Japanese sustainability reporting can benefit from GRI cooperation
Published date: 26 November 2024
MoU between GRI’s GSSB and Sustainability Standards Board of Japan
The sustainability reporting standard-setting bodies of GRI and Japan have commenced a closer working relationship, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.
Following an inaugural meeting held in Tokyo this month between the GRI Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) and the Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ), the two governing bodies have agreed to:
- Explore the role of impact reporting and disclosures in enabling companies to assess their financial risks and opportunities.
- Jointly develop capacity building activities for Japanese companies to use the GRI Standards as the blueprint for meeting their corporate disclosure needs.
- Regularly exchange information on their respective standard-setting agendas and reporting developments, including in-person meetings.
Carol Adams is Chair of the GSSB – the independent body responsible for setting the GRI Standards. She said:
“This MoU is the outcome of dialogue between the GSSB and SSBJ since early 2023, through which it became clear that we are well aligned in our understanding that reporting on a company’s most significant impacts is important in its own right, and the basis for identifying financial risks and opportunities. The GSSB recognizes the need for more guidance in this area, and the SSBJ has agreed to support our work by developing illustrative case studies.
We also heard about the SSBJ’s plans to phase in mandatory sustainability disclosure rules – with a remit to ensure they meet the needs of Japanese companies and the global context they operate in. As such, it was very encouraging that they signalled a commitment by businesses to continue the voluntary reporting of their most significant impacts – given that most large companies in Japan already use the GRI Standards.”
GSSB Board Member Tomoo Machiba (Managing Director of Zeroboard Research Institute, Japan) added:
“Japan has been a leader in corporate sustainability disclosure for over two decades, where the GRI Standards has been applied by most major companies. The partnership with the SSBJ confirms the continued importance of impact reporting and its relevance to identifying financial risks and opportunities.
I fully expect that Japanese companies will continue to report with the GRI Standards to appropriately respond to the needs of investors and other stakeholders. The GSSB looks forward to working with the SSBJ in the coming months to provide Japanese companies with practical guidance to utilize standards effectively.”
Following the meeting with the GSSB on 14 November, SSBJ Chair Yasunobu Kawanishi said:
“On behalf of the SSBJ, it was our great pleasure to welcome the representatives of GRI’s GSSB to Tokyo. At this meeting, we were able to confirm our commitment towards better corporate reporting and, as a result, were able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. We look forward to continuing this productive relationship with the GRI in the coming years.”
The GSSB delegation to Japan included Carol Adams, Tomoo Machiba and Bastian Buck, GRI Chief of Standards. In addition to the bilateral engagement with SSBJ, they addressed an event with around 200 members of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and met senior representatives from the Securities Analysts Association of Japan; the Keidanren Japan Business Federation; and the Government of Japan’s Ministry of the Environment.
The regular engagements by the GSSB with regulators and national standard setters around the world seek to increase the quality of sustainability reporting, enhance understanding of the growing role of the GRI Standards in the corporate reporting landscape, and inform its approach to standard setting.
Research from KPMG in 2022 revealed that 87% of the top 100 companies in Japan use the GRI Standards, with 75% undertaking external assurance of their sustainability reports. The full suite of the GRI Standards can be accessed in Japanese.