Understand the questions behind the standards.

GRI·Explainer·Omissions and claims

GRI Content Index: reporting routes, disclosure locations, material topics, Sector Standards, permitted omissions and a free template

A GRI content index is required for both reporting in accordance with and reporting with reference to the GRI Standards. It identifies the reporting route, the GRI Standards and disclosures used, and the exact locations of reported information.

Helps you decideWhat must appear in the index, how each row should point to evidence, and how omissions should be recorded.

Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 9 min Read the guide →

GRI·Explainer·Omissions and claims

Do You Need to Disclose Every Indicator in a GRI Topic Standard?

No. GRI does not require every disclosure in a Topic Standard or a minimum number of Topic Standard disclosures. For each material topic, report only the disclosures relevant to the organisation’s impacts and always report GRI 3-3.

Helps you decideDo You Need to Disclose Every Indicator in a GRI Topic Standard?

Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →

GRI·Explainer·Omissions and claims

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 — Complete Guide and Common Reporting Errors

To report in accordance with the GRI Standards, an organisation reports all 30 disclosures in GRI 2. Reasons for omission are not permitted for Disclosures 2-1 to 2-5; they may be used for later disclosures only when the GRI 1 conditions are met and the exact missing disclosure or requirement is identified in the Content Index.

Helps you decideGRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 — Complete Guide and Common Reporting Errors

Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

What Are the GRI Standards?

The GRI Standards are a modular system for reporting an organisation’s impacts on the economy, environment and people, including human rights. Every organisation starts with the Universal Standards, uses any applicable Sector Standard to understand likely significant impacts, and selects relevant Topic Standard disclosures for its material topics.

Helps you decideWhat Are the GRI Standards?

Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

Can You Say 'GRI Compliant' or 'Aligned with GRI'? Claims to Use and Avoid

For a report, the safest and most accurate wording is the reporting status defined by GRI 1: either the organisation has reported in accordance with the GRI Standards, or it has reported selected information with reference to the GRI Standards. 'GRI compliant' is not the prescribed reporting status and can imply a broader conclusion than the evidence supports.

Helps you decideWhat exactly is being claimed: a reporting status, a limited method alignment, a service completion or an authorised partner/certification status?

Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →

GRI·Explainer·Omissions and claims

GRI Statement of Use Correct Wording Placement and Approval

The GRI statement of use must match the reporting option the organisation has actually earned, identify the reporting organisation, include the start and end dates of the reporting period, and appear in the GRI content index. For reporting in accordance, the statement is available only after all nine GRI 1 requirements have passed.

Helps you decideWhich reporting option is supportable, what organisation and period the statement covers, and whether the exact claim is publication-ready.

Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →

GRI·Explainer·Omissions and claims

GRI 1 Foundation 2021 Complete Requirements Checklist for Reporting in Accordance

An organisation can state that it has reported in accordance with the GRI Standards only when all nine requirements in GRI 1 have been satisfied. The checklist is cumulative: applying the reporting principles, reporting GRI 2, determining material topics, reporting GRI 3, reporting relevant Topic Standard disclosures, using only permitted reasons for omission, publishing a complete GRI content index, inserting the prescribed statement of use and notifying GRI.

Helps you decideWhether every requirement has passed and the in-accordance statement can be released.

Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

GRI Confidentiality Constraints and Legal Prohibitions: When an Omission Is Defensible

A legal-prohibition or confidentiality omission is defensible only when it applies to a specific GRI disclosure or requirement, the restriction is described specifically, and the organisation has tested whether the requirement can still be met through aggregation, anonymisation, ranges, time lag or a narrower non-identifying explanation. Under GRI 1, “legal prohibitions” applies when law forbids collecting the information or reporting it publicly.

Helps you decidewhether a confidentiality or legal-prohibition omission holds at requirement level, or whether aggregation, ranges or a time lag lets you report after all

Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 9 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

GRI Content Index Cross-References: How Precise Must Page and Web Links Be?

The GRI content index should take the reader to the reported information, not merely to the document that might contain it. GRI 1 requires specific page numbers or links for each reported disclosure, and all page numbers or links when the information is spread across several locations.

Helps you decideCan a reasonable reader reach every part of the reported disclosure directly and without guessing?

Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

GRI reasons for omission: not applicable, unavailable and confidential

GRI permits only four reasons for omission: not applicable, legal prohibitions, confidentiality constraints, and information unavailable or incomplete. The Content Index must identify the exact disclosure or requirement that cannot be met, select one permitted reason and give the explanation prescribed for it.

Helps you decideWhich of the four permitted reasons for omission applies, and what has to be published with it

Reviewed 31 Jul 2026 10 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

Greenwashing Risks in GRI Reports: Claims, Omissions and Evidence Gaps

A GRI report can be technically structured yet still create greenwashing risk if its overall presentation is selective, unsupported or inconsistent. The main controls come from GRI's reporting principles: accuracy, balance, clarity, comparability, completeness and verifiability.

Helps you decidewhich claims in a draft report carry greenwashing risk, and which of them to drop, evidence or reword before publication

Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →

GRI·Decision guide·Omissions and claims

GRI 103 Renewable Energy Claims

GRI 103 requires organisations to distinguish renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and to explain whether contractual instruments are used for purchased electricity, heating, cooling or steam. A certificate, PPA or supplier product can support a renewable-attribute claim only when the quantity, ownership, retirement or cancellation, period and market are evidenced and the instrument meets the applicable quality criteria.

Helps you decideWhich renewable-energy claim is supported by the evidence, how to account for contractual instruments and what residual information must remain visible.

Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 18 min Read the guide →

GRI·Expert note·Omissions and claims

Partial GRI disclosures: reporting missing requirements without misleading readers

Report the information that is available, but do not present a disclosure as complete when a required item or required scope is missing. For reporting in accordance, identify the exact disclosure requirement that cannot be met, confirm that a reason for omission is permitted, and record the permitted reason and the required explanation in the Content Index. Additional voluntary information, an alternative KPI or a reference to a Topic Standard does not cure a missing requirement. If the missing item is one for which omissions are not permitted, an omission cannot support an in-accordance claim — the disclosure has to be corrected, or the reporting status reconsidered.

Reviewed 1 Aug 2026 Read the guide →