GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018 contains disclosures for organizations to report information about their water-related impacts, and how they manage these impacts.
The Standard is structured as follows:
The rest of the Introduction section provides a background on the topic, an overview of the system of GRI Standards and further information on using this Standard.
Background on the topic
This Standard addresses the topic of water and effluents.
Access to fresh water is essential for human life and wellbeing, and is recognized by the United Nations (UN) as a human right. The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the UN as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, include key targets related to sustainable water management under Goal 6: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. These targets aim, for example, to achieve universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, improve water quality, and address water scarcity.
The amount of water withdrawn and consumed by an organization and the quality of its discharges, can impact the functioning of the ecosystem in numerous ways. Direct impacts on a catchment can have wider impacts on the quality of life in an area, including social and economic consequences for local communities and indigenous peoples.
Since water is a shared resource, and water-related impacts are localized, organizations are increasingly being encouraged to:
Through a comprehensive understanding of its water use, an organization can assess the impacts it has on water resources that benefit the ecosystem, other water users, and the organization itself. An organization, particularly a water-intensive one, can use this information for effective water management.
System of GRI Standards
This Standard is part of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards). The GRI Standards enable an organization to report information about its most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights, and how it manages these impacts.
The GRI Standards are structured as a system of interrelated standards that are organized into three series: GRI Universal Standards, GRI Sector Standards, and GRI Topic Standards (see Figure 1 in this Standard).
Universal Standards: GRI 1, GRI 2 and GRI 3
GRI 1: Foundation 2021 specifies the requirements that the organization must comply with to report in accordance with the GRI Standards. The organization begins using the GRI Standards by consulting GRI 1.
GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 contains disclosures that the organization uses to provide information about its reporting practices and other organizational details, such as its activities, governance, and policies.
GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 provides guidance on how to determine material topics. It also contains disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its process of determining material topics, its list of material topics, and how it manages each topic.
Sector Standards
The Sector Standards provide information for organizations about their likely material topics. The organization uses the Sector Standards that apply to its sectors when determining its material topics and when determining what to report for each material topic.
Topic Standards
The Topic Standards contain disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its impacts in relation to particular topics. The organization uses the Topic Standards according to the list of material topics it has determined using GRI 3.
Using this Standard
This Standard can be used by any organization – regardless of size, type, sector, geographic location, or reporting experience – to report information about its water-related impacts.
An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report the following disclosures if it has determined water and effluents to be a material topic:
See Requirements 4 and 5 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021.
Reasons for omission are permitted for these disclosures.
If the organization cannot comply with a disclosure or with a requirement in a disclosure (e.g., because the required information is confidential or subject to legal prohibitions), the organization is required to specify the disclosure or the requirement it cannot comply with, and provide a reason for omission together with an explanation in the GRI content index. See Requirement 6 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 for more information on reasons for omission.
If the organization cannot report the required information about an item specified in a disclosure because the item (e.g., committee, policy, practice, process) does not exist, it can comply with the requirement by reporting this to be the case. The organization can explain the reasons for not having this item, or describe any plans to develop it. The disclosure does not require the organization to implement the item (e.g., developing a policy), but to report that the item does not exist.
If the organization intends to publish a standalone sustainability report, it does not need to repeat information that it has already reported publicly elsewhere, such as on web pages or in its annual report. In such a case, the organization can report a required disclosure by providing a reference in the GRI content index as to where this information can be found (e.g., by providing a link to the web page or citing the page in the annual report where the information has been published).
Further guidance for reporting the disclosures in this Standard
Due to the strong relationship between water withdrawal, consumption, and discharge, the reporting organization is expected to report on all three topic disclosures of GRI 303.
Since water-related impacts are often localized, the organization is encouraged, as much as possible, to support any quantitative aggregate-level information with narrative descriptions of any contextual factors that were considered when compiling the information. This will provide a more comprehensive overview of the organization’s water use.
