
New Guide: From energy to climate management
In cooperation with GUTcert and the registered organization German Corporate Initiative Energy Efficiency (DENEFF), ÖKOTEC publishes a guide that supports companies on their way to climate neutrality.
CSRD Readiness
Sustainability reporting is becoming mandatory for many European companies. This is regulated by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Companies subject to reporting requirements[1] must publish data and information on sustainability-related information for the 2025 financial year from 2026. In Germany, this affects over 13,000 companies. We give you an overview of the requirements, tips for the first steps and what opportunities may arise for you.
The CSRD is part of the package of measures of the European Green Deal and therefore an important piece of the puzzle for making the economy within the European Union (EU) modern, resource-efficient and competitive and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Thus, the Green Deal also contributes to the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.
The CSRD creates the framework for coherent and consistent sustainability reporting that enables stakeholders to receive transparent information, e.g. as a basis for investment decisions. For this purpose, the European Commission published the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in July 2023 as part of a Delegated Regulation, thereby creating an EU-wide binding reporting standard.
The ESRS comprise two cross-sectional standards (ESRS 1, ESRS 2), which apply to all companies, and ten topic-specific standards from the areas of environment, social and governance, from which companies select – depending on their previously analyzed material topics.
In order to consider sustainability in a corporate context, a large number of topics need to be analyzed and key issues identified. To this end, companies carry out a materiality analysis in order to identify specific fields of action and derive corresponding targets and measures.
As part of the CSRD reporting obligation, the principle of dual materiality is expanded and the procedure is specified in the “Implementation Guidance – Materiality Assessment (EFRAG IG 1)”.
In the outside-in perspective (“from the outside in”), the company looks at the risks and opportunities that arise for its own business activities. In a next step, the potential extent and probability of occurrence of these opportunities and risks and dependencies on social and natural resources are assessed.
One example of this is the impact of climate-related changes on natural raw materials within the value chain: if raw materials are no longer available as usual in the near future, this can have an impact on the material composition of products or production processes and perhaps even on the product portfolio and business activities of the company itself.
The inside-out perspective (“from the inside out”) looks at the impact of the company’s business activities on the social and ecological environment. For this purpose, both positive and negative as well as potential and actual impacts are considered and an assessment is made in several dimensions. These include extent, scope, probability and, in the case of negative impacts, severity.
For example, business activities can have an impact through the processing of raw materials. Raw materials that require a lot of water during their production can cause water scarcity. This changes ecosystems and also reduces access to drinking water for people. The aim is to assign responsibility to the polluter, as they can develop appropriate countermeasures.
In the ESRS E1 topic standard, a company makes transparent what impact the company has (positive and negative) on climate change. It is not just about accounting for greenhouse gas emissions, but rather about a strategic analysis and positioning of the company in order to bring its business activities in line with the 1.5 degree target:
To this end, companies should disclose the following information, among others:
As part of the requirements of ESRS E1, a company is required to develop a climate strategy that depicts interim targets and measures for greenhouse gas reduction over a period of time. Quantitative information on the expected reductions must be provided in each case. The y-axis shows the GHG emissions in CO2 equivalents and the x-axis shows the progression over time. The bundle of measures over the entire period shows how the company intends to achieve the overall target it has developed in line with the 1.5 degree target.
It can be assumed that the majority of companies will define climate change as a key area of action for the company. Consider the requirements of ESRS E1 from the outset. In addition, the climate standard contains the most data points compared to the other standards. These include, for example, concrete targets including reference values, requirements for the methods to be used to determine the information and specific key figures and their forms of presentation.
Therefore, address these requirements directly as part of a fit-gap analysis using the data point list provided by EFRAG:
Some of the ESRS E1 reporting relates to quantitative information, while the majority of the required information is supplementary or independent descriptions that must be written in text form.
Many companies currently see the challenges and scope of the work packages with the corresponding human resources that CSRD entails: the business activities must be analyzed, targets and measures developed and strategically anchored in the company, processes and data management structures established or adapted and the key indicators published accordingly.
However, sustainability reporting also offers many opportunities! This is because sustainability takes a holistic view: internal and external stakeholders are included, the value chain is analyzed and various time horizons are taken into account – and all this for the topics that are material for the company in the areas of ecology, social and governance (ESG).
This gives the people responsible in the company a comprehensive picture that enables them to make better decisions and drive forward innovations, measures and action plans for the competitiveness and future viability of the company. The annual reporting system supports this strategy and implementation process as a target and management tool.
Climate change and its consequences, biodiversity loss and other ecological crises, international conflicts and other disruptive events – the current challenges are complex and many different stakeholders are called upon to develop solutions together. Transparent reporting enables companies to position themselves strategically, take responsibility and make important contributions to the transformation.
(Copyright ÖKOTEC Energiemanagement GmbH)
Is your company obliged to report on non-financial information and key figures from 2026 in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)? Our network for companies subject to reporting requirements starts in October 2024. We will continue to support you individually as required, particularly in the key topic of ESRS E1.
The European Commission provides a variety of tools for the preparation. These include guidelines for the preparation of the double materiality analysis and analysis of the value chain, an Excel file with all the ESRS data points including links to the requirements from the standards. The DNK is also expanding its range of services to include the requirements of the ESRS and has announced that it is developing a web platform for the electronic creation and publication of sustainability reports. We have compiled the links for you here:
Authors: Kristina Gallitschke, Mareike Hoffmann
[1] Large companies that meet two of the three criteria are required to report: > 250 employees; balance sheet total > EUR 25 million; turnover > EUR 50 million Previously, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive regulated the mandatory reporting of non-financial indicators for selected large companies. The CSRD builds on this. It extends the scope of application and specifies the reporting requirements.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) regulates the reporting requirements for European companies. From 2026, data and information on sustainability-related information for the previous financial year must be published.
We have created a flyer for you with more detailed information.
In cooperation with GUTcert and the registered organization German Corporate Initiative Energy Efficiency (DENEFF), ÖKOTEC publishes a guide that supports companies on their way to climate neutrality.
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