TÜV SÜD supports you in many ways regarding Sustainability Reporting
TÜV SÜD supports you in many ways regarding Sustainability Reporting
Companies are increasingly confronted with tougher requirements regarding their commitment to sustainability. Business partners, legislators and the society in general are expecting a stronger focus on sustainability. Standards of expectations concerning reporting have soared in recent years and will continue to become more rigorous in the years to come. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly beset by new tasks and new challenges.
Sustainability Reporting is an important element in corporate communication. It is an effective and targeted vehicle for a company to inform a variety of different stakeholders about its commitment to sustainability. In this way, a company can establish a position as an attractive partner and, strengthen trust among its customers and consumers. Sustainability Reporting also helps to fulfil new statutory requirements and support decision-making on the capital market by investors and financial backers.
Companies use Sustainability Reports to inform the public about their performance and provide regular updates about their progress in the field of sustainability. The content of a Sustainability Report provides a holistic overview of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) status. It documents the human and environmental impact of the company’s business activities and describes how the company structures its corporate responsibility. Examples of possible topics include climate change, circular economy, and social responsibility along the supply chain.
Are you seeking support with Sustainability Reporting? We are happy to provide comprehensive information.
The production of a Sustainability Report basically covers three stages: preparation, creation and verification & publication. Each of these stages involves different and important work steps. The diagram below outlines these work steps and shows the support services we can provide to you from the start.
Step 1: Preparation
✓ TÜV SÜD
Sustainability Navigator
✓ Training on the topics of sustainability management & reporting
✓ Blueprint for your CSR strategy according to ISO 26000
✓ Verification on ESRS and Materiality
Step 2: Creation
We
offer various services on the content-related topic areas: Environmental,
Social and Governance.
Get in touch!
Step 3: verification & publication
✓ Verification
of the Sustainability
Report according to GRI standard
Where does your company stand on its way to a CSR report? TÜV SÜD offers you guidance in all three phases.
CSRD is the new EU directive for Corporate Sustainability Reporting. It replaces the previously applicable Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). The new directive imposes profound changes to the requirements applicable to non-financial reporting. It is designed to introduce binding EU standards and increase corporate accountability in relation to ESG topics.
In comparison to the previous regulation, CSRD’s main new features and requirements are as follows:
Be aware of the following timeline of the path for CSRD to be implemented into EU and national regulations and to become applicable.
The CSRD is passed and transposed into national law by EU Member States
First application of the CSRD for financial 2024 for undertakings for which reporting was already mandatory under the NFRD; reports published 2025
First application of the CSRD for financial 2025 for large undertakings; reports published 2026
First application of the CSRD in 2026 for small and medium-sized capital-market-oriented EU undertakings, with (“opt-out” option) to postpone first application by two years, and in 2028 for non-EU undertakings
Any questions about the new EU Directive? Talk to our experts!
A range of regulations, frameworks and initiatives for Corporate Sustainability Reporting are in place to establish a mandatory high level of quality for reporting and improve comparability. They include:
The independent international Global Reporting Initiative provides the GRI Standards, the world's most widely used Sustainability Reporting standards. To date, the majority of undertakings have applied these standards as the basis of their Sustainability Report.
As part of implementation of the CSRD, the EU Commission asked the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to draw up mandatory Europe-wide reporting standards. In future, all companies which fall under CSRD requirements must apply the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in their reporting.
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is currently developing investor-oriented sustainability standards for companies’ non-financial reporting.
In 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published proposed rules for the disclosure of climate-related information. Under these proposals, listed companies in the USA will be obliged to disclose any climate-change-related risks and climate impacts of their business activities in future.
Uncertain of which sustainability framework or reporting standard is mandatory or advisory for you? We have the answers you need.
Benefits of sustainability reporting:
Sustainability management helps your company to improve resilience while also cutting costs.
Disclosure of sustainability information and an improved sustainability ranking can unlock access to fresh investment capital for your company.
By integrating your sustainability performance into all aspects of your operational business, you minimise ecological, social, and financial risks.
Collecting sustainability data and integrating them into internal reporting structures helps your company to make well-informed decisions and thus to work more efficiently.
Greater transparency helps your company to build the trust of stakeholders and customers more readily and to establish a more positive profile on the market.
By identifying areas of expertise and potential for improvement, your company smooths the way for innovation and safeguards its future viability.
Sustainability Reporting heightens awareness of the issues and their associated social responsibility throughout all levels of the company.
With TÜV SÜD at your side you benefit from…
The basic elements of a Sustainability Report comprise descriptions of the company’s business model and strategic direction and of its sustainability risks and opportunities. In addition, details of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the company’s previously defined key activities are given. This includes analysis and evaluation of the data and establishment of new operational and, where applicable, strategic objectives. Reporting takes in the company’s own business activities, but also includes information on its value chain. The report’s ability to build trust mainly depends on how clearly and effectively it presents facts and progresses to the company’s stakeholders.
A company’s obligation to produce an ESG report depends on the individual – usually regulatory – environment and the expectations of the company’s stakeholders. Many companies with registered offices in Europe will fall under the new European law. Despite the gradual introduction of the CSRD, these companies need to address the reporting requirements at an early stage.
In recent years, many companies have applied for additional assurance of their Sustainability Reports according to voluntary standards like GRI to further underpin the credibility of their reporting on sustainability topics. The assurance process evaluates the correctness of the data and the accuracy of the data collection and recording. The verifying organisation sets out its conclusions in a Verification Statement, which is published together with the Sustainability Report. As the new regulatory requirements become law, external assurance on the basis of a limited assurance engagement will become mandatory for many companies in the EU. According to the new legislation statutory auditors can perform assurance work on sustainability reporting and also permits Member States to allow any independent assurance services provider accredited to provide an opinion on sustainability reporting. A decision depends on the transposition of the directive into national law, which will take place in the coming months.
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