GRI Taxonomy Implementation Guide

Transcription

1 GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE GRI Taxonomy Implementation Guide 11/7/2013 Created by in collaboration with:

2 Document info Date 7 November, 2013 Status Final Version 2.0 Author GRI Taxonomy Project (Elina Sviklina, Paul Hulst, Yaqing Sun) Versioning info Number Comment 1.0 Final document for the GRI Taxonomy Updated document for the GRI Taxonomy GRI 1

3 Table of contents 1 Copyright and acknowledgements Copyright and trademark notice Acknowledgements Introduction Goal of the document Scope of the Taxonomy Preparer s guide Introduction XBRL Instance Context Units Facts Footnotes Extender s guide Extender s guide for reporters Extender s guide for collection of sustainability data Appendix Background information General information on GRI Guidelines General information on XBRL Additional information on the GRI Taxonomy... 19

4 1 Copyright and acknowledgements 1.1 Copyright and trademark notice This document is copyright-protected by Stichting Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The reproduction and distribution of this document for information and/or use in preparing a sustainability report is permitted without prior permission from GRI. However, neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored, translated, or transferred in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded, or otherwise) for any other purpose without prior written permission from GRI. Global Reporting Initiative, the Global Reporting Initiative logo, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, and GRI are trademarks of the Global Reporting Initiative. 1.2 Acknowledgements GRI acknowledges the generous support of Deloitte Netherlands, its core partner in this project and the members of the project team: GRI: Nelmara Arbex, Elina Sviklina, Bastian Buck, Katja Kriege, Rebecca Dreyfus Deloitte: Dave van den Ende, Paul Hulst and Yaqing Sun GRI also acknowledges the contributions of the GRI Taxonomy Review Team during the creation of the GRI Taxonomy 2012: Chairman: Gavin Marais (South Africa), Deloitte South Africa; Members (in alphabetical order) including: Eric Cohen (USA), PwC; Ines Garcia-Pintos (Spain), CECA; Rina Levy (USA), Bloomberg; Maya Nair (India), IRIS Business Services; Campbell Pryde (USA), XBRL US; Martijn van Schaik (The Netherlands), Sustainalytics; Paul Staal (The Netherlands), ING; Jorge Uvalle (Mexico), Independent; Jordan Woodard (USA), Rivet Software; and others who wished to remain anonymous The GRI Taxonomy 2013 is still based on the architecture as agreed by the above mentioned GRI Taxonomy Review Team GRI 1

5 2 Introduction 2.1 Goal of the document The goal of this document is to provide guidance to people who use the GRI Taxonomy to either report sustainability information or wish to receive it. Some prior knowledge of XBRL and GRI reporting is required to be able to use this document. To best understand the content, users of this Implementation Guide should be familiar with XBRL terminology including taxonomy, table and dimensions and GRI reporting terminology including, for example, Category, Materiality, Aspect, Aspect Boundary, Indicator, Disclosures on Management Approach, Sector Disclosures 1. The Preparer s guide (chapter 3) provides guidance for organizations that either plan to create an XBRL report (instance document) themselves or request assistance from third parties to do it for them. It outlines the way to create the XBRL instance containing the sustainability information using the standard GRI Taxonomy. It covers the GRI Reporting Principles, which entry points the taxonomy provides, how contexts and units are to be created and how data is to be reported. Guidance is provided to support the process of creating an XBRL instance and to make sure that reporting information in it will be correctly expressed. The Extender s guide (chapter 4) provides information about how to extend the GRI Taxonomy. Reporters that wish to report additional disclosures (beyond the disclosures provided by the GRI Guidelines) can extend the taxonomy to capture this information. This section also contains suggestions for other organizations and initiatives (e.g. regulators) that wish to reuse the concepts and structures created by GRI for their own purposes. Links to background information about XBRL and GRI is provided in appendix 5 Appendix Background information. 1 For an overview of all key terms please refer to the Glossary in the G4 Implementation Manual, page GRI 2

