRAG, as a key advisor to the European Commission, plays a significant role in the development of financial reporting standards, including the ESRS. GRI, on the other hand, specializes in setting global standards for sustainability reporting, assisting companies worldwide in communicating their impact on critical sustainability issues.
The partnership has already yielded the GRI-ESRS Interoperability Index, a tool designed to streamline reporting processes by demonstrating the commonalities between ESRS and GRI standards. This tool aids in reducing the complexity and duplication in reporting, allowing entities under ESRS to be considered compliant with GRI standards and vice versa.
Further areas of cooperation outlined in the MoU include the development of standards and guidance, education and training for ESRS preparers and users, and the integration of digital XBRL taxonomies. This collaboration is set to benefit companies and stakeholders by providing standardized, credible, and comparable sustainability information.
EFRAG Administrative Board President, Hans Buysse, expressed enthusiasm for the continued technical cooperation, stating, “As a multistakeholder organization, tasked with the elaboration of sustainability reporting standards as technical advice to the European Commission, EFRAG welcomes the fruitful dialogue with other standard setting organisations or initiatives.
“Our relationship with GRI has been and is exemplary in that regard and we look forward to this second phase in our technical cooperation.”
Similarly, GRI CEO, Eelco van der Enden, highlighted the practical outcomes of the partnership, saying, “The partnership between GRI and EFRAG has already borne fruit by ensuring that the new EU standards and the GRI Standards – which many companies in Europe and beyond are using to report their impacts — are closely aligned.
“Encompassing practical resources and training alongside deeper engagement on standards, this new MoU reassures companies and all stakeholders of our joint commitment to an aligned, efficient, and feasible EU and global ecosystem for impact reporting. I look forward to continued collaboration with our European partners to achieve this aim.”
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