Sustainability reporting

The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) means that sustainability reporting will become mandatory for many Finnish companies in the coming years. The directive establishes a framework for corporate sustainability reporting, i.e., how companies should report their environmental, social and societal sustainability in the future. This means that companies must prepare a sustainability report in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

Even if a company does not meet the size limits of the sustainability reporting obligation, compiling the sustainability data required by the ESRS may be relevant if it operates in the value chain of reporting corporations or aiming at new markets. The ESRS require companies to report on all sustainability topics relevant to the company’s operations.

Nordic Offset offers customers comprehensive specialist services in sustainability reporting, ranging from the materiality assessment of sustainability reporting and the development of sustainability targets to the measurement of climate and other sustainability impacts and statutory ESRS reporting.

For companies with sustainability reporting obligations, this is statutory reporting as required by the Accounting Act, and we master the related documentation and quality requirements. We can help you at every stage of sustainability reporting.

The materiality assessment is the starting point for sustainability reporting in accordance with the ESRS. It determines the data that is presented in the sustainability report. Often, the results of the materiality assessment are also used as a basis for sustainability objectives and strategy. This is why it is especially important to prepare it professionally.

The materiality assessment of the sustainability report takes into account double materiality: the company’s outward sustainability impacts relevant to the company (impact materiality) and sustainability risks and opportunities that affect the company’s financial position, profit and cash flows (financial materiality). It is often advisable to start with the impact materiality, i.e., the company’s outward sustainability impacts on the environment, society, individuals and communities. Next, we examine whether the observed sustainability impacts also have a financial impact on the company or whether other financial impacts caused by sustainability factors can be observed.

The materiality assessment begins by analysing the company’s sustainability context. The sustainability context is influenced by both company and industry-specific factors and stakeholder expectations. The end result of the materiality assessment is a list of sustainability topics relevant to the company, on the basis of which the information reported in the ESRS report is determined.

After the corporation’s double materiality sustainability impacts have been assessed and the value of relevant sustainability impacts has been set and identified, the reporting must comply with the ESRS requirements. The statutory nature of reporting and it being subject to assurance lead to higher requirements also in terms of analysis and documentation. Our sustainability reporting regulation specialists also assist customers in preparing documentation and reporting that meets quality requirements.

Do you want to learn more about materiality analysis? Get in touch with our experienced specialists to discuss the right solutions for your business.

Once the sustainability issues relevant to the company have been discovered with the help of the materiality analysis, we review the information the company is obligated to report on the basis of the ESRS.

We understand the prerequisites of reporting readiness and help customers assess the necessary information, the processes and controls related to data management and compilation as well as documentation practices.

The ESRS gap analysis compares the company’s existing data with the data needed for ESRS reporting, i.e., surveys the missing data. In addition to data, the analysis also includes the reporting readiness in terms of processes, controls, the system environment, operating methods, the setting of sustainability indicators and targets as well as documentation. All these elements must be in order so that it is possible to produce sustainability information that meets the CSRD’s data quality requirements.

The gap analysis describes the measures and plan needed to derive the missing data. At the same time, we can document descriptions of other, already existing data used for ESRS reporting.

Do you want to learn more about the gap analysis? Get in touch with our experienced specialists to discuss the right solutions for your business.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive sets the framework for sustainability reporting, but the more specific requirements come from the ESRS.

We have an in-depth understanding of the requirements of the ESRS and can help you create an ESRS report draft on the basis of the materiality assessment. We also assess the adequacy of information and the need for any company-specific information.

Sustainability information must be presented as a single whole in the company’s annual report. The ESRS has specific requirements for information grouping and linking. The basic principle is to report on the sustainability issues material for the company and the impacts, risks and opportunities arising from them.

The information presented on the basis of the (12) subject-specific standards is determined on the basis of the materiality assessment. The information still needs to be supplemented with entity-specific information if the ESRS does not cover the sustainability aspect relevant to the company sufficiently or at all.

Information provided in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation shall be included in the environmental section.

The information presented in the sustainability report must be consistent with the company’s other reporting, such as financial statements. Information on direct and indirect connections of information (e.g. emission intensity) as well as on the interconnection of information must be provided in the sustainability report.

Do you want to create a sustainability report? Get in touch with our experienced specialists to discuss the right solutions for your business.

Nordic Offset’s carbon footprint calculation complies with the calculation standards of the greenhouse gas emission protocol, which means the results are directly in line with the reporting obligations (E1-6) of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Our carbon footprint calculation service includes the identification of emission reduction measures and related proposals to reduce emissions. We also carry out the planning of emission reduction targets in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative and the Paris Climate Agreement, ensuring that your company’s climate sustainability work is in line with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive’s requirements E1-4.

Our specialists have experience in ESG analyses across the board, so we can tailor our services to support the requirements related to other environmental themes as well as social responsibility and sustainability governance, if necessary.

Do you want to learn more about the obligations in the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive? Get in touch with our experienced specialists to discuss the right solutions for your business.