Topic Standards Project for Human Rights
Helping businesses uphold human rights
Why human rights
Since the last update of the GRI human rights-related disclosures in 2011, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights have become an authoritative global reference point. As a result, companies now have a better understanding of their responsibilities, which they can consequently incorporate into reporting.
Recent years have also seen new business and human rights reporting frameworks and initiatives emerge, such as the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, and the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. We have also seen the influence of the UN Guiding Principles go beyond human rights, including wider areas of responsible business conduct.
As a result of these international developments, and to ensure that GRI reporting keeps up to date with organizational responsibilities for human rights related reporting best practice, this project was launched by the GSSB in 2017.
About the project
The main objective of this project is to bring the GRI human rights-related Standards in line with key authoritative intergovernmental instruments in this area, namely the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD instruments.
The project aims to review and revise the range of human rights-related topics covered in the Standards, and the related disclosures, to ensure they reflect best practice. While the project will be carried out in two phases, the public consultation period to update the Universal Standards included recommendations from phase 1, which was a review of the human rights content of the Standards.
Phase 2 of the project will focus on updating individual Standards to include human rights content and the development of new Standards or disclosures as needed. The project follows the GSSB’s Due Process Protocol.
Project timeline
This timeline is subject to change
May 2017: Phase 1 begins
September 2017: Appointment of technical committee
January 2018-February 2019: Development of recommendations for GSSB review
March 2019 -May 2020: Technical committee recommendations incorporated into review of GRI’s universal Standards
11 June-9 September 2020: Public comment period
Q3 2020-Q1 2021: Consideration of received comments and revisions
Q1 2021: Release of updated Universal Standards
Phase 2 (to be decided)
Read member bios of the Human Rights Technical Committee appointed by the GSSB.
Incorporation into Universal Standards review
The review of the GRI Universal Standards seeks to improve their usability and to align them with current international instruments for responsible business conduct and human rights, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD instruments.
The GSSB initiated the review of the Universal Standards in March 2019, to support the continuous improvement of the Standards and respond to the review of GRI's human rights related Standards.
The proposed changes to the Universal Standards see the addition of updated content covering responsible business conduct and due diligence, including respect for human rights.