The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) have announced a new set of agreements building on their existing partnership. The new cooperation is expected to help organizations more closely collaborate and align with reporting standards, streamlining the sustainability reporting process for companies. 

The new collaboration between GRI and CDP may be an important development for private equity/credit companies, asset managers, and impact investors. It is designed to streamline sustainability reporting, enhance access to comparable data on sustainability, and facilitate better integration of ESG factors into investment strategies. 

Let's explore the new cooperation between GRI and CDP in detail. 

About the GRI and CDP partnership

GRI and CDP began collaborating in 2011 when both entities agreed to harmonize their reporting frameworks to reduce companies' reporting complexity and improve disclosed information quality. 

Fast-forward to 2020, and GRI and CDP, along with other organizations, built on their partnership to create a unified set of global reporting standards to avoid greenwashing and streamline sustainability disclosures. In 2022, GRI and CDP continue to improve their alignment by integrating more questions from CDP's climate questionnaire into GRI's standard. 

Both organizations are deepening their collaboration to enhance environmental reporting following a Memorandum of Understanding signed during the November 2024 COP29 in Baku. 

Regarding the new cooperation, CDP CEO Sherry Madera said, "CDP is proud to strengthen our collaboration with GRI. This agreement will enhance the efficiency of environmental reporting, enabling companies to provide more comparable and actionable data. By disclosing through CDP, companies can disclose GRI-aligned data directly to stakeholders and the wider global market. This is a crucial step in accelerating global climate action and ensuring businesses can meet the highest standards of transparency and accountability."

Key aspects of the new collaboration

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  The partnership aims to simplify companies' environmental reporting process, making it easier for them to disclose data that aligns with both GRI and CDP standards. 

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  A crucial part of this cooperation involves mapping CDP's questionnaire to GRI's Topic Standards, specifically in areas such as biodiversity, climate, and water. The alignment will enhance interoperability between the two standards, allowing companies to better report GRI-aligned data through CDP's established disclosure system. 

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  Under the new agreements, GRI and CDP will build capacity and streamline company disclosure, with the goal of increasing access to comparable data through sustainable reporting. 

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  CDP's corporate questionnaire is already aligned with GRI 303: Water & Effluents 2018 and climate-related disclosures of GRI Standards. The new cooperation will explore mapping and alignment with GRI's upcoming climate and energy standards and GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024. 

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