GRI Publishes Practical Guidance on Biodiversity Reporting under GRI 101
GRI frames biodiversity reporting as moving towards more decision-useful, location-specific information as nature-related risks and impacts gain prominence in corporate disclosures. Against this backdrop, GRI has released practical guidance to support reporting under GRI 101, in effect from 1 January 2026, illustrated through early-adopter case studies.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has published Decoding biodiversity impacts: A practical guide to corporate reporting on nature with the GRI Standards. In its announcement, GRI refers to the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment Report, approved by representatives of 150 governments and published on 9 February, and presents the guide as practical support for corporate reporting on nature using the GRI Standards.
GRI 101 Biodiversity Standard and Timing
GRI states that GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 is in effect for all GRI reporting from 1 January 2026 and replaces GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016. The e-book notes that the revision process began at the end of 2021 and concluded with the release of the new Standard in January 2024. In the publication, GRI 101 is positioned to support reporters in identifying direct drivers of biodiversity loss linked to operations and supply chains, mapping where impacts occur, and assessing effects on ecosystems and communities. In the Coca-Cola HBC case study, the five drivers of biodiversity loss are listed as land and sea use change, exploitation of natural resources, climate change, pollution, and the introduction of invasive alien species. The e-book also states that GRI 101 is grounded in an inclusive, multi-stakeholder process and that its development was directly informed by more than a hundred contributions through a global consultation.
How the E-book is Structured
Decoding biodiversity impacts draws on lessons from the GRI Community Biodiversity Pilot in 2024 and 2025. The pilot involved 14 companies as early adopters, and the e-book focuses on four case studies that illustrate practical approaches to measuring, managing and reporting biodiversity impacts under GRI 101. GRI presents the case material as showing how companies can work with location-specific information and reflect nature-related topics in governance and decision-making. The e-book also describes the Biodiversity Pilot as a hands-on learning experience in which participants used GRI 101 to identify and address their impacts on nature and collect decision-useful data within a peer-supported learning environment.
What the Case Studies Demonstrate in Practice
City Developments Limited (CDL) describes its move from GRI 304 to new approaches. This includes reporting aligned with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and using the TNFD LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare) approach as a structuring element. The case also references the use of tools including ENCORE and Xylo Systems, alongside site-level monitoring.
Coca-Cola HBC presents work linking Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) guidelines and GRI reporting. It describes a materiality assessment and notes challenges in obtaining upstream data beyond first-tier suppliers, with an emphasis on locally-specific information from credible sources.
Enel describes integration across GRI, SBTN and TNFD and a shift towards site-specific analysis. The case refers to DIRO (dependencies, impacts, risks) and IRO (impacts, risks and opportunities), the identification of hotspots, and constraints around the availability of data and metrics, including in the supply chain.
JSW Steel sets out an approach that includes “No Net Loss” assessment and the use of the Biological Diversity Protocol’s double-entry bookkeeping method. The case includes examples of calculating positive and negative biodiversity footprints, alongside indicators referenced in the text such as afforestation and freshwater ecosystem gains.
Interoperability and Alignment
The e-book notes that interoperability is intended to reduce duplicated effort for reporters. It links GRI 101 to the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, presenting the Standard as supporting national and global monitoring while also aligning with frameworks such as TNFD.
A View from Latin America
The publication states that Latin America contains around half of global biodiversity and six of the 17 megadiverse countries. It highlights pressures from deforestation, mining, pollution and unsustainable land use, alongside barriers including limited access to finance and insufficient data and transparency. The text references research by GRI, Nuam and PwC reviewing sustainability reports from 75 businesses in Colombia, Chile and Peru and finding that 88% included biodiversity in their disclosures. It also notes that the Competitive Business Program has enabled more than 3,000 SMEs in the region to produce a GRI sustainability report for the first time.
Conclusions
GRI frames biodiversity reporting as an area where organisations are moving towards more decision-useful, location-specific disclosures. With GRI 101 in effect from 1 January 2026, Decoding biodiversity impacts brings together observations from early adopters and summarises how they approached data availability, governance integration and supply chain information within the GRI Standards framework.