Requirements, guidance and defined terms
The following apply throughout this Standard:
Requirements are presented in bold font and indicated by the word 'shall'. An organization must comply with requirements to report in accordance with the GRI Standards.
Requirements may be accompanied by guidance.
Guidance includes background information, explanations, and examples to help the organization better understand the requirements. The organization is not required to comply with guidance.
The Standards may also include recommendations. These are cases where a particular course of action is encouraged but not required.
The word ‘should’ indicates a recommendation, and the word ‘can’ indicates a possibility or option.
Defined terms are underlined in the text of the GRI Standards and linked to their definitions in the Glossary. The organization is required to apply the definitions in the Glossary.
An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report how it manages each of its material topics.
An organization that has determined water and effluents to be a material topic is required to report how it manages the topic using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 (see clause 1.1 in this section). The organization is also required to report any disclosures from this section (Disclosure 303-1 through Disclosure 303-2) that are relevant to its water-related impacts.
This section is therefore designed to supplement – and not replace – Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3.
1.1 The reporting organization shall report how it manages water and effluents using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.
Background
The disclosures in this section request essential information to help understand how an organization manages water-related impacts. The reporting organization can report any additional information about its water stewardship efforts and practices.
An effective approach to managing water and effluents accounts for the local context of water use, and acknowledges the importance of stewarding water as a shared resource. An organization can reduce its water withdrawal, consumption, discharge, and associated impacts through efficiency measures, such as water recycling and reuse, and process redesign, as well as through collective actions that extend beyond its operations within the catchment. It can improve water quality through better treatment of water discharge.
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
1.2 The reporting organization should report the following additional information:
1.2.1 An overview of water use across the organization’s value chain;
1.2.2 A list of specific catchments where the organization causes significant water-related impacts.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-1
Through its value chain, an organization can affect both the quality as well as the availability of water. If the reporting organization has identified significant water-related impacts in the value chain, which includes activities carried out by the organization, and by entities upstream and downstream from the organization, it is required to report information about these impacts. See Guidance to 3-3-b in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 for more information about reporting an organization’s involvement with negative impacts.
The description of how the organization interacts with water can include information on specific catchments where water is withdrawn, consumed, and discharged, and information on what the water is used for in activities carried out by the organization and by entities upstream and downstream from the organization (e.g., for cooling, storage, incorporating in products, growing crops).
In the context of this Standard, suppliers with significant water-related impacts may include suppliers of water-intensive commodities or services, suppliers located in areas with water stress, and/or suppliers with significant impacts on the local water environment and the related local communities.
If applicable, the organization can describe its environmental impacts caused by runoff, and how they are addressed. For example, runoff can carry high-nutrient and pollution loads due to the organization’s activities, leading to eutrophication and other negative impacts on local waterbodies.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-1-b
When assessing impacts, it is important that the organization consider its future impacts on water quality and availability, as these factors can change over time.
Tools and methodologies for identifying impacts can include life cycle assessments, environmental impact assessments, water footprint assessments, scenario analysis, and stakeholder engagement. If information is estimated or modeled, rather than sourced from direct measurements, the organization can explain its estimation or modeling methods.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-1-c
Working with stakeholders is critical for an organization to steward water as a shared resource and account for the needs of other water users of the catchment. An organization’s stakeholders can include:
The organization can describe how it participates in discussions with stakeholders, the frequency of this engagement, and its role in these discussions. Outcomes of working with stakeholders can include, for example, collective target-setting for water use, increased investment in infrastructure, policy advocacy, and capacity building and awareness raising.
When reporting on its engagement with suppliers, the organization can describe:
Water impacts related to products and services might be addressed by, for example, improving product design, providing information and advice on the responsible use of products and services, and holding regular consultations with users.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-1-d
Meaningful targets for managing water-related impacts:
See references [2] and [4] in the Bibliography.
The organization can report its progress toward the goals and targets using 3-3-e-iii in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.
