Act 56 on Annual Accounting of Companies of 17 July 1998 entered into force on 1 January 1999 and was amended on 16 June 2000. Chapter 3 of the Act provides that business corporations must present an annual report and a board of directors' report. They must indicate the nature and location of corporate activities, and information on policies and work conditions, a comprehensive report on activities that could have an influence on the environment and steps taken to prevent negative impacts. In the event of non-compliance, penalties have been determined (fines or prison sentences).

In its White Paper on CSR, the Norwegian State encourages companies to systematically report their social and environmental performances to their stakeholders and indicate the guidelines they follow.
It refers to GRI as an appropriate CSR reporting tool for large companies and has financially supported this initiative since 2008.
It also supports the recommendations in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises  and principles in the UN Global Compact.