Recognizing the central role of financial institutions in promoting business models fit for the future and underpinning a well-functioning global economy, GRI is consulting on a new set of Sector Standards for Financial Services.  

Financial services organizations enable economic activities across all sectors, providing credit, investment, insurance cover and payment services. As intermediaries with significant leverage over their customers and investees, they are uniquely positioned to influence high-risk sectors and businesses to manage their impacts on the economy, environment and people.

A global public comment period is underway until 31 May to seek feedback on the three exposure drafts, covering:

• Sector Standard for Banking
• Sector Standard for Capital Markets
• Sector Standard for Insurance

The proposed standards are the first of their kind to provide a comprehensive approach to assess the impact of financial services organizations, rather than focusing on a specific topic or set of topics; thereby supporting these sectors to achieve internationally consistent sustainability reporting.The development process has been led by multi-stakeholder Technical Committees involving 40 experts spanning business enterprises, mediating institutions, civil society, labor organizations and investors.

GRI’s Sector Standards streamline reporting, providing a fast-track for companies with shared common activities to focus on the impacts on the economy, environment and society that matter most in their sector. They provide a sustainability context for a sector, outline material topics and list relevant disclosures, and help companies understand stakeholders’ expectations. More consistent reporting on sector-specific impacts increases transparency, accountability and comparability.

Carol Adams, Chair of GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) said: “Financial services organizations are global mobilizers of capital and resources and are uniquely positioned to support a sustainable economy and encourage companies to transparently disclose their most significant impacts. The GSSB looks forward to receiving insightful feedback from stakeholders to help us deliver world-class Sector Standards for banking, insurance and capital markets.”

Ruben Zandvliet, Deputy Director for Standards, Shift Project said:  “Banks play a pivotal role in enabling individuals and organizations to achieve their goals. They also have responsibilities to respect human rights: financial success should not come at the expense of vulnerable populations. GRI Standards can help banks account for how they factor these considerations into their business decisions.”

Daniele Spagnoli, Vice President ESG Methodologies, Moodys said:  “In a rapidly evolving macroeconomic landscape, it is more critical than ever to equip capital markets with relevant guidance that can support them in identifying their impacts and financing the transition to a sustainable global economy.”

Mathieu Filippo, Senior Manager Prudential Supervision, Achmea said:   “An Insurance Sector Standard provides the opportunity to obtain to create a level playing field globally for sustainability topics that are material to the sector Based on stakeholder input, the standard provides a balanced view on necessary sustainability disclosures. It is important to hear from the stakeholders, who actually use the sustainability information, whether we have struck a balance between efficiency, transparency and avoiding unnecessary administrative burden.”