6 2.2 Scope of the Taxonomy The Scope of the Taxonomy includes the GRI G4 Guidelines, G3.1 Guidelines and G3 Guidelines, in US English. The Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are the cornerstone of GRI s Sustainability Reporting Framework, and are now in their fourth generation. They feature sustainability disclosures that organizations can adopt flexibly, enabling them to be transparent about their performance in key sustainability areas. The G4 Guidelines are the latest 2 and most complete version of GRI s guidance. Launched in 2013, G4 has a strong focus on materiality and includes updates regarding report content and Boundary, governance and remuneration, Disclosures on Management Approach, supply chain, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, anti-corruption, and ethics and integrity, and includes new in accordance criteria. While G3 and G3.1-based reports are still accepted, GRI recommends that reporters use G4, the most comprehensive sustainability reporting Guidelines available today. 2 At the time of writing of this document, October GRI 3

7 3 Preparer s guide 3.1 Introduction This chapter addresses the way an XBRL report should be created XBRL Terminology The terms and definitions used in this document (e.g., concept, linkbase, hypercube) refer to the definitions as defined by XBRL International. Some terms in this document might be understood in multiple ways. The following definitions are used in this document: Taxonomy: Entry point: The taxonomy is the complete set of XBRL files covering multiple entry points released at a certain point in time. The entry point provides all the concepts that are relevant for a particular purpose. It combines concepts and linkbases from one or more modules (import). It may also have concepts and linkbases of its own. GRI Taxonomy 2013 contains three entry points: Entry point for the GRI G4 Guidelines Entry point for the GRI G3.1 Guidelines, and Entry point for the GRI G3 Guidelines Other entry points can be created to cover the GRI Sector Disclosures (e.g., Energy and Utilities entry point, delivering all concepts from GRI s Electric Utilities Sector Supplement) Folder structure of the GRI Taxonomy The GRI Taxonomy is available as a zip file from the GRI website. The content is structured as follows: Folder Description entry points Entry points: 3 schemas, one for G4, one for G3.1 and one for G3 G4 Files for the G4 version, schema s and all linkbases besides label linkbase Labels Xml-files containing labels for G4 G3.1 Files for the G3.1 version, schema s and all linkbases besides label linkbase Labels Xml-files containing labels for G3.1 G3 Files for the G3 version, schema s and all linkbases besides label linkbase Labels Xml-files containing labels for G3 Table 1 Zip file content 2013 GRI 4

8 3.1.3 Choosing an entry point A GRI XBRL Sustainability Report is always based on an entry point provided by GRI or on an extension created by the reporters themselves. These entry points are part of the GRI Taxonomy. The GRI Taxonomy 2013 is based on GRI G4 Guidelines released in 2013, the G3.1 Guidelines document released in 2011, and the GRI G3 Guidelines document released in Accordingly, it contains three entry points. For a more detailed description of the structure and other folders, please refer to Chapter 3: Logical Model in the GRI Taxonomy Architecture & Style Guide Content of an entry point in the GRI Taxonomy The G4 entry point is divided into 3 sections: Nr Section 1 General Standard Disclosures: Strategy and Analysis, Organizational Profile, Identified Material Aspects and Boundaries, Stakeholder Engagement, Report Profile, Governance, Ethics and Integrity 2 Specific Standard Disclosures: Category Economic, Environmental, and Social (including Sub-Categories Labor Practices and Decent Work, Human Rights, Society and Product Responsibility) 3 Attachments: Assurance Report and other documents Table 2 Sections in the GRI Taxonomy 2013 (G4 entry point) The G3.1 and G3 entry points in the GRI Taxonomy are divided into 9 sections: Nr Section 1 Content Index 2 Profile Disclosures 3 Economic Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators 4 Environment Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators 5 Labor and Decent Work Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators 6 Human Rights Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators 7 Society Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators 8 Product Responsibility Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators 9 Attachments - GRI Application Level Check report, Assurance Report and other documents (e.g., pdf-version of the sustainability report). Table 3 Sections in the GRI Taxonomy 2013 (G3.1 and G3 entry points) Reporting Content Index Content Index can be reported using GRI disclosure G4-32 in G4 entry point; G3.1 and G3 entry points include a separate Content Index section. To support reporters in applying GRI s Guidelines correctly, and presenting reports in a clear, consistent and user-friendly manner, GRI has created the GRI Content Index. The GRI Content Index lists all of the disclosures that can be addressed in a report, serving as a road map for the content provided in a GRI report. By detailing which disclosures have been reported and why certain data has been omitted, the Content Index can function as a communications tool to support, for example, an Application Level declaration for G3 or G3.1 reports GRI 5