Guidance for clause 1.2.1
The organization can present the overview of water use across its value chain as a breakdown, in graphic or written form, showing, for example, parts of the value chain where water consumption is significant and the commodities to which it is related, or the percentage of commodity sourcing that comes from catchments located in areas with water stress. The organization is encouraged to include information about upstream as well as downstream water use (e.g., use of water for consumer products, such as soaps, shampoos, and cleaning solutions).
Guidance for clause 1.2.2
To identify catchments where it causes water-related impacts, the organization can use global catchment data sets. These include the CEO Water Mandate 'Interactive Database of the World's River Basins'1, and the WWF 'HydroSHEDS'2.
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
Guidance for Disclosure 303-2
Minimum standards are those that go beyond regulatory requirements in controlling the quality of effluent discharge.
Water quality refers to the physical, chemical, biological, and taste-related characteristics of water. It is a measure of water suitability for a given purpose or function, including its use as a human right. Water quality standards help uphold water quality in order to protect ecosystems, wildlife, and human health and welfare, and can be based on water properties, such as temperature or pH value.
The specific choice of water quality standards and parameters can vary depending on an organization’s procucts, services, and facility locations, and can depend on national and/or regional regulations, as well as the profile of the receiving waterbody.
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
Compilation requirements
2.1 When compiling the information specified in Disclosure 303-3, the reporting organization shall use publicly available and credible tools and methodologies for assessing water stress in an area.
2.2 The reporting organization should report the following additional information:
2.2.1 A breakdown of total water withdrawal in megaliters by withdrawal source categories listed in Disclosure 303-3, at each facility in areas with water stress;
2.2.2 Total water withdrawal in megaliters by suppliers with significant water-related impacts in areas with water stress.
Background
The volume of water withdrawal from areas with water stress can indicate an organization’s impacts in sensitive locations.
To learn more about locations where water-related impacts might be significant, and where actions to address them are most needed, the reporting organization can also report the information requested in Disclosure 303-3 for each facility in areas with water stress. This can give stakeholders more confidence in the organization’s water stewardship efforts and practices.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-3
For an example of how to present information on requirements in Disclosure 303-3, see Table 1.
Surface water includes collected or harvested rainwater. Third-party water includes water supplied by municipal water networks or other organizations.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-3-b
Water stress refers to the ability, or lack thereof, to meet the human and ecological demand for water. Water stress can refer to the availability, quality, or accessibility of water.
Publicly available and credible tools for assessing areas with water stress include the World Resources Institute ‘Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas,' and the WWF 'Water Risk Filter'.
Based on these tools, water stress in an area may be assessed using either of the following indicators and their thresholds:
The organization may use these indicators even though they account only for quantity and not the quality or accessibility of water as per the inclusive approach to the definition of water stress.
The organization can complement the results from these tools with their own assessments, to provide more granular local-level data. Water stress in an area may be measured at catchment level at a minimum.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-3-b-v
If water is supplied by a third party, the organization is required to request information about its withdrawal sources, listed in Disclosures 303-3-b-i to 303-3-b-iv, from the third-party water supplier. The organization can report any additional information about third-party water, such as who the third-party water suppliers are and the volume of water supplied by them.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-3-c
The organization is required to provide a breakdown of the water withdrawn from each of the sources listed in Disclosures 303-3-a and 303-3-b (surface water, groundwater, seawater, produced water, third-party water) by the categories freshwater and other water. The organization is only required to provide this breakdown for the sources it has withdrawn water from. If all water withdrawn from a source belongs only to one category (i.e., to freshwater or to other water), the organization can report the volume for the remaining category as zero. For example, if all the withdrawn seawater belongs to the other water category, the organization can report the volume of freshwater under this source as zero.
Other water constitutes any water that has a concentration of total dissolved solids higher than 1,000 mg/L. Other water is therefore all water that does not fall into the freshwater category.
The organization is, at a minimum, required to report a figure for other water withdrawal for each of the sources listed in Disclosures 303-3-a and 303-3-b.
