Sustainability reporting practitioners that use the GRI Standards can now take advantage of a new learning course that provides the know-how to better integrate the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) into already existing reporting practices and processes. 

Available on the GRI Academy – the world’s leading education portal on sustainability reporting – ‘Unlock the ESRS for GRI reporters’ presents a comprehensive overview of the Corporate Sustainability Directive (CSRD) and the ESRS, which is the instrument for achieving CSRD compliance in the European Union. Not only does the course cover the key characteristics of the ESRS, but it also explores its alignment with the GRI Standards, discussing how both sets of standards can be used together by organizations to disclose their impacts, risks, and opportunities, and what mapping documents are available. 

The interactive training course answers the most frequently asked questions from companies that full under the CSRD mandate, such as: 

• What is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and where do the European Sustainability Reporting Standards fit in? 
• What are the structure and key characteristics of the ESRS? 
• How can GRI reporters use their already existing materiality processes and disclosures when reporting with the ESRS? 
• How can organizations report by using both the GRI Standards and the ESRS, and why should they? 

The course takes around three hours to complete and can be taken online. GRI Community members are eligible for a 25% discount.  

Other ESRS-related resources already available to GRI reporters include: 

• ESRS-GRI Standards data point mapping which maps each ESRS data point against the corresponding one in the GRI Standards. The mapping tool will be updated in early 2024 to align with the final list of ESRS data points. 
• GRI-ESRS interoperability index that sets out how the GRI disclosure requirements relate to ESRS data points, emphasizing the high degree of commonality achieved. The index will be finalized in early 2024. 

The ESRS applies to all large and listed companies in the EU. From 2028, non-EU companies operating in Europe will also have to report their impacts using the ESRS or equivalent standards. 

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As confirmed last year, a high level of interoperability between the ESRS and the GRI Standards has been achieved, which means that the ESRS and GRI definitions, concepts and disclosures on impacts are fully aligned, wherever possible. Alignment between the ESRS and GRI’s impact standards provides reassurance for companies that they can utilize their existing reporting to meet new requirements.