As the UN Biodiversity Conference of Parties (COP16) in Colombia draws to a close, and with the final agreement to protect nature and halt biodiversity loss still being finalised, success will depend on the ability to enact and adhere to new commitments.
As a provider of the world’s most widely used standards for sustainability reporting, GRI enables organisations to fully disclose their impacts, including on biodiversity. Robust and comparable reporting is a key part of how governments, investors, civil society and other stakeholders can assess progress against global biodiversity goals. Furthermore, by identifying their impacts, organisations are best positioned to take mitigation actions.
At a GRI and S&P Global event in Cali on 30 October, the new GRI 101 Biodiversity Standard was profiled. The Standard, aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, helps organisations to better understand which decisions and business practices lead to biodiversity loss, where in their value chain impacts occur, and how they can be managed.
The event unveiled three key developments:
- Official launch of translations of GRI 101 into Spanish and Portuguese. Given Latin America is home to the world’s most biodiverse habitats, the impacts of companies operating in the region need to be understood – including their contributions in global value chains – emphasising the necessity of making the GRI Standards more accessible.
- Progress report on the GRI 101 pilot with the GRI Community. Through a series of workshops, multinational businesses have explored how the Biodiversity Standard can be used for materiality assessment, to set and monitor biodiversity targets and take actions on the ground, and understand synergies with the TNFD. To further facilitate adoption, best practice case studies from the pilot will publish later this year.
- Special COP16 edition of GRI Academy biodiversity course. A new version of the online training is available, for a Spanish-speaking audience. This learning addresses biodiversity trends and business relevance, and how this hot topic can be integrated into reporting.
GRI’s COP16 delegation was led by Cristina Gil White, interim CEO. She said:
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework set at COP15 was a key moment, yet progress towards solutions must be faster. It is therefore encouraging that, here in Colombia, COP16 provides an opportunity to put the Framework into action. That can only be possible if all stakeholders are engaged, the private sector included.
By reporting their impacts, and adapting operations and business practices, companies can be a force for change, to reach a nature-positive future. GRI 101 offers a route map for any organisation around the world to understand their biodiversity impacts and actively contribute towards the solutions we need to see.”
Andrea Pradilla, Director of GRI Latin America, which is based in Colombia, added:
“With a 94 per cent decline in species over the past 50 years, my home region of Latin America is a microcosm of the biodiversity pressures being experienced planet-wide. That is why it is hugely significant that the global community has come together in Cali to agree concrete steps that move the rhetoric into action.
Companies in Latin America are realising that being transparent about their impacts is both a business and moral necessity. When it comes to biodiversity, I am delighted that regional stakeholders can now access GRI 101 in Spanish and Portuguese, underlining our commitment to be a global catalyst for a sustainable future.”
The event Innovations in transparency and reporting on biodiversity: Paving the way for sustainable futures took place on 30 October at the Marriot Hotel in Cali, Colombia, with over 150 people attending. Insights and panel discussions included reporting experiences with GRI 101; how companies are navigating climate transition journeys; and strategies to manage nature-related impacts and risks. GRI has participated in a wide range of COP16 engagements focused on achieving organizational transparency for impacts.
Published in January, GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 sets a new global benchmark in accountability for biodiversity impacts. The revised Standard, which is freely available and has already been downloaded over 100,000 times, updates and replaces GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016.
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