Dates worth distinguishing
| Publication | Effective for reporting from | Practical next step |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Standards: GRI 1, 2 and 3 (2021) | 1 January 2023 | Use the current Universal Standards as your starting point. |
| GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 | 1 January 2026 | Check relevance to your material impacts and the applicable requirements. |
| GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024 | 1 January 2026 | Check the current Sector Standard if your activities are in scope. |
| GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 and GRI 103: Energy 2025 | 1 January 2027 | Prepare data and review transition information in the official publications. |
This is a selected date guide, not a complete applicability assessment. Check the official publication and any subsequent updates for your reporting circumstances.
Make a version register
For every selected Standard, record its full name, version, official URL, effective date, the disclosures you expect to address and the date the team checked it. Assign an owner to review changes before the report is approved.
Keep the report publication date distinct from its reporting period. When a team says “the 2026 report”, ask which of those it means. That small clarification prevents an avoidable version-control problem.
Prepare the transition without inventing equivalence
Start a change log: existing data, proposed new data, definition changes, system changes and unresolved interpretation questions. Identify the evidence owner before changing a spreadsheet column or dashboard label.
A common dataset can support more than one reporting purpose, but identical data does not establish compliance with every framework. Keep each disclosure’s actual requirements and the basis of your reporting claim visible.