Preparing for GRI 102: Climate Change

The global climate challenge is reaching an inflection point—and so are expectations from businesses. As financial regulators, investors, and consumers converge around demands for greater transparency and action on climate issues, companies must move beyond general pledges to deliver credible, structured, and measurable plans. The Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) newly released GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 is a pivotal response to this global need. The standard was released on 26 June 2025

This standard, which applies to sustainability reports published on or after January 1, 2027, provides a dedicated framework for organizations to disclose their climate change-related impacts and the actions they are taking to manage them. Critically, GRI 102 goes beyond emissions tracking; it brings a strategic lens to transition planning, adaptation readiness, and the principle of a just and inclusive transition.

For companies that wish to lead—or even keep pace—this standard demands attention, preparation, and action now.

What is GRI 102: Climate Change 2025?

GRI 102 is the dedicated Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard focused on climate change. It builds upon the foundation of GRI’s modular reporting framework and serves as a deep dive into an organization’s climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.

The central aim of the standard is to enhance transparency around an organization’s impact on the climate and how it manages those impacts. It places strong emphasis on climate transition planning, adaptation, and just transition principles. Importantly, it also expects organizations to be aligned with global scientific efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, consistent with the Paris Agreement.

What Does the Standard Require?

The disclosures under GRI 102 are structured into two major sections: Topic Management Disclosures and Topic Disclosures.

1. Topic Management Disclosures

These focus on how an organization manages climate-related risks and opportunities:

• Transition Plan for Climate Change Mitigation: Organizations must disclose their strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and how it aligns with science-based targets. This includes the actions they plan to take, targets for emissions reduction, and how this plan fits within the overall business strategy.
• Adaptation Plan: This covers how companies are preparing for the physical impacts of climate change—such as extreme weather or water scarcity—and the measures being taken to protect operations, people, and assets.

Both disclosures require information on:

• Governance structures overseeing the plans
• Financial commitments and expenditures
• Stakeholder engagement and social/environmental impacts
• How the plans align with just transition principles (ensuring workers and communities are not left behind)

2. Topic Disclosures

These require specific, quantifiable data points:

• GHG Emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3): Companies must report gross emissions (excluding offsets), including base years and breakdowns.
• GHG Reduction Targets and Progress: Must include short, medium, and long-term goals, aligned with 1.5°C pathways.
• GHG Emissions Intensity: Emissions per unit of economic activity.
• GHG Removals and Carbon Credits: Companies need to disclose removals in their value chains and detail any carbon credits used, their quality, and impacts.
• Just Transition Metrics: This includes employment impacts, reskilling initiatives, and agreements with affected communities.

Scope-Wise GHG Emissions Reporting: A Deeper Dive

A significant portion of GRI 102’s rigor lies in its detailed GHG emissions disclosures, separated by Scope 1, 2, and 3. This granularity allows stakeholders to understand where emissions originate, how they are measured, and how they are being reduced.

Disclosure 102-5: Scope 1 GHG Emissions

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

Organizations are required to:

• Report gross Scope 1 emissions of the seven Kyoto Protocol gases (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, SF₆, NF₃).
• Exclude removals, trades, and avoided emissions, but include GHGs emitted during removal activities.
• Separately report biogenic CO₂ emissions (e.g., from biomass combustion).
• Use 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) values from the latest IPCC report.
• Specify the base year, any recalculations, and reasons for changes.
• State the consolidation approach (equity share, operational, or financial control).
• Disclose standards, assumptions, and methodologies used for calculations.

This level of disclosure ensures consistency, transparency, and comparability over time.

Disclosure 102-6: Scope 2 GHG Emissions

Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from the use of purchased energy (electricity, heating, cooling, steam).

Key requirements:

• Report gross Scope 2 emissions using both the location-based and market-based methods.
• Include biogenic non-CO₂ emissions and report biogenic CO₂ separately.
• Maintain the same standards for GWP, base year, and methodology as in Scope 1.
• Explain the quality criteria for contractual instruments in market-based accounting.

