GRI Content Index
CERN has reported in accordance with the GRI standards for the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024
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For the Content Index – Essentials Service, GRI Services reviewed that the GRI content index is clearly presented, in a manner consistent with the standards, and that the references for disclosures 2-1 to 2-5, 3-1 and 3-2 are aligned with the appropriate sections in the body of the report. The service was performed on the English version of the report.
For the SDG Mapping Add-on, GRI Services reviewed that the GRI disclosures included in the content index are appropriately mapped against the SDGs. The service was performed on the English version of the report.
Statement of use: CERN has reported in accordance with the GRI standards for the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024
The following table demonstrates where Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and disclosures have been demonstrated throughout this report, or in other CERN publications where applicable. To see where a perticular standard or disclosure has been made, click the link in the Pages/information column.
GRI 2 General Disclosures 2021
| Standards and disclosures | Title | Pages/information | Reasons for omission | UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) sdgs.un.org/goals |
| GRI 1: FOUNDATION 2021 | ||||
| GRI 2: GENERAL DISCLOSURES 2021 | ||||
| The organisation and its reporting practices | ||||
| 2-1 Organizational details | About CERN | |||
| 2-2 Entities included in the organization’s sustainability reporting | Management Approach | |||
| 2-3 Reporting period, frequency and contact point | CERN publishes biennial Environment Reports. This report covers the period 2023-2024 and was published on 13 November 2025. Any questions can be sent to environment.report@cern.ch | |||
| 2-4 Restatements of information | Management Approach | |||
| 2-5 External assurance | No external assurance was sought for this report. However, Host State authorities carry out independent measurements concerning CERN’s water releases and ionising radiation. | |||
| Activities and workers | ||||
| 2-6 Activities, value chain and other business relationships | About CERN, Management Approach, Procurement and Materials | |||
| 2-7 Employees | This information is published in CERN’s Annual Personnel Statistics. The Statistics for 2023 can be found on cern.ch/personnelstats and those for 2024 can be found on cern.ch/personnelstats2024. | SDG 8, SDG 10 | ||
| 2-8 Workers who are not employees | See above (2-7). | SDG 8 | ||
| Governance | ||||
| 2-9 Governance structure and composition | About CERN | SDG 5, SDG 16 | ||
| 2-10 Nomination and selection of the highest governance body | Each Member State appoints their own delegates, and their credentials must be issued to the Secretary of the Council, as stated in the Rules of Procedure of the CERN Council which can be found on cern.ch/councilrules. | SDG 5, SDG 16 | ||
| 2-11 Chair of the highest governance body | About CERN | SDG 16 | ||
| 2-12 Role of the highest governance body in overseeing the management of impacts | About CERN, Management Approach. A representative sample of the CERN Council, CERN’s highest governing body are among the stakeholders interviewed in the materiality assessment process to identify environmental impacts. The roles of Council members are defined in the Convention for the establishment of a European Organization for Nuclear Research, which can be found on cern.ch/cernconvention. | SDG 16 | ||
| 2-13 Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts | Management Approach | |||
| 2-14 Role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting | See above (2-12) | |||
| 2-15 Conflicts of interest | CERN’s Conflict of Interest Policy can be found on cern.ch/cip. | SDG 16 | ||
| 2-16 Communication of critical concerns | Management Approach, Environmental Compliance and Management of Hazardous Substances | |||
| 2-17 Collective knowledge of the highest governance body | While no formal sustainability training programme is in place for Council delegates, the biennial Environment reports are formally presented to Council and relevant subordinate bodies to raise awareness, stimulate discussion and gather feedback. Further, a representative sample of Council delegates are among the stakeholders interviewed as part of the materiality assessment. | |||
| 2-18 Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body | This is governed by the Convention for the Establishment of a European Organization for Nuclear Research, which can be found here cern.ch/cernconvention. | |||
| 2-19 Remuneration policies | CERN’s renumeration policy is detailed in Chapter V of the Staff Rules and Regulations which can be found on page 41 on cern.ch/staffrulesregs. | |||
| 2-20 Process to determine remuneration | See above (2-19). | |||
| 2-21 Annual total compensation ratio | The highest paid individual of the Organization is the Director-General. – Ratio of annual total compensation for the highest paid individual / median of the total compensation of all employees (CERN ‘Staff members’, except highest) = 2.8 – Ratio of the percentage increase in total annual compensation for the highest paid individual / median of the percentage increase of total compensation of all employees (CERN ‘Staff members’, except highest) = 0.5 Note 1: total compensation includes basic salary, responsibility award, performance payment. Excluded are payments for shifts and overtime. Note 2: Employed Members of the Personnel (MPE) include Staff members and Graduates. The range from the entry level salaries of CERN Employed members of the Personnel (graduate) to the highest Staff grade according to the CERN Salary grid (basic salary) is a factor of about 6. | |||
