GRI 301 Materials
GRI 301 covers materials used by weight or volume — renewable vs non-renewable — and the recycled content of those materials. For manufacturing, packaging, and product-intensive businesses, GRI 301 is a foundational disclosure that feeds directly into circular economy metrics.
GRI 301 covers materials used by weight or volume — renewable vs non-renewable — and the recycled content of those materials. 301-1 Materials used by weight or volume: Total weight or volume of materials used to produce and package the organisation's primary products and services, split by non-renewable materials and renewable materials.
The three GRI 301 disclosures
301-1 Materials used by weight or volume: Total weight or volume of materials used to produce and package the organisation's primary products and services, split by non-renewable materials and renewable materials. This is the total material input into your production process.
301-2 Recycled input materials used: Percentage of recycled materials used to manufacture the organisation's primary products and services. Calculated as recycled input weight divided by total input weight.
301-3 Reclaimed products and their packaging materials: Percentage of reclaimed products and packaging materials for each product category. This covers take-back programmes and end-of-life product recovery.
GRI 301 and ESRS E5 circular economy
ESRS E5 (circular economy) requires resource inflow disclosure — the materials, water, and energy consumed in production. GRI 301-1 directly satisfies the materials component of ESRS E5 resource inflow metrics.
ESRS E5 additionally requires: description of circular economy strategy; targets for reducing material consumption and increasing recycled content; and outflow metrics (waste and products leaving the organisation — covered by GRI 306).
For CSRD companies also using GRI: collect GRI 301 data as part of your ESRS E5 data collection. The recycled input percentage (301-2) is a key ESRS E5 metric that investors track for circular economy progress.
Data collection challenges for GRI 301
Supply chain material data: Raw material quantities often require procurement system extraction — purchase volumes in kg or tonnes, not just spend in euros. Many procurement systems track by unit count or spend, not by weight. Work with operations and procurement teams to establish weight-based tracking.
Renewable vs non-renewable classification: Paper, wood, and biomass-derived materials are renewable; metals, plastics, and fossil-fuel-derived materials are non-renewable. Composite materials require breakdown by component.
Recycled content verification: Claims that input materials contain recycled content require supply chain verification — supplier certifications (e.g. Recycled Claim Standard, Global Recycled Standard) or mass balance chain of custody. Unverified recycled content claims are a greenwashing risk.
Frequently asked questions
Does GRI 301 include water as a material input?
No — water is covered by GRI 303. GRI 301 covers solid materials used in products and packaging. Energy is covered by GRI 302. Each input type has its own dedicated GRI Topic Standard.
Do service companies need to report GRI 301?
Low materiality for pure service businesses. Office paper, IT hardware, and facility maintenance materials are typically immaterial for service companies. Assess materiality through GRI 3 — if materials use is not a significant impact, GRI 301 can be excluded with explanation.
What is the difference between recycled input (301-2) and reclaimed products (301-3)?
301-2 covers recycled materials used as inputs to your production — e.g. recycled plastic pellets used to make new products. 301-3 covers your products and packaging that you recover at end of life through take-back or collection programmes — the output side of your circular economy strategy.