CSRD beyond reporting: The 10 most asked questions on Double Materiality Assessment

Double Materiality is one of the hottest, yet most uncertain, topics within the sustainability sphere right now. With the date of mandatory CSRD disclosure rapidly coming closer, many organizations feel overwhelmed when it comes to conducting a Double Materiality Assessment in line with CSRD and the guidance provided by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). After Finch & Beak’s “ESG Acceleration Webinar on Strengthening Your Double Materiality Approach”, it became apparent that many organizations were looking for further guidance and advice – the majority (70%) of them either have not started yet or are still being at the beginning of their Double Materiality journey. Therefore, to answer the most pressing questions, Finch & Beak has hosted four Double Materiality Q&A roundtables in small groups. The download contains detailed answers to the 10 most relevant and pressing questions from our audience.

Convince your Board to double down on ESG

There are at least 5 reasons why boards are now so concerned about ESG. First, board members are increasingly accountable for the company’s ESG agenda. Controversies’ examples such as Shell & ClientEarth or Exxon Mobile & Engine No. 1 are important signals of mounting stakeholder pressure on boards. Second, regulations in EU requires boards to approve the company’s non-financial reporting. Third, ISSB’s upcoming standards are recommending board members to be trained on ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance), while such training is already mandatory in Singapore for publicly listed companies. Fourth, companies are increasingly expected to speak up on major societal and environmental issues – the war in Ukraine and the “don’t say gay” bill in Florida are recent examples of that. Boards have a central role in defining the company leadership’s position on such topics. Finally, company culture belong to the board’s many roles, and it is with the right culture that we can hope for the diffusion of an impact-driven mindset throughout one’s entire organization. Board members’ responsibilities are increasing and yet, ESG rarely makes it to the top of the agenda. How can you, as ESG professionals, change this?

ESG Acceleration Webinar: Strengthening Your Double Materiality Approach

This webinar presents a novel approach to conducting a double materiality assessment. While the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires companies to conduct a double materiality assessment to identify and disclose their most significant ESG impacts, the double materiality approach also has the potential to bring strategic value of the process. By incorporating a strategic lens into the assessment, companies are able to identify opportunities to enhance their sustainability performance, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and ultimately drive business growth. The webinar will pay special attention to the challenge of assessing a company’s societal impact.

Main Webinar Learnings to Get Ready for the CSA 2023

On 7th of March 2023, Finch & Beak conducted a webinar summarizing the main trends and topics discussed during the in-person CSA Expert Training event held in Amsterdam the week prior. This article gives a brief summary of the webinar focusing on the new timeline and methodology changes for 2023 and best practices related to climate strategy, supply chain management and biodiversity.

Take-Aways from S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2023

Early February, S&P Global published its annual Sustainability Yearbook for 2023 - highlighting the sustainability leaders which have emerged from the 2022 Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). This article gives a brief summary of the takeaways from the Yearbook, with a deeper view on updates to the methodology and the main driving forces for selected key industries.

ESG Acceleration Webinar: CSA Expert Training Highlights

This webinar will provide a short summary of the key takeaways from Finch & Beak’s CSA Expert Training held on 2 March 2023, especially for those who haven’t been able to join live in Amsterdam. A key component to selecting companies for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices are S&P Global ESG Scores, which are calculated based on the results of the CSA. Lim Adriaenssens, Senior ESG Benchmarking Specialist at S&P Global Sustainable1 will share more about the main challenges in the climate, supply chain & biodiversity section of S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), elaborate on the then-just-released CSA 2023 timeline & methodology changes while Finch & Beak’s Nikkie Vinke will provide practical examples and give ESG acceleration tips for how best to prepare for the CSA 2023.

Successfully Implementing TCFD: Climate Scenario Analysis

This second article of our series titled 'Successfully Implementing TCFD' provides tips on how to conduct climate scenario analyses, suggesting concrete steps organizations can take in aligning with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. The scenario analysis is applied to the risks & opportunities identified as relevant for a company, as discussed in the first article of this series. This article explains how the financial impact of climate change can be determined in different scenarios and the accompanying download gives practical tips to assist your organization in overcoming three barriers that can prevent the successful implementation of TCFD.

Winning Sustainability Strategies Online Program: 6 Mar - 9 Apr 2023

The IMD Winning Sustainability Strategies Online Program is a “how-to” guide that offers a very pragmatic take on how to integrate sustainability into your corporate strategy – while ensuring it has a strong business case. The program is aimed at business executives, strategy practitioners, and sustainability professionals, who are looking to harness sustainability innovation and its strategic implications. Facilitated by the authors Jan van der Kaaij, Managing Partner of Finch & Beak, and IMD professor Benoit Leleux, this edition starts on 6 March 2023 and registration closes on 20 February 2023.

SLR’s Actions for Business Report 2023

SLR’s Actions for Business Report explores the topics that will shape the responsible and sustainable business agenda in 2023. The downloadable report includes key questions for your organization to consider and is intended to support your efforts in Making Sustainability Happen.

How Swiss Organizations Can Leverage TCFD Beyond Reporting

On 31st January 2023, Finch and Beak delivered an ESG Acceleration Webinar to elaborate on how Swiss organizations can successfully implement and benefit from their TCFD-related efforts. During the session, Josephin Schulz, TCFD expert at Finch and Beak, and Peregrine Chard, Head of Risk at Ocado Group, outlined how organizations can use the TCFD as a strategic exercise to strengthen their climate-related activities while also sharing valuable hands-on examples and lessons learned. This article summarizes the webinar’s highlights while the download provides three ESG Acceleration Tips for leveraging TCFD.