a. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an independent, international nonprofit organisation that provides a widely recognized framework for sustainability reporting. Established in 1997, GRI aims to help organisations understand and communicate their impacts on environmental, social, and economic issues, thereby promoting transparency and accountability.

b. GRI develops sustainability reporting standards that are used by organisations worldwide to disclose their impacts on various sustainability issues, including:

- Climate change
- Human rights
- Labour practices
- Corruption
- Resource use

These standards enable companies, governments, and other entities to report their sustainability performance in a structured and comparable manner, facilitating stakeholder engagement and informed decision-making.

The GRI Standards are organised into three main categories:

a. Universal Standards: These are applicable to all organisations and provide a foundational framework for sustainability reporting. Key Universal Standards include:

- GRI 1: Foundation 2021 – Outlines the requirements for reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards.
- GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 – Covers organisational details, governance, and stakeholder engagement.
- GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 – Guides organisations in identifying and reporting on material sustainability topics.

b. Sector Standards: These standards are tailored to specific industries, providing insights into likely material topics relevant to those sectors. They help organisations focus on issues that are particularly significant in their industry context.

c. Topic Standards: These standards address specific sustainability topics, such as water, energy, or labour practices. Organisations can select relevant Topic Standards based on their identified material topics.

a. To determine the material topics specific to your industry using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, you should follow a structured process that incorporates stakeholder engagement and contextual analysis:

- Understand Your Organization’s Context
- Identify Actual and Potential Impacts
- Assess the Significance of Impacts
- Prioritise Material Topics for Reporting

In addition to the above steps, leverage the GRI Sector Standards relevant to your industry. These standards provide guidance on common material topics that organisations in specific sectors typically face. This can help you identify industry-specific issues that may not be immediately apparent through internal assessments alone.

While the GRI Universal Standards provide a comprehensive framework applicable to all organisations, the GRI Sector Standards offer tailored guidance for specific industries, ensuring that sector-specific impacts are adequately reported. Organisations should start with the Universal Standards and then integrate the relevant Sector Standards to enhance the specificity and relevance of their sustainability reports.