Introduction
In an era where transparency and accountability are paramount, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting has emerged as a crucial component of corporate strategies. Organizations are now expected to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices, not just to satisfy compliance requirements compliance but to build the trust with stakeholders and boost their reputation. Since its first standards draft in 1999, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has led charge in standardizing ESG reporting. GRI’s reporting framework guide organizations toward measurable impacts impact, helping them communicate their sustainability efforts more effectively.
Understanding the importance of Global Reporting Initiative standards
As ESG concerns gain traction, GRI standards have become a vital tool for organizations worldwide today. In the last year alone, the GRI standards have been downloaded 846,165 times and support more than 14,000 organizations globally in more than 100 countries to report on GRI Standards. Among those organizations, 78% belong to G250, i.e., the 250 largest organizations globally by revenue, including 68% of the N100, (top 100 organizations by revenue in 58 countries), showcasing GRI's influence in shaping global sustainability practices.
Even if the organization is producing a sustainability report aligned or in reference to the GRI Standards, the GRI goes beyond its standards, supporting interoperability with leading reporting frameworks and regulations to enhance the consistency and comparability of sustainability disclosures globally. GRI collaborates with standards like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and the International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC). In 2023, GRI continued to work closely with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) by providing technical inputs for developing the sector-specific European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and strengthening further interoperability between the GRI Standards and the first set of the ESRS. Such alignments help organizations report in a way that meets multiple stakeholder needs.
By setting a global standard, GRI enhances the credibility of sustainability reporting. This is where GRI-licensed software and tools have become essential resources for reporting organizations seeking to streamline and enhance their GRI reporting processes.
The role of the GRI–licensed software and tools
The GRI software and tools empower organizations to manage their data efficiently and meet regulatory and reporting obligations with ease. The GRI Licensing - Software & Tools team aims to support this by ensuring that software and tools accurately incorporate the GRI Standards, providing reliable content for organizations on their sustainability efforts. In 2023, the Certified Software and Tools program became 'GRI Licensing – Software and Tools', assessing the GRI-licensed software with technical supervision and support to development partners to leverage the delivery of GRI Standards by providing structured methodologies, templates, and data management solutions tailored to GRI standards.
John Knights, Head of Services at GRI, said: “GRI is committed to enabling any organization – whether large or small, private, or public – to comprehensively understand and report on their impacts on the economy, environment, and people in a manner that is both comparable and credible. We are pleased that msg global solutions, known for their sustainability content and IT solutions development on SAP Sustainability Solutions, joins our growing group of Software and Tools Partners. msg global solutions is playing a vital role in helping their clients to leverage the GRI Standards for fulfilling their sustainability reporting needs.”
In 2024, msg global solutions joined the network of more than 70 GRI Licensed Software and Tools partners across the globe to provide its Clients the GRI reporting implementation tool, as a credible IT solution for implementing GRI standards on SAP Sustainability Control Tower - a SAP technology platform for sustainability holistic steering and reporting.
Key benefits of using the GRI Reporting Implementation Tool by msg global solutions
The GRI reporting implementation tool facilitates effective sustainability reporting aligned with GRI Standards and improves the reporting process and quality of reports accordingly. Here are some essential functions and benefits for reporting organizations to use the certified GRI reporting implementation tool - Sustainability Reporting Core content package developed by msg global solutions:
• Guidance and Compliance: The Sustainability Reporting Core has been designed by msg global solutions consultants to guide organizations through reporting requirements aligned with GRI Standards, ensuring the alignment with the latest standards and best practices. Such a feature can be handy for organizations new to sustainability reporting, as they can gain additional advisory support and know-how from msg global solutions when implementing this tool to establish a reporting process within the organization for the first time.
• Trustworthy Data Management: The Sustainability Reporting Core includes predefined templates for data collection, management, and analysis, making it easier for reporting organizations to track their sustainability performance over time and ensure accurate and comparable reporting year by year. With this guided tool from msg global solutions, reporting organizations can be assured of the accuracy of the data type used when calculating required KPIs and setting disclosures aligned or in reference to the GRI Standards.
• Automated and Streamlined Reporting Process: The Sustainability Reporting Core streamlines sustainability reporting processes by providing structured frameworks and templates that align with GRI Standards, as this can save time and reduce the complexity of gathering and analyzing data. Automation features with a predefined GRI Report dashboard can reduce manual effort in preparing reports, improve accuracy, and allow reporting organizations to focus more on strategy and analysis rather than administrative tasks dedicated to the reporting process. The Sustainability Reporting Core content package, as a licensed GRI reporting implementation tool, has been specially designed for use on SAP Sustainability Control Tower to automate and streamline sustainability reporting processes even with more ease.
• Simple interoperability with other reporting frameworks and standards: The Sustainability Reporting Core also allows reporting organizations to use the same data sets to report on other sustainability reporting frameworks and standards by managing all common data from one central point much more easily. This alignment facilitates enhanced interoperability for organizations using GRI Standards and needing to comply with, for example, ESRS by managing and using the same data set in SAP Sustainability Control Tower that matches both standards.
• Sustainability and technical advisory support: While implementing the Sustainability Reporting Core content package on SAP Sustainability Control Tower, msg global solutions provides additional training resources and user support, making it easier for reporting organizations to adopt, effectively use, and scale the tool for their reporting needs.
Alex Chiodo, Manager at GRI Licensing - Software and Tools, said: “GRI Licensed Software and Tools is pleased to announce that msg global solutions has successfully completed a comprehensive verification process, conducted by GRI analysts, to ensure the accurate and consistent application of the GRI Standards within "Sustainability Reporting Core content package". The goal of the GRI Licensed Software and Tools Program is to rigorously test and verify the authentic representation of GRI Standards within tool functionalities, providing end users with the confidence that they are utilizing reliable software aligned with GRI reporting practices.”
Overall, the GRI-licensed Sustainability Reporting Core content package from msg global solutions enhances the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of sustainability reporting, enabling reporting organizations to communicate their sustainability efforts transparently and reliably to stakeholders.
For more information on how to successfully and accurately implement GRI standards for your sustainability reporting, please contact us via sustainability@msg-global.com.
Sources: Global Reporting Initiative Inc. (2024), Mainstreaming Impact Reporting, Annual Report 2023
Pedersen, Esben R.G. (2015) Corporate Social responsibility, London, Sage Publishing, p 107