9 The GRI Content Index includes Standard Disclosures page references, Reasons of omitting any disclosures, as well as information about External Assurance. Content Index of G3.1 and G3 also includes information about whether particular reporting requirements are fully, partially or not addressed. Example using Content Index in G3 entry point: Organization A, a service-oriented company, will not report Number and volume of significant spills because it is not applicable due to the type of organization. Label of the concept Data point reported Not reported parts of the data point Reason for omission Explanation of omission of the data point Value Not <null> Not applicable We do not report this because our organization provides postal services and our operations have no relation to spills Reporting disclosures on management approach Disclosure on Management Approach covers how an organization addresses a given set of topics in order to provide context for understanding performance in a specific area. For G4 Disclosures on Management Approach are addressed in separate concepts for each Aspect under the categories and sub-categories of Specific Standard Disclosures. In case of G3.1 and G3 a specific concept is created to contain this information. It has a label that ends in management approach Providing additional information using G4 entry point Reporters who report using the G4 Guidelines can provide additional information that is not already covered by the G4 concepts on sub-disclosure level. Concepts ending with (...) additional are created after each sub point of the GRI disclosure. Reporters should use this option only in cases where the information does not correspond to any of the detailed GRI concepts. In cases where an organization reports Standard Disclosures form the Guidelines but has not fulfilled all the requirements of either in accordance option, the G4-32a additional concept must be used. The reporting organization must use the G4-32a additional concept to include a statement This report contains Standard Disclosures from the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Providing direct answers using G3.1 and G3 entry points Reporters who report according to the G3 or G3.1 Guidelines can provide direct answers instead of a detailed response to each disclosure. Concepts that start with Overall description (...) are meant for these direct answers. Reporters should use this option only in cases where the detailed information is not relevant or is available in such a way that none of the detailed concepts can be reported separately GRI 6

10 3.1.8 Adding documents to the XBRL instance as attachments The GRI Taxonomy provides specific concepts for reporters to attach External Assurance Report or the GRI Application Level Check report (for G3 and G3.1 reports). Other documents can be added as well. A description of the attachments must be added to help the user of the XBRL report determine the relevance and the content of the attachment. It is not possible to add a digital (binary) document directly as an attachment to the XBRL report; the binary information must first be encoded as plain ASCII text and the result used as content for the related line item. The technique used for turning binary content into ASCII text is called Base64 encoding. Wikipedia ( gives technical information on using Base64. Numerous applications can be found on the internet to encode or decode attachments. 3.2 XBRL Instance Reporters SHOULD name their XBRL instance as follows: <Name of the organization> - <period reported> - <country>.xbrl Technically the reporters are allowed to choose any name for the XBRL instance. To clearly identify the content and reporting entity, reporters should name their XBRL instance as suggested. Example: ABC corporation USA.xbrl Reporters MUST validate the XBRL report according to the XBRL specifications An XBRL report must be valid according to the XBRL specifications for it to be used by data consumers, like regulators or investors Reporters SHOULD define the order of contexts, units, facts and footnotes Technically, the order of the contexts, units, facts and footnotes in the XBRL instance is not relevant. GRI recommends defining them in the order of contexts, units, facts and footnotes as it might matter for certain XBRL software Reporters SHOULD include the XML attribute Lang in the head tag of the XBRL instance The XBRL instance has an attribute Lang to specify the language used for texts. GRI recommends including this attribute in the head tag of the XBRL instance to indicate the reporting language. Example: when English language is used, the header of the XBRL instance SHOULD be: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <xbrli:xbrl xmlns:utr=" xml:lang="en"..> </xblri :xbrl> Reporter May use XML comments in the XBRL instance Reporters can embed XML comments in the XBRL instance. The reporter MAY NOT expect that this data can be read by everybody. Therefore the content of these comments MAY NOT be relevant for a reader of the XBRL instance to understand the sustainability performance of the reporter GRI 7

