Former Novo Nordisk exec to chair GRI standards board

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has confirmed Susanne Stormer, a former Novo Nordisk sustainability leader and PwC partner, as chair of the 15-person Global Sustainability Standards Board. 

Stormer’s appointment is effective April 1. She succeeds Carol Adams, Emeritus Professor of Accounting at Durham University Business School in the U.K., who held the role for the past three years.

GRI’s methodologies are used by more than 14,000 companies as part of disclosures on environmental, social and governance topics. That makes it one of the most widely used resources for voluntary reporting alongside ones from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the International Sustainability Standards Board.

Stormer was the vice president of corporate sustainability at pharmaceuticals maker Novo Nordisk for 13 years before heading to PwC in Denmark, where she represented the consulting firm’s sustainability services. 

While at Novo Nordisk, she led the process to integrate ESG disclosures into the company’s annual report.

Stormer has a long history of working on governance issues through organizations including the International Governance Network and the governance committee for the OECD.

She was closely involved with the development of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards and was a founding member of an international council created to align disclosure frameworks on behalf of sustainability practitioners weary of using disparate methodologies.

Stormer is currently Leader in Residence at the Copenhagen Business School, responsible for strengthening the institution’s ties to the business community.