Biodiversity - a GRI Reporting Resource - Global Reporting Initiative

2.5 Implications for reporting
Important as it is, biodiversity is not always
explicitly addressed in sustainability reports.
The complex nature of biodiversity,
misconceptions about the importance of
biodiversity for the organization, or lack of
information, are all reasons for this.
From a reporting point of view, Part 2 raises
three key points:
1] International goals and expectations,
especially the CBD objectives, should
frame organizational reporting.
These form reference points organizations can
be sensitive to when undertaking activities
and reporting on them, since they express
standard societal expectations. Specifically,
reporting organizations can respond to the
following questions:
• How does the organization contribute to
the conservation and sustainable use of
biological diversity?
• Has attention been paid to the fair and
equitable sharing of benefits deriving from
biological resources?
• Have the organization and/or its supply
chain partners processed these objectives
in strategic or operational management?
the supermarket’s sales. In other words, a
negative impact on key services anywhere
in the supply chain may jeopardize an
organization’s (future) operations.
3] A reporting organization should focus
on and understand both the direct and
indirect drivers that result in biodiversity
and ecosystem change (i.e., its chain of
events).
Once an organization identifies which
ecosystem services are most important
to its activities and operations, it should
then trace the chain of events backward
to identify which aspects of biodiversity
are most important, and which of its interactions
affect biodiversity. Relevant activities
may be direct actions (e.g., operating a pulp
and paper plant) or indirect actions (e.g., the
use of water by cotton suppliers). However,
when an organization reports on its impacts,
it is expected that material impacts are
reflected whether they are direct or indirect.
Part 2 has intended to provide background
information and a general framework
for organizations reporting on biodiversity.
Guidance for reporting on actual
performance is provided in Part 3.
2] To be able to manage impacts on
biodiversity and to report on biodiversity,
an organization should identify which
ecosystem services are key to its activities
and to the interests of its stakeholders.
Dependency on key ecosystem services
can stem from either the organization’s
own activities or the importance of these
services to major partners (e.g., suppliers).
For example, pulp and paper companies
are clearly dependent on having a consistent
flow of timber. Cotton production is very
water-intensive and depends on the
availability of fresh water.
Dependency is not always direct. The
availability of water may not be an issue to
the supermarket itself, but it may be essential
to its food suppliers. Water shortages
in food producing countries can affect
the food supply and, consequently, affect
R e p o r t i n g o n B i o d i v e r s i t y
19