11 3.3 Context All data in a XBRL instance is put into context to be understood correctly. This context identifies the reporting organization, describes the time period that the data covers, and provides more detailed information where applicable (i.e. dimensions) Reporters SHOULD define contexts using a meaningful name GRI recommends reporters to define contexts using a meaningful name to improve the readability of the XBRL instance Reporters MUST must uniquely identify itself by using a known identifier in the entity part The entity part of the context documents the reporting organization (business, government department, individual, etc.) that the reported fact refers to. Each reporter using the GRI Taxonomy must also provide the scheme for the identifier to explain what kind of identifier it is. For example: the reporter can use the scheme and their CIK number used by US SEC. The boundary of the scheme and the entity identifier MUST match with the reporter. For example: the scheme and the number for an organization s headquarters should not be used when reporting information for one of its subsidiaries. In this case, the scheme used by the subsidiaries local Chamber of Commerce, and its related identifier there, would be more appropriate. GRI recommends that reporters use the scheme and identifier that they also use for financial reporting Reporters SHOULD report according to the structure of the presentation linkbase Some GRI Disclosures requires reporters to report certain information with a breakdown, while some Disclosures require only a total number. The presentation linkbase of the GRI Taxonomy reflects these reporting requirements as specified in the GRI Guidelines. Disclosures without breakdown requirements are included in the non-dimensional structure in the presentation Linkbase; while Disclosures with a breakdown requirement are structured within a hypercube in the presentation linkbase. Reporters SHOULD report according to the structure of the presentation linkbase to fulfill the reporting requirements of the GRI Guidelines. For example, G4-9-a requires to Report the scale of the organization, including: Total number of employees and G4-10-a requires to Report the total number of employees by employment contract and gender. Presentation linkbase for G4-9-a and G4-10-a are as follows: Structure of G4-9-a in the presentation linkbase: G4-9 a [abstract] Total number of employees Reporters SHOULD report the total number of employees without any breakdown information GRI 8

12 Structure of G4-10-a in the presentation linkbase: G4-10 a [abstract] Report the total number of employees by employment contract and gender [table] Employment contract [axis] Gender [axis] Report the total number of employees by employment contract and gender [line items] Total number of employees Reporters SHOULD report the total number of employees with the breakdown by employment contract and by gender. For more explanations, please see Architecture and Style Guide section Reporters MUST use the Segment part to describe dimensional information The segment part of the context is to be used to describe dimensional information. See paragraph Reporting dimensional information The GRI Taxonomy uses the presentation linkbase and definition linkbase to model the dimensional structure. The presentation linkbase reflects the structure of the GRI Guidelines and reporters can use it to navigate the taxonomy and locate the item that needs to be reported. The Definition linkbase contains the technical definitions of the dimensional structure and is used to validate the data reported. The GRI Taxonomy used both explicit and typed dimensions. Explicit dimensions An explicit dimension includes a breakdown list which is specified by the GRI Guidelines. The reporter has to choose from this list to report. For example, the G4 Guidelines EN3-c requires to Report in joules, watt-hours or multiples, the total electricity, heating, cooling and steam consumption. The Guidelines lists all possible types of energy that can be used by reporters. The structure below illustrates how EN3-c is modeled in the GRI Taxonomy. EnergyConsumptionTable EnergyTypeAxis EnergyTypeDomain ElectricityMember HeatingMember CoolingMember SteamMember EnergyConsumptionLineItems 2013 GRI 9

13 EnergyConsumption In the table structure, the reportable item is EnergyConsumption. However, as required by GRI, the reported value of EnergyConsumption has to be broken down using the Member concepts (e.g. ElectricityMember, HeatingMember, and etc) listed under the concept EnergyTypeAxis. Suggested XBRL instance structure: <context id="fy13_duration_electricity"> <entity> <identifier scheme=" <segment> <xbrldi:explicitmember dimension="gri-d:energyconsumptionaxis"> gri-d: ElectricityMember </xbrldi:explicitmember> </segment> </entity> <period> <xbrli:startdate> </xbrli:startdate> <xbrli:enddate> </xbrli:enddate> </period> </context> contextref="fy13_duration_electricity">100</gri- <gri-c:energyconsumption c:directenergyconsumption> Typed dimensions The reporter has to report a number of facts using a table where the number of rows is not defined in the taxonomy. These tables use a typed dimension. For instance: to report the workforce for the countries the organizations operates in. For each country reported in the table, a context must be created containing a value for the typed dimension. Rather than use the name of the country, the value in the context MUST be a unique identifier with no embedded meaning (e.g. sequence number or globally unique identifier). The actual name of the country must be reported as a fact in the table. Each table has a special line item concept defined with the suffix Name to capture that name of the country. Example on how to report using a typed dimensional structure: Sample taxonomy structure: WorkforceTable CountryTypedAxis WorkforceLineItems CountryName WorkforceNumber 2013 GRI 10

