Thread by @bbaue

.@GRI_Secretariat released its Oil & Gas Sector Standard Exposure draft yesterday.

globalreporting.org/standards/medi…

How did it handle Sustainability Context? you may ask.

Well, let me tell you.

@GRI_Secretariat "Sections 2 & 3 include contextual information for the sector, including highlighting authoritative measures of sustainable development, referencing broader sustainable development conditions and goals set out in recognized sector-specific or global instruments…"

@GRI_Secretariat "This will assist an organization to report on its impacts in the wider context of sustainable development.”

OK, on to Sections 2 & 3.

@GRI_Secretariat Section 2 includes mention of the Paris Agreement...

@GRI_Secretariat and the SDGs

@GRI_Secretariat Section 3 addresses GHGs. In “What to Report” it says:

"Whether, and how, goals and targets take into account the context in which the impacts take place and are informed by expectations in internationally recognized instruments and, where relevant, by scientific consensus"

@GRI_Secretariat And then it provides these resources.

Note that it does not include @ScienceTargets, which was created a half-decade ago precisely because the @ghgprotocol doesn’t provide guidance on how to align with sustainability thresholds or how to allocate that responsibility to companies

@GRI_Secretariat @sciencetargets @ghgprotocol So, will this guidance provide us with bona fide sustainability reporting?

Unfortunately, the answer is, yet again, a resounding NO.

Simply mentioning the Paris Agreement and the SDGs is not sufficient.

@GRI_Secretariat @sciencetargets @ghgprotocol A bona fide Sustainability Reporting Standard would actually provide the necessary guidance for a company to report on their sustainability.

This Standard falls far short of that.

Even though @ScienceTargets proves it’s possible to provide guidance on thresholds & allocations..

@GRI_Secretariat @sciencetargets @ghgprotocol .@ElaineCohen laments the rise of ESG reporting.

csr-reporting.blogspot.com/2020/06/esg-re…

I actually welcome it, in the sense that it’s at least honest.

GRI Standards provide guidance on ESG reporting (ie incremental improvement), so it’s good that companies are acknowledging this reality.

@GRI_Secretariat GRI Standards do NOT provide guidance on sustainability reporting, ie reporting on the sustainability performance of companies.

In fact, the new Universal Standards removed the term “performance” from its definition of Sustainability Context...

@GRI_Secretariat So, if the Universal Standards proceed as proposed, the world will be deprived of bona fide Sustainability Reporting Standards, so we can expect more and more ESG progress reports.

And we may never see a true sustainability report.

I’ve never seen one.

Have you?

Show me...

@GRI_Secretariat RIP Sustainability Reporting