Meeting the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

What is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (or CSRD) is a new European Union (EU) directive, which changes the way organisations must disclose and report information on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) performance.

As a large company you will be required to complete the CSRD if you meet any two out of the following three criteria:

1. Your turnover is higher than €50 million per year.
2. You have a balance sheet total of more than €25 million.
3. You have more than 250 employees (average over a year).

Organisations will need to report on risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues, and on the impact of their activities on people and the environment.

Unlike some previous reporting, the CSRD reporting is a mandatory framework and is more extensive and highly specific in its disclosure requirements covering ESG compliance.

Organisations will be required to report on sustainability issues such as environmental impact, social impact, and human rights, as well as governance factors including employee matters, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters.

Meet your CSRD Timelines

The CSRD is meant to improve transparency and comparability of sustainability reports among EU organisations and their value chain, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions and drive sustainable investments towards organisations that prioritise ESG performance.

At Royal HaskoningDHV, we have been supporting businesses with non-financial corporate reporting and ESG strategies since their inception.

Together, we can help you overcome implementation and preparation challenges to report accurately against your CSRD standards and timelines:

• 1st Jan 2025 for organisations already subject to the Non- Financial Reporting Directive for financial year 2024.
• 1st Jan 2026 for large organisations (not subject to NFRD) for the financial year 2025.
• Listed SMEs will report in 2027 on 2026 data.
• 3rd country organisations (outside EU) with net turnover over €150M in the EU to report in 2029 on 2028 data.

Almost 50,000 organisations in Europe will directly be subject to CSRD and even more organisations will need to supply information on the environmental and social impact to their clients and suppliers.

Develop smarter long-term strategies in the process and take corporate responsibility

The information involved in CSRD reporting won’t be limited to your own operations. It will extend to direct and indirect business relationships across the value chain. This presents a new and challenging aspect of reporting, with greater reliance on input and information from parties you can’t control.

The CSRD also embraces ‘double materiality’ which requires that organisations report on how sustainability matters affect their business and performance. This is in addition to a mandatory assurance obligation for all reported sustainability information.

Whilst these new reporting requirements present challenges, we believe there are also opportunities to build smarter long-term strategies. While improving relationships and reputation across employees, clients, and stakeholders.