Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns

Disclosure focus

The disclosure covers responsible business conduct in the organization’s operations and business relationships. It should not be limited automatically to internal employee channels. The organization should identify the intended users of each mechanism, which can include employees, other workers, contractors, suppliers, business partners or other individuals.

Advice mechanisms help individuals understand and apply the organization’s responsible-business-conduct policies and practices before or while making a decision. Examples can include line-management escalation processes, Ethics or Compliance advisers, Legal helpdesks, dedicated advice lines or confidential interviews. A policy document or intranet page does not by itself constitute an advice mechanism unless individuals can use the arrangement to obtain guidance.

Concern-reporting mechanisms enable individuals to report suspected wrongdoing, breaches of law or other concerns about the organization’s business conduct in its operations or business relationships, regardless of whether the individuals themselves have been harmed. Examples can include confidential interviews during site visits, management escalation processes, hotlines, non-compliance reporting mechanisms and whistleblowing mechanisms.

These mechanisms should be distinguished from grievance mechanisms reported under Disclosure 2-25. Grievance mechanisms enable affected or potentially affected stakeholders to raise concerns about negative impacts on them and seek remedy or remediation. Where one channel performs both grievance and whistleblowing functions, the organization can provide a single operational description but should explain the different functions, users and processes covered.

For each mechanism, the organization can explain its intended users, how it operates, the level or function responsible for it, whether it is operated independently by a third party, how concerns are investigated, whether requests and concerns are treated confidentially, and whether anonymous use is possible.

The organization can also report how intended users are informed and trained, the hours and days the mechanism is available, the languages offered, how users’ human rights are respected, how users are protected against retaliation, and how user satisfaction is assessed.

Quantitative information is optional. The organization can report the number and types of advice requests and the percentage answered, and the number and types of concerns and the percentages addressed, resolved or found to be unsubstantiated. Where such data are reported, advice requests and concerns should be counted separately and all statuses and denominators should be defined.

The existence of several channels or a high closure rate does not by itself demonstrate an accessible, trusted or effective mechanism. Mechanism design, intended users, confidentiality, anonymity, investigation, non-retaliation, accessibility and user experience provide necessary context.

If the organization uses one channel for both advice and raising concerns, the disclosure should state both functions explicitly. Where a channel also handles grievances, the disclosure should distinguish the GRI 2-25 remediation function from the GRI 2-26 business-conduct function.

If an advice or concern-reporting mechanism does not exist, the organization should report this fact directly. Reasons for omission are permitted for Disclosure 2-26 where required information exists but cannot be reported. In that case, the affected requirement, applicable reason and required explanation must be provided in the GRI content index.

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