The organization can additionally report any further breakdowns for other water withdrawal based on its water management and reporting practices, as long as it explains the approach used to define water quality using Disclosure 303-3-d. The organization can report additional information on how water quality has been determined, including consideration of the potential value of water to its users, as well as any absolute physical and/or chemical criteria used.
Guidance for clause 2.2.1
To compile this information, the organization can use the following approach: (a) determine which facilities are located in areas with water stress, (b) for each of these facilities, report a breakdown of the total water withdrawal by surface water, groundwater, seawater, produced water, and third-party water. For an example of how to present this information, see Table 2.
Guidance for clause 2.2.2
To compile this information, the organization can use the following approach: (a) determine which suppliers are located in areas with water stress, (b) determine which of these suppliers cause significant water-related impacts, (c) add up the total water withdrawal of each of these suppliers, (d) report the sum. For an example of how to present this information, see Table 3.
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
Compilation requirements
2.3 When compiling the information specified in Disclosure 303-4, the reporting organization shall use publicly available and credible tools and methodologies for assessing water stress in an area.
2.4 The reporting organization should report the following additional information:
2.4.1 The number of occasions on which discharge limits were exceeded;
2.4.2 A breakdown of total water discharge to all areas in megaliters by level of treatment, and how the treatment levels were determined;
2.4.3 Percentage of suppliers with significant water-related impacts from water discharge that have set minimum standards for the quality of their effluent discharge.
Background
Quantifying the volume of water discharge can help an organization understand its negative impacts on the receiving waterbody.
The relationship between water discharge and negative impacts is not linear. An increase in the total volume of water discharge does not necessarily correspond to greater negative impacts, since these impacts depend on the quality of the water discharge and the sensitivity of the receiving waterbody. An organization with a high volume of water discharge, but also a high level of treatment and strict quality standards, can have positive impacts on the receiving waterbody.
To learn more about locations where water-related impacts might be significant, and where actions to address them are most needed, the reporting organization can also report the information requested in Disclosure 303-4 for each facility in areas with water stress.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-4
For an example of how to present information on requirements in Disclosure 303-4, see Table 1.
See Guidance for Disclosure 303-3-b for how to assess areas with water stress.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-4-a-iv
An example of third-party water discharge is when an organization sends water and effluents to other organizations for use. In these instances, the organization is required to report the volume of this water discharge separately.
Guidance for Disclosures 303-4-b and 303-4-c
The organization is required to provide a breakdown of the water discharged to all areas and to all areas with water stress by the categories freshwater and other water. Other water constitutes any water that has a concentration of total dissolved solids higher than 1,000 mg/L. Other water is therefore all water that does not fall into the freshwater category.
The organization is, at a minimum, required to report a figure for other water discharged. The organization can additionally report any further breakdowns for other water discharge based on its water management and reporting practices, as long as it explains the approach used to define water quality using Disclosure 303-4-e. The organization can report additional information on how water quality has been determined, including consideration of the potential value of water to its users, as well as any absolute physical and/or chemical criteria used.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-4-d
In the context of this Standard, substances of concern are those that cause irreversible damage to the waterbody, ecosystem, or human health.
Discharge limits for substances of concern can be based on regulation and/or other factors determined by an organization. In countries where no regulations for discharge limits are available, the organization can develop its own discharge limits.
‘Discharge consent’ is the permission granted to an organization, allowing it to discharge a set amount of a substance. The organization can report any unauthorized discharges that exceed these limits using Disclosure 303-4-d. The organization can also describe any plans to reduce unauthorized discharges in the future.
Guidance for clause 2.4.2
Reporting water discharge by level of treatment can provide insight into the effort an organization is making to improve the quality of its water discharge. When reporting how the treatment levels were determined, the organization is expected to include the reasons why a certain level of treatment was set.
The level of treatment can be reported for any water or effluents at the point of discharge, whether treated by the organization onsite or sent to a third party for treatment.