14 Suggested XBRL instance structure: <context id="fy13_instant_country_nl"> <entity> <identifier scheme=" <segment> <gri-d:countrytypedid>country_nl</gri-d:countrytypedid> </segment> </entity> <period> <instant> </instant> </period> </context> <gri-c:countryname contextref="fy13_instant_country_nl">netherlands</gric:countryregionname> <gri-c:workforcenumber contextref="fy13_instant_country_nl">100</gri-c: WorkforceNumber> For typed dimensions, reporters MUST use the same identifier for the same typed dimension member in every context Some typed dimensions are used more than once (e.g., country name are used in G4-EC1b, G4- EC4bb and etc. in the G4 Guidelines). GRI recommends reporters to consistently use the same identifier for the re-used typed dimension members (e.g. country names, signification locations of operations and etc.) to enable easier data consumption for the data users Reporters MAY use the Scenario part to distinguish between budgeted, actual, and forecasted values The scenario part of the context can be used to distinguish between budgeted, actual, and forecasted values. This MAY only be done where the GRI Guidelines require that this distinction is made Reporters SHOULD use contexts to represent non-current information Some GRI Standard Disclosures ask the reporters to report information that has either not occurred yet (for example, forecasted value) or relate to events occurred in preceding years (for example, GRI Indicator PR8 in the G3 Guidelines). To avoid confusion it is important for reporters to clarify the context of the value reported. Each fact in the XBRL instance MUST have a context that reflects the period in (duration) or the date on (instant) which the fact did or will occur. For example, if a reporter reports a forecasted value of its employee pension program for the end of 2015, the context that MUST be used would be the context with the instant date set to GRI 11

15 3.3.8 The XBRL instances MAY NOT contain duplicates or unused contexts 3.4 Units For numeric information, the unit of measurement must always be explicitly provided; for example, representing currencies like US dollars for monetary data, or cubic meters for volumetric information. The reporter must provide the measurement for all numeric data to clearly define the data, for example, currency, weight or size. In some cases the GRI Guidelines prescribe what unit should be used (for example EN3 in the G3 Guidelines Report the energy saved in joules or multiples. Otherwise, the reporters are allowed to choose the units that would best suit the data provided Monetary values MUST be reported using the international standard iso-4217 list. 3 To increase comparability and usability of the data, GRI recommends reporters to report using international standard for currency ISO 4217 for monetary values Reporters SHOULD use the XII list of data types XBRL International (XII) maintains a list of units to use for these data types ( The reporter should use this list to enable comparability with other XBRL instances. Example: for energyitemtype it contains: The XBRL instance would then contain: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <xbrli:xbrl xmlns:utr=" <xbrli:unit id="mwh"> <xbrli:measure>utr:mwh</xbrli:measure> </xbrli:unit> </xblri :xbrl> Reporters MUST define a unit if a suitable unit cannot be found in the XII unit registry list For some GRI Disclosures, the reporters need to specified the unit used on these Disclosures. For example, EN5-a in the G4 Guidelines asks to Report the energy intensity ratio. The reporters need to select an organization-specific metric to report this disclosure. The reporters will not find a 3 For more information, visit GRI 12

