The sustainability reporting landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by regulations like the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. As a result of these regulations, there is greater scrutiny on the quality, reliability, transparency and comparability of information being reported.

WRI offers free datasets, data platforms and data-based tools that:

  • Build trust and credibility with stakeholders: There are no black box approaches as transparency generates trust. Our published, peer-reviewed methodologies enable independent verification and reproducibility of results; and our science-based approaches adhere to traditional academic standards of excellence, including objectivity and rigor.
  • Provide a robust foundation for reporting: Aligned with major reporting frameworks and standards, many of WRI’s datasets and tools provide target-setting and reporting. These include Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Science-based Targets, GHG Protocol and the Accountability Framework initiative. This allows organizations to comply with different reporting requirements while ensuring consistency with global best practices and standards.
  • Meet assurance requirements effectively: Credible and reliable corporate disclosures are supported by WRI’s high-quality data standards and robust, comprehensive documentation. This allows organizations to generate audit-ready reports for a smoother, more streamlined assurance process.

WRI produces and curates data about land use, water risks, land cover and terrestrial ecosystem dynamics that support corporate disclosures on CSRD reporting standards around:  climate change (ESRS E1), water and marine resources (ESRS E3), and biodiversity and ecosystems (ESRS E4). These datasets provide critical reference points like baselines, targets and industry benchmarks.

  • Global Forest Watch (GFW) and its supply chain edition, GFW Pro, turn geospatial data into actionable insights to help businesses monitor and assess deforestation risks and inform their mitigation plans. GFW Pro also supports both producers and suppliers with the EU Deforestation Regulation compliance.
  • Land & Carbon Lab’s land use change emissions accounting methodologies, aligned with the GHG Protocol, support a standardized approach to measuring land occupation and deforestation emissions from agricultural land use change.
  • SBTN Natural Lands Map establishes a common baseline companies can use to visualize the extent of natural land in 2020, set targets and assess responsibility for conversion of natural ecosystems after 2020.
  • Aqueduct enables companies to map and assess current and future water risks across locations, prioritize water stewardship activities and set targets.
  • LandMark aggregates maps of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ lands and territories into a global dataset, which can be used to assess assets and supply areas for consistency with local land tenure arrangements.

Cover image by Floriane Vita/Unsplash