GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 – Sustainability Reporting Standard

Introduction

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 is one of the three Universal Standards within the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. Issued by the Global Sustainability Standards Board, it establishes disclosures that organisations use to explain who they are, how they operate and how responsibility for sustainability impacts is embedded within their governance, policies and practices.

The purpose of GRI 2 is to provide context for understanding an organisation’s impacts on the economy, environment and people, including impacts on human rights. While GRI 1: Foundation 2021 establishes the overall requirements and principles for using the GRI Standards, GRI 2 focuses on information about the reporting organisation itself. GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 then addresses how organisations determine and manage their material topics.

GRI 2 therefore goes beyond basic corporate profile information. It covers reporting boundaries and practices, workforce composition, value-chain relationships, governance responsibilities, remuneration, responsible business conduct, human rights commitments, grievance mechanisms, compliance and stakeholder engagement. Together, these disclosures provide the organisational context needed to interpret the sustainability information reported elsewhere under the GRI Standards.

Structure

GRI 2 contains 30 disclosures organised into five main sections.

The first section covers the organisation and its reporting practices. Its five disclosures address organisational details, entities included in sustainability reporting, the reporting period and frequency, restatements of previously reported information and external assurance. These disclosures help users understand the scope and basis of the organisation’s sustainability reporting.

The second section addresses activities and workers through three disclosures. Organisations report information about their activities, products and services, value chain and other business relationships, as well as employees and workers who are not employees. The workforce disclosures include information such as permanent, temporary, full-time and part-time employment and provide context for understanding employment-related impacts.

The third and largest section covers governance through 13 disclosures. It addresses the structure and composition of the highest governance body, nomination and selection processes, the role of the chair, oversight of sustainability impacts, delegation of responsibility, approval of sustainability reporting, conflicts of interest, critical concerns, governance knowledge, performance evaluation and remuneration.

The fourth section contains seven disclosures on strategy, policies and practices. It covers the organisation’s sustainable development strategy, responsible business conduct commitments, human rights policies, implementation of policy commitments, remediation of negative impacts, mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns, compliance with laws and regulations and participation in membership associations.

The fifth section contains two disclosures covering stakeholder engagement. Organisations describe how they identify and engage with stakeholders and report the percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Throughout GRI 2, requirements are identified by the word “shall”. Guidance provides explanations and examples to help organisations apply those requirements, while recommendations describe actions that are encouraged but are not mandatory for reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards.

Applicability

GRI 2 is designed to be used by organisations reporting under the GRI Standards regardless of their size, sector, ownership structure or geographic location. It forms part of the Universal Standards and therefore has a different role from GRI Sector Standards and Topic Standards, which are applied according to an organisation’s sector and material topics.

An organisation reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report the disclosures in GRI 2. The entities identified under Disclosure 2-2 establish the organisational scope for reporting the other GRI 2 disclosures and provide an important connection between sustainability reporting and the entities included in financial reporting.

GRI 2 is particularly useful for explaining how sustainability responsibilities are embedded within an organisation. Its governance disclosures require information on how the highest governance body oversees impacts on the economy, environment, and people; how responsibility is delegated; and whether the highest governance body reviews and approves sustainability reporting and material topics.

The Standard also provides extensive coverage of responsible business conduct. Organisations report their policy commitments, including commitments relating to human rights, due diligence and the precautionary principle where applicable, as well as how these commitments are communicated and embedded throughout operations and business relationships.

GRI 2 also addresses how organisations respond when negative impacts occur. This includes disclosures on grievance mechanisms and remediation processes, as well as mechanisms that allow individuals to seek advice or raise concerns about business conduct. Compliance disclosures require organisations to report significant instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Stakeholder engagement is another important area of application. Organisations explain which stakeholder groups they engage with, why engagement takes place and how they seek to make the engagement meaningful. Separate requirements address collective bargaining coverage among employees.

GRI 2 does not require organisations to duplicate information already published elsewhere. Where relevant information is available in an annual report, website or another public source, an organisation can reference that information through its GRI content index in accordance with the applicable requirements.

Status

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 was published as part of the revised GRI Universal Standards and became effective for reports or other materials published on or after 1 January 2023.

It operates alongside GRI 1: Foundation 2021 and GRI 3: Material Topics 2021. The three Universal Standards are applied together by organisations reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards, while applicable Sector Standards and Topic Standards provide additional sector-specific and topic-specific reporting requirements.

GRI 2 replaced the previous general disclosure requirements contained in the earlier GRI Universal Standards. The 2021 revision strengthened areas including governance oversight, responsible business conduct, human rights, due diligence, stakeholder engagement and reporting on an organisation’s workforce and business relationships.

As of November 2026, GRI continues to publish GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 as part of its current Universal Standards, effective 1 January 2023. Organisations should nevertheless check the official GRI Standards platform when preparing new disclosures because the wider system of Sector and Topic Standards continues to be developed and revised.

Conclusion

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 provides the organisational context that makes sustainability reporting under the GRI Standards easier to understand and assess. Rather than concentrating on one environmental, social or governance topic, it requires organisations to explain their reporting practices, operations, workforce, governance arrangements, policies and stakeholder relationships.

Its breadth is one of its defining features. The Standard connects sustainability reporting with areas such as board oversight, remuneration, value chains, human rights commitments, remediation, legal compliance and collective bargaining. This gives readers a clearer view of how sustainability impacts are governed and managed across an organisation rather than presenting sustainability information as a separate reporting exercise.

For organisations reporting in accordance with GRI, GRI 2 works together with GRI 1 and GRI 3 to form the core Universal Standards. GRI 1 establishes how the reporting system operates, GRI 2 provides disclosures about the reporting organisation, and GRI 3 addresses the process for determining and managing material topics.

Access the original full framework here: click here.

Published: 2021

Effective date: 1 January 2023

Published by: Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the independent standard-setting body of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)