GRI Announces Draft Disclosure Guidelines for the Energy and Climate Transition

In an effort to help businesses disclose their plans and actions for the climate change transition as well as their energy-related initiatives, GRI, a leading organization that advocates for standardized ESG reporting, recently announced the release of new draft standards for climate change and energy.

According to the GRI, the new proposed standards are being launched in response to emerging disclosure expectations on climate change, with the exposure drafts focusing on how organizations can cut their greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy consumption, in ways that support just transition principles. The GRI added that the new standards explicitly ask organizations to explain how their actions relate to the Paris Agreement’s ambition to limit global temperature rises to 1.5°C.

A number of new disclosures are included in the proposed climate change standard, such as reporting on targets and progress for emission reduction, transition plans for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and information on the use of carbon credits and GHG removal within the organization’s value chains.

In addition to including a new breakdown of significant energy consumption in the value chain by both upstream and downstream Scope 3 categories, the new Energy Standard also focuses on how organizations are reducing their energy consumption, achieving energy efficiency, and sourcing renewable energy. It also discloses energy target setting and includes reporting on the role of energy policy and commitments in the shift to a decarbonized economy.