| Strategy, policies and practices | ||||
| 2-22 Statement on sustainable development strategy | Foreword, About CERN, Management Approach | |||
| 2-23 Policy commitments | This information can be found on hse.cern/policy-commitments. | SDG 16 | ||
| 2-24 Embedding policy commitments | About CERN, Management Approach | |||
| 2-25 Processes to remediate negative impacts | About CERN, Management Approach, Water & Effluents, Noise, Environmental Compliance and Management of Hazardous Substances | |||
| 2-26 Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns | See above (2-23) | SDG 16 | ||
| 2-27 Compliance with laws and regulations | Environmental Compliance and Management of Hazardous Substances | |||
| 2-28 Membership associations | About CERN More information can be found on cern.ch/intorg. | |||
| Stakeholder engagement | ||||
| 2-29 Approach to stakeholder engagement | About CERN, Management Approach | |||
| 2-30 Collective bargaining agreements | About CERN, Information about the Staff Association’s mission and mandate can be found on cern.ch/samission. | SDG 8 | ||
GRI 3 Material Topics 2021
| Standards and disclosures | Title | Pages/information | Reasons for omission | SDG |
| GRI 3: MATERIAL TOPICS 2021 | ||||
| 3-1 Process to determine material topics | Management Approach | |||
| 3-2 List of material topics | Management Approach | |||
| MATERIALS | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Procurement and Materials | ||
| GRI 301: MATERIALS 2016 | 301-1 Materials used by weight or volume | Procurement and Materials | Information incomplete. Data on the proportion of renewable and non-renewable is currently not available. CERN is optimising its tracing of materials to obtain more detailed data for future reports. | SDG 8, SDG 12 |
| 301-2 Recycled input materials used | Procurement and Materials | Information incomplete. Data on the proportion of recycled materials used is currently not available. CERN is optimising its tracing of materials to obtain more detailed data for future reports. | SDG 8, SDG 12 | |
| ENERGY CONSUMPTION | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Energy | ||
| GRI 302: ENERGY 2016 | 302-1 Energy consumption within the organisation | Energy | SDG 7, SDG 12, SDG 13 | |
| 302-3 Energy intensity | Energy | SDG 7, SDG 12, SDG 13 | ||
| 302-4 Reduction of energy consumption | Energy | SDG 7, SDG 8, SDG 12, SDG 13 | ||
| WATER CONSUMPTION AND EFFLUENT QUALITY | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Water and Effluents | ||
| GRI 303: WATER AND EFFLUENTS 2018 | 303-1 Interactions with water as a shared resource | Water and Effluents | SDG 6, SDG 12 | |
| 303-2 Management of water discharge-related impacts | Water and Effluents | SDG 6 | ||
| 303-3 Water withdrawal | Water and Effluents | SDG 6 | ||
| 303-4 Water discharge | Water and Effluents | SDG 6 | ||
| 303-5 Water consumption | Water and Effluents | SDG 6 | ||
| BIODIVERSITY NATURAL RESOURCES AND BIODIVERSITY | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Biodiversity, Land Use and Landscape Change | ||
| GRI 304: BIODIVERSITY 2016 | 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products and services on biodiversity | Biodiversity, Land Use and Landscape Change | SDG 6, SDG 14, SDG 15 | |
| GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Emissions | ||
| GRI 305: EMISSIONS 2016 | 305-1 Direct (scope 1) GHG emissions | Emissions | SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15 | |
| 305-2 Energy indirect (scope 2) GHG emissions | Emissions | SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15 | ||
| 305-3 Other indirect (scope 3) GHG emissions | Emissions | SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15 | ||
| CONVENTIONAL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Waste | ||
| GRI 306: WASTE 2020 | 306-1 Waste generation and significant waste-related impacts | Waste | SDG 3, SDG 6, SDG 11, SDG 12 | |
| 306-2 Management of significant waste-related impacts | Waste | SDG 3, SDG 6, SDG 8, SDG 11, SDG 12 | ||
| 306-4 Waste diverted from disposal | Waste | SDG 3, SDG 11, SDG 12 | ||
| 306-5 Waste directed to disposal | Waste | SDG 3, SDG 11, SDG 12 | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PROCUREMENT | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3-Management of material topics | Emissions, Procurement and Materials | SDG 12 | |
| GRI 308: SUPPLIER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 2016 | 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken | Emissions, Procurement and Materials | SDG 12 | |
| CERN-SPECIFIC | ||||
| HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Environmental Compliance and Management of Hazardous Substances | ||
| IONISING RADIATION | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Ionising Radiation | ||
| LAND USE AND LANDSCAPE CHANGE | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Biodiversity, Land Use and Landscape Change | ||
| MOBILITY | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Emissions | ||
| NOISE | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Noise | ||
| PREVENTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACCIDENTS | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Environmental Compliance and Management of Hazardous Substances | ||
| SCIENCE AND EDUCATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT | ||||
| GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 | 3-3 Management of material topics | Knowledge and Technology for the Environment | ||