Water treatment involves physical, chemical or biological processes that improve water quality by removing solids, pollutants, and organic matter from water and effluents. Minimum requirements for treatment might be specified in national, state, or local legislation; however, the organization is expected to consider its overall water discharge impacts and the needs of other water users in setting treatment levels.
The organization can break down its water discharge by the following treatment levels:
An organization might withdraw and discharge water of good quality that does not require treatment. If so, the organization can explain this in its reported information.
Guidance for clause 2.4.3
Minimum standards are those that go beyond regulatory requirements in controlling the quality of effluent discharge. For more information on water quality standards, see Disclosure 303-2 in the Topic management disclosures section.
To compile this information, the organization can use the following approach: (a) determine the number of suppliers with significant water-related impacts from water discharge, (b) determine how many of these suppliers have set minimum standards for the quality of their effluent discharge, (c) calculate the percentage using the following formula:
|
Percentage of suppliers with significant water-related impacts from water discharge that have set minimum standards for the quality of their effluent discharge Number of suppliers with significant water-related impacts from water discharge |
x 100 |
For an example of how to present this information, see Table 3.
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
2.5 The reporting organization should report the following additional information:
2.5.1 Total water consumption in megaliters at each facility in areas with water stress;
2.5.2 Total water consumption in megaliters by suppliers with significant water-related impacts in areas with water stress.
Background
Water consumption measures water used by an organization such that it is no longer available for use by the ecosystem or local community in the reporting period. Reporting the volume of water consumption can help the organization understand the overall scale of its impact due to water withdrawal on downstream water availability.
Guidance for Disclosure 303-5
For an example how to present information on requirements in Disclosure 303-5, see Table 1.
See Guidance for Disclosure 303-3-b for how to assess areas with water stress.
If the reporting organization cannot directly measure water consumption, it may calculate this using the following formula:
|
Water consumption = Total water withdrawal - Total water discharge |
Guidance for Disclosure 303-5-c
If the water in storage has been identified as having a significant water-related impact, the organization is required to report change in water storage. The organization may calculate change in water storage using the following formula:
|
Change in water storage = Total water storage at the end of the reporting period - Total water storage at the beginning of the reporting period |
Guidance for clause 2.5.1
To compile this information, the organization can use the following approach: (a) determine which facilities are located in areas with water stress, (b) for each of these facilities, report the total water consumption. For an example of how to present this information, see Table 2.
Guidance for clause 2.5.2
To compile this information, the organization can use the following approach: (a) determine which suppliers are located in areas with water stress, (b) determine which of these suppliers cause significant water-related impacts, (c) add up the total water consumption of each of these suppliers, (d) report the sum. For an example of how to present this information, see Table 3.
Table 1. Example templates for presenting information for Disclosures 303-3, 303-4, and 303-5
Table 1 offers examples of how to present information for Disclosures 303-3, 303-4, and 303-5. The reporting organization can amend the table according to its practices, for example by reporting additional information.