16 suitable unit from the XII unit registry list in this case. They must define a unit to suit their own needs. There are no strict rules on how a unit should be defined Reporters SHOULD define units using a meaningful name For units created by the reporters, which are not included in the XII unit registry list, GRI recommends reporters to define the units using a meaningful name to improve the readability of the XBRL instance The XBRL instances MAY NOT contain duplicates or unused units 3.5 Facts Reporters MAY NOT use more than one fact with the same combination of concept and context In the XBRL instance, every fact value must be reported under a defined context and unit. It MAY NOT contain two facts having the same combination of concept and context Reporters MUST indicate the degree to which numbers have been rounded This should be done using decimals. For example the decimals=-3 indicates that the amount is rounded to the nearest Reporters MUST report percentage as a decimal value Some GRI Indicators asks for percentage information (for example EN10 in the G3 Guidelines). In this case, it is mandatory to report the percentage as a decimal value. For example, 45% should be reported as 0.45 with a decimal value equals Not reporting data If some data does not exist the reporter can choose to 1. Not incorporate the fact in the XBRL instance at all 2. Add a fact to the XBRL instance with the attribute NIL set to TRUE Reporting monetary data (balance type) Every concept created to capture monetary information has a balance type to help the reporter assign the right sign (none for positive or "-" for negative) to the number, e.g., Assets has a balance type of Debit so positive assets are entered as a positive number, Debt has as balance type of Credit, so Debt would likewise be entered as a positive number unless it has an atypical balance. The sign of a number is needed to indicate a negative or positive amount as presented, not to indicate the debit of credit aspect. Example: Concept label Concept name Balance type XBRL Value XBRL unit Assets gri-c:assets Debit iso4217:eur Revenues gric:directeconomicvaluegeneratedrevenues Credit iso4217:eur 2013 GRI 13

17 Operating costs gric:directeconomicvaluedistributedoperatin gcosts Debit iso4217:eur 3.6 Footnotes Reporters MAY use footnotes In the XBRL Specification, footnote is defined to provide the possibilities to the reporters to include explanatory or additional information on the data value reported. It is allowed to use footnotes in a GRI XBRL instance. However footnotes must only be used to add explanations to the data reported, it is not allowed to report values of GRI indicators in the footnotes or contradict the data reported. 4 Extender s guide This chapter provides rules and suggestions for how to extend the GRI Taxonomy. The GRI Guidelines provide guidance on sustainability reporting. It is possible that a certain organization or industry would like to disclose its own sustainability indicators in addition to the indicators defined in GRI Guidelines. When reporting in XBRL, the reporters MUST extend the GRI Taxonomy before they can report additional sustainability information. For this reason, this section provides guidance on how the GRI Taxonomy MUST be extended. The following rules and suggestions are to be followed to assure that the information supplied is as comparable as possible and well understood by other parties that are interested in the data (e.g., analysts). These rules and suggestions are different for organizations (reporters) that want to disclose additional information as opposed to organizations that want to use the GRI taxonomy for collecting sustainability data, like regulators. 4.1 Extender s guide for reporters Reporter MUST choose one of the GRI provided entry points as the basis of his own taxonomy The extension taxonomy MAY NOT refer to two or more of the entry points created by GRI Reporter MAY NOT make changes to existing indicators Existing indicators must remain as defined by GRI and may not be changed by the reporter. Reporters are also not allowed to change the GRI defined labels, but they are allowed to add additional labels to increase similarity with their paper-based or web-based sustainability report. Reporters adding their own indicators MUST use parts (dimensions, members, etc.) defined by GRI if they are used with the same meaning Reporter MUST follow naming conventions described in the GRI Taxonomy Architecture and Style Guide This will increase the comparability of the GRI Taxonomy and the extension taxonomy GRI 14

18 4.1.4 Reporter MUST create a namespace and prefix that reflect the reporter Namespaces are used to uniquely identify elements in XBRL files 4. For example, the GRI Taxonomy uses the URI as a namespace to indicate GRI defined non-dimensional concepts. For GRI Taxonomy extenders, namespaces MUST be used to distinguishing concepts defined by GRI and concepts added by the reporters. In order to increase readability of the extended taxonomy, GRI recommends reporters to include the organization s name or other unique identifier (e.g. SEC Ticker Symbol) in the namespace Reporter MUST create an extended link for the additional indicators Extended links in XBRL are used to group concepts in a meaningful way. To distinguish GRI defined linkbases and linkbases added by the reporter, all indicators defined by the reporter must be placed in a new extended link Reporter MUST use a number in the URI of the extended link must to indicate that it is created by the extender (not GRI) The URI of the extended link must contain a number which indicates that it is created by the extender (not GRI). Definition linkbase All extended links created by the reporter in the definition linkbase must start with a number in the range from to This applies to extending any of the three entry points in the GRI Taxonomy An example of an extended definition linkbase: id roleuri definition Companyname Tablename Namespace/11010-Tablename Table name Presentation linkbase GRI Taxonomy 2013 has different extended link roles for entry points G4, G3.1 and G3. Extension to the G4 entry point: All extended concepts created by the reporter in the presentation linkbase must be included in the extended link role with a number 10 to 99. id roleuri definition Companyname-10-NewCategory(Aspect)Name Namespace/10-NewCategory(Aspect)Name 10 - New category (or Aspect) name Extension to the G3.1 and G3 entry points: Follow the following scheme to determine the number of the extended link: 4 Namespace is a feature of XML specifications. For more detailed information on how to create a namespace please refer to: GRI 15

