Materiality
Both ISO 26000 and the GRI Guidelines cover the most common economic, environmental and social topics and impacts that ought to be addressed by organizations. However, while ISO26000 is intended to give guidance on the actions and expectations for organizations to address each of these topics, the GRI Guidelines provide guidance on what to report for each of these topics specifically.
By following ISO 26000, “an organization should review all the core subjects to identify
which issues are relevant. The identification of relevant issues should be followed by
an assessment of the significance of the organization’s impacts. The significance of an
impact should be considered with reference both to the stakeholders concerned and to the
way in which the impact affects sustainable development”
The GRI Guidelines take a similar approach and provide extensive the report, including
guidance on how to assess the significance of impacts and the relevance to stakeholders
of the identified topic. The outcome of these exercise is a list of material Aspects that reflect the organization’s significant economic, environmental and social impacts,
or substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. In addition,
the GRI Guidelines provide useful tests that can help a reporter decide whether an issue us material.