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.

Implementing TCFD: Climate Scenarios into Business Strategy and Targets

This article is the third one of our series titled ‘Successfully Implementing TCFD’, explaining the different phases of Finch and Beak’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Roadmap in more detail. This article focuses on the integration of climate scenarios into the business’ strategy, targets & KPIs as well as the need of internal engagement to review the business model and strategy. Working on the TCFD recommendations and advancing on the integration of its findings will provide an advantage for companies aligning with the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reporting requirements. The accompanying download gives practical tips to assist your organization in overcoming three barriers that can prevent the successful implementation of TCFD.

Practical Steps for Implementing Sustainability in Your Supply Chain

As ESG requirements and its monitoring become more relevant with the introduced CSRD and the updated 2023 CSA questionnaire, it is increasingly evident that making the supply chain more sustainable is substantial. This article outlines three actionable steps that companies can take to swiftly enhance the sustainability of their supply chain and provides practical recommendations on how to implement those in the download below.

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?

Biodiversity Disclosures for CSRD and Beyond

In 2022, 31% of companies had already endorsed biodiversity-related initiatives according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), however, the majority is not translating these commitments into action. The need for businesses to understand and mitigate their impacts and dependencies upon nature is quickly increasing in importance as a result of the observed high pace of biodiversity loss and growing interest from diverse stakeholder groups. This article sheds lights on the emerging expectations of stakeholders, mainly investors, suppliers and regulatory bodies, by looking into the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) from S&P Global, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), while presenting best practice examples and elaborating on the first key steps to be taken to respond to stakeholders’ interests and improve corporate disclosure and performance on biodiversity.

Double Materiality Roundtable and Q&A sessions

Double Materiality and CSRD are truly at the center of most teams’ attention, and that is encouraging! Following Finch & Beak’s recent ESG Acceleration webinar, we have received over 60 + questions on Double Materiality coming from our audience. To further deep dive into more practical examples and tools, we are hosting free 40-minute roundtable sessions to go over the most pressing questions. Bas Nuijten, Director of Consulting at Finch & Beak will be leading the Q&A in an interactive discussion in small groups of participants.

Double Materiality – From CSRD to Strategy

On the 13th of April 2023, Finch and Beak hosted a discussion about the novel approach on double materiality that has the potential to accelerate an organization’s sustainability strategy and stakeholder engagement, while identifying an organizations most significant ESG impacts. During the session, Bas Nuijten, director consultant at Finch and Beak, and Clodagh Connolly, Global Director at Business for Societal Impact (B4SI), discussed the practical applications of the CSRD requirements for double materiality and how it can help organizations further strengthen their sustainability approach. This article summarizes the highlights of our Double Materiality webinar while the download provides guidance for your CSRD-readiness assessment.

ESG Risk Management in Raw Material Sourcing

SLR Consulting and RCS Global's forthcoming webinar 'ESG Risk Management in Raw Material Sourcing: Regulation & Finance as Key Drivers' touches upon the ESG Due Diligence Regulations, which are becoming more prevalent and require both international and EU-based business to manage social and environmental risks in their supply chains. Alice Valvoda from RCS and Ramona Dauner from Citigroup cover how this impacts the raw material supply chain, as well as investors’ decisions and how investor ESG criteria impact supply chain actors who seek to futureproof their investability.

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.

Going from Single Materiality to Double Materiality

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, companies face increasing pressure to incorporate ESG considerations into their businesses. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires companies to conduct a double materiality assessment to identify and disclose their most significant ESG impacts. While complying with these regulations is essential, companies can also leverage the outcomes of the double materiality assessment process to gain strategic benefits. This article proposes a novel approach to conducting a double materiality assessment, which goes beyond compliance and highlights the 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.