key concepts in GRI Standards: impacts and material topics Flashcards
(24 cards)
what are the key concepts covered in the section of the GRI Standards?
impact
material topics
due diligence
stakeholders
what is the purpose of the GRI Standards?
is to enable organizations to report information about their most significant impacts on the economy,
environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights
______ & __________ help organizations identify their most significant impacts.
due diligence and stakeholder engagement
_______ refers to the effect an organization has or could have on the economy, environment, and
people, including effects on their human rights, as a result of the _____ or _____.
impacts
organization’s activities or business relationships
impacts can be:
actual or potential negative or positive short term or long term intended or unintended reversible or irreversible
Impacts indicate the organization’s contribution, negative or positive to _____
sustainable development
The organization’s impacts on the economy refer to the
impacts on economic systems at local, national, and global levels.
An organization can have an impact on the economy through, for example, its:
its competition practices
its procurement practices
its taxes and payments to governments
The organization’s impacts on the environment refer to the impacts on living organisms and non-living elements, including
air, land, water, and ecosystems
An organization can have an impact on the environment through, for
example, its use of
energy, land, water, and other natural resources
The organization’s impacts on people refer to the impacts on
individuals and groups, such as communities,
vulnerable groups, or society.
The organization’s impacts on people refer to the impacts on individuals and groups, includes
the impacts the organization has on people’s human right
An organization can have an impact on people through, for example,
its employment practices (e.g., the wages it pays to employees)
its supply chain (e.g., the working conditions of workers of suppliers)
its products and services (e.g., their safety or accessibility).
Individuals or groups that have interests that are affected or could be affected by the
organization’s activities are referred to as
stakeholders
The impacts on the economy, environment, and people are
interrelated
an organization’s impacts on
the economy and environment can result in
impacts on people and their human rights
an organization’s positive impacts on the
environment can lead to
negative impacts on people and their human rights
An organization may identify many ____ on which to report
impacts
In the GRI Standards, these are the organization’s material topics
topics that represent its most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and
people, including impacts on their human rights.
Examples of material topics are
anti-corruption
occupational health and safety
water and effluents
A topic need not be limited to impacts on the economy, the environment, or people; it can cover impacts
across all three dimensions
The GRI Standards group impacts
into topics, like ‘water and effluents’, to help organizations report cohesively about
multiple impacts that relate to the
same topic
The process of determining material topics is informed by the organization’s
ongoing identification and assessment
of impacts.
The ongoing identification and assessment of impacts involves
engaging with relevant stakeholders and
experts and it is conducted independently of the sustainability reporting process.