This helps investors assess not only the emissions footprint, but also the energy procurement strategy of the company.

Disclosure 102-7: Scope 3 GHG Emissions

Scope 3 encompasses all other indirect emissions across the value chain—often the largest share of a company’s footprint.

GRI 102 requires:

• Full disclosure of gross emissions across all 15 Scope 3 categories (e.g., purchased goods, capital goods, business travel, use of sold products).
• Biogenic CO₂ and non-CO₂ emissions to be reported separately by category.
• Clear explanations for any categories that are excluded.
• The same approach to GWP, base year selection, consolidation, and methodology as in Scope 1 and 2.

By standardizing Scope 3 disclosures, GRI is pushing companies toward value chain accountability—a critical shift as more businesses assess supplier and customer-side emissions.

Why This Standard Matters

GRI 102 signals a shift in expectations. Organizations are being asked to demonstrate that they are not only measuring their emissions, but also planning, investing, and transitioning their operations in line with a net-zero future.

It recognizes that climate action is not just technical—it is strategic. Companies need to rethink supply chains, redesign products, repurpose capital, and retrain their workforce. And they must do this transparently, accounting for both their environmental footprint and their social responsibility to workers and communities.

What Companies Should Start Doing Now

With the 2027 reporting deadline on the horizon, companies have a narrow but critical window to prepare. Below are five practical and strategic steps organizations should take now:

1. Understand Your Baseline

Before setting targets or designing a transition plan, organizations must understand their current emissions profile across Scope 1 (direct), Scope 2 (indirect from energy), and Scope 3 (value chain) emissions. For many, Scope 3 will be the most complex and material. A comprehensive GHG inventory is the foundation for everything else.

2. Develop a Transition Plan

A transition plan should not be an appendix—it must be central to business strategy. Start by identifying your most material emissions sources and the biggest levers for reduction. Then define clear milestones: Where do you want to be in 2030? In 2040? How will you phase out fossil fuels? What technologies or operating model shifts will be required?

Importantly, GRI expects this plan to be costed. That means assigning capital and operational expenditure, which in turn requires leadership buy-in and financial integration.

3. Build Governance and Accountability

Assign clear roles for climate transition oversight. This may involve setting up a sustainability steering committee or embedding responsibilities within the board and executive team. GRI 102 also asks how remuneration, incentives, and performance metrics are linked to climate action. This is an opportunity to hardwire climate ambition into decision-making.

4. Prepare for Social Impacts

The emphasis on just transition means that companies must look beyond carbon and assess how the transition will affect jobs, communities, and livelihoods. Are roles being displaced by automation or renewable technologies? Are employees being trained in new skills? Are local communities being consulted? Organizations will need robust stakeholder engagement processes and risk management systems to manage these impacts.

5. Align Reporting with Broader Standards

GRI 102 is aligned with ISSB S2 and can be used together. GRI 102 is consistent with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Companies reporting under CSRD will find strong alignment between GRI 102’s transition plan requirements and those in the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS E1).

Rather than treating these as separate exercises, companies should integrate their sustainability data collection, governance, and reporting systems now to avoid duplication and improve consistency.

GRI 102 sets a high bar, but it reflects a growing consensus: meaningful climate action cannot wait. For businesses, this is a moment of strategic reflection. Do we have a credible plan to navigate a low-carbon future? Are we prepared for regulatory scrutiny and stakeholder expectations? Are we aligning our climate ambition with our financial plans?

How Endurisk Advisory Can Support Your GRI 102 Readiness

At Endurisk Advisory, we understand that preparing for GRI 102 requires more than reporting—it demands strategic clarity, operational alignment, and stakeholder trust. As a firm grounded in both ethics and sustainability, we offer hands-on, senior-led support to help organizations not only comply with GRI 102 but integrate it meaningfully into their climate and business strategy.

Here’s how we can assist:

Whether you’re a listed company, a private business, or a fast-growing startup preparing for sustainability reporting obligations, Endurisk works as a trusted partner to build climate-ready, resilient, and ethically grounded organizations.

Let’s start the conversation.