The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has released four new exposure drafts proposing updates to its core labor-related standards, aimed at strengthening how companies report on human rights issues across their value chains. The drafts focus on key topics such as forced labor, child labor, and broader worker rights.
GRI Standards are widely used global sustainability reporting frameworks designed to promote consistent, comparable disclosures for stakeholders, including investors. Developed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the labor standards help organizations communicate their most significant impacts on workers and the measures they take to address them. These new drafts form part of the GSSB’s ongoing Labor Project, launched in 2022, which plans to revise eight labor-related standards, with final publications expected from mid-2026.
The newly issued exposure drafts cover Workers in Business Relationships (GRI 414), Forced Labor (GRI 409), Child Labor (GRI 408), and Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (GRI 407). They expand disclosure requirements on labor rights and working conditions, including due diligence practices, incident reporting, grievance mechanisms, worker engagement, and assessments across business activities and relationships. The proposals also introduce stronger expectations for reporting incidents, preventive measures, and remediation.
GRI noted that these updates respond to increasing expectations for companies to address negative labor impacts throughout their value chains, amid ongoing global challenges such as worker poverty, informal labor, gender inequality, and limited progress on eliminating child and forced labor.
GRI has opened a public consultation on the drafts, with comments accepted until March 9, 2026.
