GRI Updates To Universal Standards Emphasize Human Rights Reporting

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) recently published its revised Universal Standards, which go into effect on January 1, 2023. The revision will require all companies reporting in accordance with GRI standards to report on human rights impacts and due diligence obligations. Some companies are already required to report on such human rights impacts under modern slavery legislation like the U.K. Modern Slavery Act or Australia Modern Slavery Act. Under the revised standards, any company reporting in accordance with GRI standards will need to report on human rights impacts regardless of whether they are subject to other human rights reporting regimes.  

GRI explains that "human rights is a subject area, like the environment, and it covers more than 30 specific subjects, as established by authoritative intergovernmental instruments. . . [the update] require[s] all organizations to report basic information on how they meet their responsibility to respect human