According to GRI, what are "material topics"?

Material topics, as defined by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), refer to issues that are significant for an organization’s sustainability impacts as well as for stakeholders' decisions. These topics are critical for understanding how an organization interacts with economic, environmental, and social systems, and they help in shaping the organization's strategies and actions.

Material topics are identified through a process that takes into account the expectations and interests of stakeholders, along with the organization's own impacts on sustainability. This means that they directly influence decision-making and performance evaluation within the organization, making them essential for transparent and responsible reporting.

In contrast, topics covered in finance reports are often limited to financial performance and do not necessarily encompass the broader sustainability aspects that material topics involve. Trends in consumer behavior, while relevant to business strategy, do not inherently address the sustainability impacts that organizations need to consider. Legal compliance requirements, although important for operational integrity, are not the same as material topics, which include voluntary reporting on sustainability issues. Thus, material topics are central to an organization's sustainability reporting under the GRI framework, helping to ensure that the organization remains accountable to all its stakeholders.