| Water withdrawal [Disclosure 303-3] | ALL AREAS | AREAS WITH WATER STRESS |
| Water withdrawal by source | ||
| Surface water (total) | ML (303-3-a-i) | ML (303-3-b-i) |
| Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-i) | ML (303-3-c-i) |
| Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-ii) | ML (303-3-c-ii) |
| Groundwater (total) | ML (303-3-a-ii) | ML (303-3-b-ii) |
| Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-i) | ML (303-3-c-i) |
| Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-ii) | ML (303-3-c-ii) |
| Seawater (total) | ML (303-3-a-iii) | ML (303-3-b-iii) |
| Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-i) | ML (303-3-c-i) |
| Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-ii) | ML (303-3-c-ii) |
| Produced water (total) | ML (303-3-a-iv) | ML (303-3-b-iv) |
| Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-i) | ML (303-3-c-i) |
| Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-ii) | ML (303-3-c-ii) |
| Third-party water (total) | ML (303-3-a-v) | ML (303-3-b-v) |
| Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-i) | ML (303-3-c-i) |
| Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-3-c-ii) | ML (303-3-c-ii) |
| Total third-party water withdrawal by withdrawal source | ||
| Surface water | X | ML (303-3-b-v) |
| Groundwater | X | ML (303-3-b-v) |
| Seawater | X | ML (303-3-b-v) |
| Produced water | X | ML (303-3-b-v) |
| Total water withdrawal | ||
| Surface water (total) + groundwater (total) + seawater (total) + produced water (total) + third-party water (total) | ML (303-3-a) | ML (303-3-b) |
| Water discharge [Disclosure 303-4] | ALL AREAS | AREAS WITH WATER STRESS |
| Water discharge by destination | ||
| Surface water | ML (303-4-a-i) | X |
| Groundwater | ML (303-4-a-ii) | X |
| Seawater | ML (303-4-a-iii) | X |
| Third-party water (total) | ML (303-4-a-iv) | X |
| Third-party water sent for use to other organizations | ML (303-4-a-iv) | X |
| Total water discharge | ||
| Surface water + groundwater + seawater + third-party water (total) | ML (303-4-a) | ML (303-4-c) |
| Water discharge by freshwater and other water | ||
| Freshwater (≤1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-4-b-i) | ML (303-4-c-i) |
| Other water (>1,000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids) | ML (303-4-b-ii) | ML (303-4-c-ii) |
| Water discharge by level of treatment Note that this is recommended, but not required | ||
| No treatment | ML (clause 2.4.2) | X |
| Treatment level [Provide the title for treatment level] | ML (clause 2.4.2) | X |
| Treatment level [Provide the title for treatment level] | ML (clause 2.4.2) | X |
| Treatment level [Provide the title for treatment level] | ML (clause 2.4.2) | X |
| Water consumption [Disclosure 303-5] | ALL AREAS | AREAS WITH WATER STRESS |
| Total water consumption | ML (303-5-a) | ML (303-5-b) |
| Change in water storage, if water storage has been identified as having a significant water-related impact | ML (303-5-c) | X |
Table 2. Example template for presenting facility-level information
Table 2 offers an example of how to present information on facilities located in areas with water stress as per the recommendations specified in Disclosures 303-3 (clause 2.2.1) and 303-5 (clause 2.5.1). The reporting organization can amend the table according to its practices, for example by reporting water discharge information.
| FACILITIES IN AREAS WITH WATER STRESS | FACILITY A | FACILITY B | [FACILITY X] |
| Water withdrawal (clause 2.2.1) | |||
| Surface water | ML | ML | ML |
| Groundwater | ML | ML | ML |
| Seawater | ML | ML | ML |
| Produced water | ML | ML | ML |
| Third-party water | ML | ML | ML |
| Water consumption (clause 2.5.1) | |||
| Total water consumption | ML | ML | ML |
Table 3. Example template for presenting supply chain information
Table 3 offers an example of how to present information on the organization’s suppliers as per the recommendations specified in Disclosures 303-3 (clause 2.2.2), 303-4 (clause 2.4.3), and 303-5 (clause 2.5.2). The reporting organization can amend the table according to its practices, for example by reporting the location of suppliers.
| Water withdrawal (clause 2.2.2) | |
| Total water withdrawal in megaliters by suppliers with significant water-related impacts in areas with water stress | ML |
| Water discharge (clause 2.4.3) | |
| Percentage of suppliers with significant water-related impacts from water discharge that have set minimum standards for the quality of their effluent discharge | % |
| Water consumption (clause 2.5.2) | |
| Total water consumption in megaliters by suppliers with significant water-related impacts in areas with water stress | ML |
para
This glossary provides definitions for terms used in this Standard. The organization is required to apply these definitions when using the GRI Standards.
The definitions included in this glossary may contain terms that are further defined in the complete GRI Standards Glossary. All defined terms are underlined. If a term is not defined in this glossary or in the complete GRI Standards Glossary, definitions that are commonly used and understood apply.
entity with which the organization has some form of direct and formal engagement for the purpose of meeting its business objectives