19 1. Indicator is part of a new category 5 : number starts at 20 and is increased by 1 for every new category defined. An example of an extended link in the presentation linkbase for a new indicator category: id roleuri definition Companyname-20-NewCategoryName Namespace/20-NewCategoryName 20 - New category name 2. Indicator is part of an existing category: number must 10 + the number of the original category. An example of an extended link in the presentation linkbase for additional indicators in the GRI Economic Category: id roleuri definition Companyname-13-EconomicCategoryExtended Namespace/13-EconomicCategoryExtended 13 - Economic category extended Reporter MUST use a similar structure in the newly extended link as in the existing extended links The structure of newly extended links must be similar to the structure of the existing extended links: it must contain abstract concepts to serve as titles. Please refer to the GRI Taxonomy Architecture and Style Guide for a more detailed explanation on the structure of extended links used in the GRI Taxonomy. If the new indicator is part of an existing Aspect and/or category the existing title concept defined by GRI must be used to clearly indicate that the indicator is part of that existing GRI structure. 5 A category refers to a reporting section in the GRI Guidelines, e.g. Environment or Economic Category GRI 16

20 4.2 Extender s guide for collection of sustainability data Organizations MAY reuse concepts and structures from the GRI Taxonomy for data collection of sustainability data. By reusing parts of the GRI Taxonomy, it will make clear what the similarities and differences between different the reporting frameworks are. This section provides recommendations on how other CSR projects and initiatives could reuse the GRI Taxonomy Modularity of the Taxonomy The GRI Taxonomy contains different files that an extender can choose to reuse: a schema containing dimensional concepts: tables, axis, domains and domain members a schema containing non-dimensional concepts: non-reportable concepts like titles, and the reportable (i.e., non-abstract) concepts set of files defining the label, reference, presentation and definition linkbases an entrypoint schema importing all dimensional concepts and non-dimensional concepts The structure is illustrated in the diagram below. Figure 1 Modularity Patterns used in the Taxonomy for tables The GRI Taxonomy uses both explicit and typed dimensions to model a table. Please refer to Section for examples of typed and explicit dimensions. The typed dimension enables a reporter to add a list of items (e.g., initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) without having to extend the Taxonomy. Chapter 5 of the Architecture and Style Guide describes the reasons for choosing this approach. First of all, an extender should decide if they want to use these typed dimensions as well for their own taxonomy. If they do not want to, they should not import the structures defined by GRI (which are part of the entry point) but should import the schemas containing the concepts (see the diagram above). In this 2013 GRI 17

21 way, they provide clarity to users of the taxonomies about which concepts are shared, while keeping control over the dimensional structures Naming conventions Initiatives and projects reusing the concepts and structures defined by GRI should also reuse the naming conventions used by GRI. This way, the combined taxonomy will present a unified, similar appearance to users. A detailed explanation of the GRI Taxonomy Naming Conventions can be found in the GRI Taxonomy Architecture and Style Guide GRI 18

22 5 Appendix Background information 5.1 General information on GRI Guidelines Visit Getting started on the GRI website ( for information about the GRI Guidelines and how to report sustainability impacts and performance information. 5.2 General information on XBRL XBRL is an XML based standard for defining and exchanging business and financial performance information. It is developed, owned and maintained by XBRL International. Visit the website ( of XBRL International to learn more about XBRL. 5.3 Additional information on the GRI Taxonomy Detailed information about the structure of the GRI Taxonomy can be found in the GRI Architecture and Style Guide, available on the GRI website. A sample document is available on the GRI website that serves as an illustration of a sustainability report using the GRI Taxonomy GRI 19