This metric is based on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Standards. In the context of the GRI Standards, the economic dimension of sustainability concerns an organization’s impacts on the economic conditions of its stakeholders, and on economic systems at local, national, and global levels.

GRI 202 addresses the topic of an organization’s market presence, covering its contribution to economic development in the local areas or communities where it operates.

This disclosure applies to those organizations in which a substantial portion of their employees, and workers (excluding employees) performing the organization’s activities, are compensated in a manner or scale that is closely linked to laws or regulations on minimum wage.

Providing wages above the minimum wage can help contribute to the economic well-being of workers performing the organization’s activities. The impacts of wage levels are immediate, and they directly affect individuals, organizations, countries and economies The distribution of wages is crucial for eliminating inequalities, such as wage gap differences between women and men, or nationals and migrants.

Also, entry level wages paid compared to local minimum wages show the competitiveness of an organization’s wages and provide information relevant for assessing the effect of wages on the local labor market. Comparing this information by gender can also be a measure of an organization’s approach to equal  opportunity in the workplace,

In 2018, the GRI G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines were superseded by the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI standards). For this metric, the code G4-EC5 -a is used in company reporting prior to 2018, and the new GRI 202-1 code used in reporting from 2018 onwards. The methodology for the former G4 standard for this metric can be found here.