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GRI 2: General Disclosures·Disclosure GRI 2-11

Chair of the highest governance body

Practical guidance for preparing this disclosure. Use this card to identify the information to prepare, verify claims and organise supporting evidence. For exact requirements, always refer to the official GRI source.

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Last reviewed 2026-07-22
RK Reviewed by Dr Ross KurinkoLinkedIn Strategic ESG Advisor · IFRS S1 & S2 / GRI / ESRS expert GRI Certified Global Trainer · PhD, University of Cambridge · ESG-AI expert 15+ years on FTSE 100 & Fortune Global 500 disclosures Canary Wharf, London LRA educational guidance · Not issued or endorsed by GRI

Standard

GRI 2: General Disclosures

Disclosure GRI 2-11

Effective

2023-01-01

Official source: Open ↗

Last reviewed

2026-07-22

LRA educational guidance · Not issued or endorsed by GRI

To prepare this disclosure
4preparation fields 4claims to verify 4evidence areas

Disclosure focus

Disclosure 2-11 requires an organization to report whether the chair of its highest governance body is also a senior executive in the organization. The disclosure does not require the organization to name the individual, although it may do so or cross-reference its governance information.

A senior executive is a high-ranking member of the organization’s management, such as the Chief Executive Officer or an individual reporting directly to the CEO or the highest governance body. The assessment should therefore consider the chair’s actual management position, reporting line and responsibilities, rather than relying only on a job title or on whether the chair manages day-to-day operations.

If the chair is not a senior executive, a clear statement to this effect is sufficient for Disclosure 2-11.

If the chair is also a senior executive, the organization must explain:

1. the chair’s function within the organization’s management;2. the reasons for combining the chair and senior executive roles;3. how conflicts of interest arising from the arrangement are prevented and mitigated.

The highest governance body is the governance body with the highest authority in the organization. The term “Board Chair” should be used only where the Board is the organization’s highest governance body. Where the organization has a two-tier or another non-standard governance structure, the organization should explain the structure and identify the chair or chairs relevant to this disclosure.

If the chair or the chair’s senior executive status changed during the reporting period, the organization should describe the relevant periods and arrangements where this is necessary to avoid a misleading statement. This is an LRA preparation recommendation and not an additional requirement of GRI 2-11.

Reasons for omission are permitted for Disclosure 2-11. Where the organization cannot report a required item, it must identify the affected requirement and provide an applicable reason for omission and the required explanation in its GRI content index.

This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official GRI source.

Before you start

Before you start

A quick mental checklist before you prepare this disclosure — tick each as you settle it.

Preparation

Key information to prepare

Preparation field What to capture Evidence hint Owner
Chair and senior executive status State whether the chair of the highest governance body was also a senior executive during the reporting period. Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting chair and senior executive status. Company Secretariat / Governance
Chair's function in management If the dual role existed, explain the chair's actual function within management. Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting chair's function in management. Company Secretariat / Governance
Reason for the dual role If the dual role existed, explain why the combined arrangement was used. Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting reason for the dual role. Company Secretariat / Governance
Conflict prevention and mitigation If the dual role existed, explain how conflicts arising from it were prevented and mitigated. Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting conflict prevention and mitigation. Company Secretariat / Governance
＋ Show GRI 2-11 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)

How to prepare it

Identify the highest governance body of the reporting organisation; do not assume that it is always a unitary board.
Collect and reconcile the records for: Chair and senior executive status; Chair's function in management; Reason for the dual role; Conflict prevention and mitigation.
Treat the final three fields as conditional: they apply only if the chair was also a senior executive.
Draft the response using the defined terms shown in the disclosure focus; do not substitute broader internal labels.
Review the final wording against every requirement and the supporting governance or data records before sign-off.

Request the data

Request the disclosure evidence

Translate the disclosure into an internal business question — then adapt it to your organisation's own language.

Confirm whether the chair of the highest governance body was also a senior executive during the reporting period and, if so, provide the management function, rationale and conflict safeguards.

Use the organisation's own role and document names, but preserve the defined GRI terms and the scope described above.

Better request

Confirm whether the chair of the highest governance body was also a senior executive during the reporting period and, if so, provide the management function, rationale and conflict safeguards.

Draft your disclosure

Notes that turn data into a disclosure

LRA training templates — adapt them to your organisation, and check the official source before sign-off.

Method note

Explain how the chair's position, reporting line and responsibilities were assessed against the GRI definition of senior executive.

Context note

Describe relevant role-holder or status changes during the reporting period where a reporting-date answer alone would be misleading.

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Preparation tools & forms

Professional preparation tools for GRI 2-11 — free with an LRA Community membership. Register once (it's free) and every download unlocks, together with the Disclosure Library, templates and the LRA AI Assistant.

Free · Community members
01XLSPrep & Assurance workbookDatapoints, risks, evidence to check, owner and evidence pack.Get it free ↧ 02XLSData-request packRequest email, message template, response fields and sign-off structure.Get it free ↧ 03PDFLibrary CardPrintable one-page summary of this disclosure card.Get it free ↧

Assurance readiness

For each claim, check the evidence

Claim Risk Evidence to check
Chair and senior executive status is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates chair and senior executive status.Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting chair and senior executive status.
Chair's function in management is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates chair's function in management.Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting chair's function in management.
Reason for the dual role is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates reason for the dual role.Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting reason for the dual role.
Conflict prevention and mitigation is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates conflict prevention and mitigation.Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting conflict prevention and mitigation.

Evidence pack to prepare

Common reporting gaps

Naming the chair without answering the dual-role question.
Replacing senior executive with senior management or another broader term.
Assuming highest governance body always means Board.
Describing generic conflict controls rather than conflicts arising from the dual role.
Presenting four working fields as four GRI requirements.
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Framework references

Relevant GRI requirements and related disclosures

Available framework references and nearby disclosures relevant to preparing this requirement.

GRI

GRI 2-11

within GRI 2: General Disclosures

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Organizational details → CardNomination and selection of the highest governance body → CardRole of the highest governance body in overseeing the management of impacts → CardDelegation of responsibility for managing impacts → CardRole of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting → Card Browse all disclosures →

More in GRI 2 → Browse full catalogue → Disclosure Library home → Search all disclosures →

Go deeper · GRI 2-11

Learn to prepare this disclosure end-to-end

This guide covers one disclosure. The GRI Standards Certified Training — taken as a bundle with an ESRS course — walks the full workflow: datapoints, evidence, drafting and assurance, with exercises on your own data.

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