Sustainable Edge: Rethinking corporate accountability in a fragmented world with Robin Hodess, GRI

What does accountability look like in a world shaped by AI, geopolitics, and rising stakeholder expectations? In this episode, Robin Hodess of GRI explores how the role of sustainability reporting is shifting and why companies that treat it as strategic data, not compliance, will be better positioned to compete.

In this episode of Sustainable Edge

Host Joachim Nahem, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Position Green, sits down with Robin Hodess, CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), to explore how corporate accountability is being reshaped in a world defined by geopolitical tension, technological disruption, and rising expectations.

 As the original standard setter for sustainability reporting—emerging from initiatives that followed major environmental crises like Exxon Valdez—GRI has played a central role in defining how companies measure and communicate their impact. But today, the landscape is far more complex. Accountability is no longer limited to environmental damage. It now includes issues such as data privacy, AI, social inequality, governance, and the broader role of business in society.

Robin Hodess unpacks how sustainability reporting is evolving from a compliance exercise into a critical source of strategic insight. She explains why businesses must move beyond fragmented frameworks and focus on what truly matters, using data to navigate risk, identify opportunities, and make better decisions.

Learn about:

• From reporting to decision making: Why sustainability data is becoming essential for strategy, risk management, and long-term business growth
• The expanding scope of accountability: How issues like AI, data centres, nature, and social impact are redefining what companies are responsible for
• Complexity vs clarity: Why more frameworks and regulation have created confusion and how leaders can focus on what truly matters
• Materiality in practice: How companies can prioritize the most relevant impacts without being overwhelmed by the breadth of ESG topics
• Global fragmentation and standards: What rising geopolitical tensions mean for reporting requirements and why harmonisation matters more than ever
• The business value of transparency: Why 73 percent of studies show a positive link between sustainability reporting and financial performance
• Leadership and credibility: How companies can rebuild trust by moving beyond claims and focusing on evidence, progress, and accountability

About Robin Hodess

Robin Hodess is the CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world’s leading standard setter for sustainability reporting. With a career spanning finance, ethics, and global governance, she has held senior roles at Transparency International and other international organisations. Robin brings a long term perspective on corporate transparency, accountability, and the role of business in addressing global challenges. Under her leadership, GRI continues to shape how companies measure, manage, and communicate their impact in an increasingly complex world.

Resources from this episode:

From Impact to Income: How sustainability reporting affects the bottom Line:

Decoding biodiversity impacts: A practical guide to corporate reporting with the GRI Standards:

Case studies on reporting with GRI 101 and TNFD: