Corporate Biodiversity Reporting Gets a Revamp in 2024: Introduction of GRI 101 Biodiversity
May 13 2025 By Richard "Rick" Ripper*Sustainability Deep Dive0 CommentsSay goodbye to the old ways and hello to the new era of sustainability reporting! The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has given us a real upgrade with their replacement of GRI 304 Biodiversity (2016) — a backward-looking standard — with the advanced GRI 101 Biodiversity (2024). This transformation is part of the international drive to boost biodiversity disclosures in accordance with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity*.
Starting January 1, 2026, this new standard will become mandatory for all organizations using the GRI framework, though early adopters are welcome in 2025. Here's our breakdown of what this switch is all about.
- 1 Bid Goodbye to GRI 304: A Shift in Focus
- 2 GRI 101 Biodiversity: Enhanced Requirements
- 2.1 The Impact on a Real-World Business Case
- 3 Achieving Alignment with the SDGs
- 4 Embracing the Reporting Timeline and Compliance
Bid Goodbye to GRI 304: A Shift in Focus
The shift from GRI 304 to GRI 101 isn't just a cosmetic change; it's a total paradigm shift — from merely identifying where a company's negative biodiversity impacts occur, to understanding how those impacts are managed, mitigated, and disclosed detailedly. The new framework demands both geospatial precision and impact-based accountability.
** Core Changes in GRI 101 Biodiversity reporting:**
- Disclosure 101-1: Calls for the publishing of biodiversity-related policies and their alignment with international targets like the GBF 2030.
- Disclosure 101-2: Introduces the mitigation hierarchy, encompassing Avoid, Minimize, Restore, Offset, and requests disclosures regarding such sequential measures.
- Disclosure 101-3: Mandates transparency in benefit-sharing agreements involving the use of genetic resources, as required by the Nagoya Protocol.
- Disclosures 101-4 to 101-6: Require detailed information on ecosystem conversion, pollution, species use, and site-specific ecological degradation.
GRI 101 Biodiversity: Enhanced Requirements
The Impact on a Real-World Business Case
Let's consider a fictional multinational cosmetics company that sources plant-derived ingredients from the Amazonian rainforest:
- Locational Impact: Under Disclosure 101-5, the company must reveal the total area of rainforest they've affected, including whether this land falls within a recognized biodiversity hotspot.
- Restoration and Mitigation: The company must present efforts like native reforestation, ecosystem restoration, or conservation offsets to counteract harm caused.
- Genetic Resource Equity: If the company uses traditional plant knowledge from local communities, they must disclose benefit-sharing agreements, demonstrating compliance with SDG Target 15.6.
- Pollution and Risk: Companies must report pollutant emissions, habitat fragmentation, or unsustainable water use as part of Disclosures 101-4 and 101-6.
Transitions from prevention to mitigation, and from ambiguous reporting to definite environmental responsibility are the name of the game here.
Achieving Alignment with the SDGs
GRI 101 supports the following Sustainable Development Goals:
- SDG 15: Life on Land - via conservation efforts and anti-deforestation measures.
- SDG 14: Life Below Water - through minimizing terrestrial activities that harm marine biodiversity.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production - by ensuring transparency in supply chain impacts and benefit-sharing agreements.
Additionally, it supports Targets 15.9 and 15.6, which integrate biodiversity values into national and corporate planning and promote equitable benefit-sharing.
Through this transparency, companies can prove that their sustainability efforts are not just talk, but data-driven, responsible actions.
Embracing the Reporting Timeline and Compliance
Organizations using the GRI Standards must prepare their data systems and perform biodiversity risk assessments to adhere to the more detailed reporting requirements that GRI 101 mandates.
The shift from GRI 304 to GRI 101 isn't merely about fulfilling regulations; it's a window of opportunity for companies operating in sensitive ecological zones or handling biodiversity-dependent products to demonstrate leadership in environmental stewardship and sustainability governance.
Don't miss this chance to boost your organization's green credentials and set an example for the future. Get ready to GRI 101: Biodiversity Reporting!
The shift from GRI 304 to GRI 101 not only marks a transition in reporting standards, but it also signifies a significant leap towards more sustainable practices.
GRI 101 brings a new emphasis on geospatial precision and impact-based accountability, which will require organizations to be more transparent about their biodiversity impacts and the measures they take to mitigate them.
Adopting GRI 101 will not only ensure compliance with international frameworks like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, but it will also allow companies to align their practices with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
