In a move set to reduce reporting fatigue and enhance data consistency, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) have released a joint GRI-CDP mapping tool. The initiative helps companies align data requirements across both organizations’ frameworks—particularly for climate and energy-related disclosures—allowing them to report once and use the data twice.

Why this matters:

With ESG reporting obligations expanding rapidly across jurisdictions, many companies face overlapping requests for similar information. GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework, while CDP operates the largest global environmental disclosure system—used by investors, customers, and regulators to benchmark companies on climate, water, and forest impacts. In 2024 alone, 22,700 companies disclosed through CDP, an 8% increase from 2023.

The new mapping links CDP’s environmental data points with the updated GRI Climate Change (GRI 102) and Energy (GRI 103) Standards, finalized earlier this year. By showing where the two frameworks converge, the tool enables organizations to reuse the same underlying metrics across both systems, improving efficiency and comparability.

Driving convergence across frameworks

This collaboration builds on broader efforts to align sustainability reporting globally. Both GRI and CDP have been working with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to connect with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), as well as engaging with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation’s climate disclosure standard under the ISSB.

What executives should know

• Efficiency: The tool reduces duplication across CDP and GRI submissions, saving time for sustainability teams.

• Consistency: It enhances data comparability for investors and regulators who rely on GRI, CDP, ESRS, or IFRS frameworks.

• Readiness: Companies preparing CSRD-aligned disclosures or responding to CDP’s 2025 questionnaire can now use this mapping to ensure coherence across filings.

As CDP’s Climate Director Amir Sokolowski noted, the collaboration “strengthens access to high-quality, comparable information,” while Harold Pauwels, GRI’s Director of Standards, called it “a new milestone” in harmonizing sustainability reporting.

The bottom line

The GRI-CDP mapping tool marks a practical step toward interoperable ESG disclosure systems—a goal long sought by companies and regulators alike. For organizations balancing multiple frameworks, this alignment offers a clearer, more efficient path to credible and consistent climate reporting.