Stakeholder Engagement in the Development of the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to compare stakeholder involvement and engagement in the work of the ISSB and the GRI. Secondary research data analysis and qualitative content analysis of documents published by the GRI and the ISSB from 2019 to 2023 were used. Previous literature findings on regulatory capture were not confirmed in our analysis for the ISSB, but we did find a significant amount of business and investor participation in the GRI work. The ISSB is more transparent about stakeholder engagement and should focus on investor interests, but still tries to be open to many stakeholders through due process and other channels. In terms of geographical diversification, European Union regulators appear to be one of the most important stakeholder groups for both bodies at present, as they seek to align their standards with forthcoming European legislation. The tension between the ISSB and the GRI (where the double materiality approach reflects the collision point between the investor versus multistakeholder focus) has been partially resolved through the declared cooperation and distribution of competencies, leaving stakeholders with the choice of which of the still competing standard setters to interact with.