Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) represents a significant regulatory shift in sustainability reporting, mandating more comprehensive and standardized disclosures from a wide range of companies. This study aims to provide valuable insights for companies preparing to report under the CSRD in the future, assisting them in optimizing their reporting processes. Additionally, it explores how companies have conducted their DMA, and the challenges and opportunities encountered during the reporting process.
This study employs a qualitative research method, involving a multiple case study of three companies that have reported under the CSRD, along with a sustainability consultancy that assists companies in preparing their CSRD reports. Furthermore, it examines how this relates to the theoretical framework of the study, which encompasses the theory of dynamic capabilities and the concepts of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring.
The findings suggest that companies approach the reporting process differently based on their prior sustainability maturity, with the most advanced company able to repurpose existing materials, while those less experienced need to create new internal roles and engage external consultants from the ground up. The lack of standardized methods for assessing double materiality, coupled with a scarcity of reports for benchmarking, posed challenges for most companies in this study. The reporting process prompted most companies to recognize the strategic value of embedding sustainability into core business functions and reinforced the importance of ongoing reporting, despite the Omnibus initiative providing regulatory relief to two out of three companies examined.
This study offers practical insights for companies reporting under the CSRD and practitioners engaged in double materiality assessments. A unique aspect of this research is its exploration of the Omnibus initiative and companies' responses to the resulting regulatory relief.