Planet Now | CSRD

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DIRECTIVE (CSRD)

As part of the European Green Deal, the CSRD obliges companies to report in detail on their environmental and social impact as well as strategies for dealing with these challenges. This innovation not only creates increased compliance pressure, but also opens up the opportunity to position themselves as pioneers of a sustainable and future-orientated industry. Planet Now can support you in this endeavour.

CSRD requirements and the implementation process

With the introduction of the CSRD into national law and the staggered introduction from the 2024 reporting year, around 15,000 companies in Germany will fall under the new reporting obligation. This essentially applies to companies that are capital market-oriented or fulfil two of the following three criteria

> 25 million euros in total assets

> 50 million euros turnover

> 250 employees

The specific reporting obligations of the CSRD are defined by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These have been binding as a delegated regulation since 1 January 2024 and cover a total of 1178 data points on environmental, social and governance aspects with 84 disclosure requirements (e.g. sustainability targets and strategies). However, companies do not have to report on all topics, but only on those that are material to them.

Due diligence and materiality analysis

A central starting point in the CSRD process is the performance of a due diligence analysis and a double materiality analysis.

The due diligence analysis aims to identify actual and potential negative impacts on the environment and people caused by the company's business activities, products or services. This continuous analysis serves to avoid, minimise and document risks.

The double materiality analysis builds on the findings of the due diligence by identifying the sustainability aspects that are material for the company and on which the company must report in future (e.g. ESRS E1 Climate Protection and ESRS S1 Own Employees). To determine these sustainability aspects, the company must involve both internal and external stakeholders and document the processes well, as these will later be reviewed by the auditors as part of the audit. The materiality analysis refers to the assessment of two dimensions of sustainability, namely impact materiality and financial materiality, in order to determine the material topics to be reported for the company:

Impact materiality comprises the actual and potential positive and negative impacts of the company on the environment and society, such as environmental pollution or the creation of local jobs.
Financial materiality refers to the financial opportunities and risks arising from sustainability aspects, such as liability risks or profitability gains through sustainable innovations.

CSRD reporting

As soon as the company has identified the material sustainability issues, work begins on the reporting. In the CSRD report, which is part of the management report, the company must then provide general information on sustainability as well as report on the material sustainability topics.

The general disclosures are governed by the cross-sectional standard ESRS 2 and require the company to explain, for example in ESRS 2 SBM-1, the extent to which its strategy, business model and value chain are linked to sustainability-related risks, opportunities and impacts.

For example, the ESRS E1 Climate Change standard requires extensive disclosures on CO2 emissions (ESRS E1-6), energy consumption (ESRS E1-5) and climate protection targets (ESRS E1-4) for the material sustainability topics. At the heart of the climate change standard is the transition plan (ESRS E1-1), in which the company must provide a detailed description of the targets, measures and resources it intends to use for decarbonisation.

Our services to support the implementation of CSRD

Our consulting services help you to fulfil the requirements of CSRD efficiently and to make the most of the associated opportunities. Our services include:

Materiality analysis: We support you in identifying and assessing the sustainability issues that are material to your organisation and stakeholders.
Due diligence and risk assessment: We support you in conducting comprehensive due diligence processes to identify potential and actual sustainability risks along your company's entire value chain and develop risk mitigation measures.
Gap analysis and compliance check: We review your existing sustainability reports and strategies for gaps in relation to CSRD requirements and create a detailed action plan to close these gaps.
Sustainability strategy development and integration: We support you in developing sustainability strategies that comply with CSRD requirements and integrate sustainability goals into your business processes.
Data collection and management: We help you set up an efficient system to collect and manage all the necessary sustainability data.
Raising awareness: We offer workshops to promote understanding of CSRD requirements among your staff and managers and to strengthen the importance of sustainability in corporate management.