Purpose

This paper aims to reflect on the future of sustainability reporting standards by examining the current practical initiatives and the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) position in the arena of non-financial and sustainability reporting and identifies avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical reflection and analysis of research on the GRI’s achievements and the influence of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation’s initiative to develop global sustainability reporting standards.

Findings

The GRI has a dominant position in sustainability reporting standard-setting related to the provision of information about the influence of reporting organisations on society and the natural environment. The IFRS Foundation’s initiative to enter the sustainability reporting standard-setting arena, although from the perspective of providing information to investors regarding the influence of society and the environment on the reporting organisation, is an attempt to solidify its own position as the reporting standard setter of choice, not only for financial reporting but for all reporting standards. However, despite its aim to differentiate its role from the GRI by leveraging the financial-oriented ideological side of double materiality, we argue that the IFRS is unlikely to harm the GRI’s global position in producing multi-stakeholder standards for sustainability reporting and accountability. This differentiated position is facilitated by the different sources of legitimacy the GRI and IFRS rely on.

Research limitations/implications

The paper identifies future research opportunities.

Originality/value

Due to the recent initiatives for creating new sustainability reporting standard-setters, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper offers one of the first critical reflections on the past and the likely future of the GRI and its sustainability reporting standards. The paper also identifies several new avenues for future research.

中文翻译：

---

全球报告倡议组织 (GRI) 的过去、现在和未来：关于可持续发展报告的批判性思考和研究议程（标准制定）

目的

本文旨在通过审查当前的实际举措和全球报告倡议组织 (GRI) 在非财务和可持续发展报告领域的地位，反思可持续发展报告标准的未来，并确定未来研究的途径。

设计/方法/方法

对 GRI 成就的研究以及国际财务报告准则 (IFRS) 基金会制定全球可持续发展报告标准的倡议的影响进行批判性反思和分析。

发现

GRI 在与提供有关报告组织对社会和自然环境影响的信息相关的可持续发展报告标准制定方面具有主导地位。国际财务报告准则基金会进入可持续发展报告准则制定领域的举措，虽然从向投资者提供有关社会和环境对报告组织的影响的信息的角度来看，是试图巩固其自身作为报告准则制定者的地位。不仅适用于财务报告，而且适用于所有报告标准。然而，尽管它旨在通过利用双重物质性的金融导向意识形态方面来区分其与 GRI 的作用，我们认为，IFRS 不太可能损害 GRI 在为可持续发展报告和问责制制定多利益相关方标准方面的全球地位。GRI 和 IFRS 所依赖的不同合法性来源促进了这种差异化的立场。

研究限制/影响

该论文确定了未来的研究机会。

原创性/价值

由于最近创建新的可持续发展报告标准制定者的举措，据作者所知，本文提供了对 GRI 及其可持续发展报告标准的过去和可能未来的第一个批判性反思之一。该论文还确定了未来研究的几个新途径。