Creating a CSRD report involves several key steps to ensure compliance with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Here's an action plan to guide you through the process:

Process

1.Engage Stakeholders

Communicate with your stakeholders, including suppliers and customers, about the CSRD requirements and how it will impact them. This will help ensure that your entire supply chain is prepared for compliance 

2.Training & Development

Provide training for your team on the CSRD requirements, reporting processes, and the importance of sustainability reporting. This will help build internal expertise and ensure accurate reporting

3.Materiality Analysis

Conduct a materiality assessment to determine which components of the CSRD are most relevant to your organization and stakeholders. This will help focus your reporting on the topics that matter most to both your organization and society at large

4.Climate Change Reporting

Conduct a materiality assessment to determine which components of the CSRD are most relevant to your organization and stakeholders. This will help focus your reporting on the topics that matter most to both your organization and society at large

5.Supply Chain Audit Programs

Implement supply chain audit programs and value chain risk assessments to comply with directives for supply chain due diligence (CSDDD). Third-party supply chain auditing will become mandatory for large companies,with stiff penalties for inaction

6.ESRS Reports

Prepare your reports according to the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which define what needs to be reported. Over 1000 mandatory and voluntary inspection points in 12 areas are defined, requiring an analysis to determine which issues are material

7.Financial Manager Responsibility

Ensure that your financial managers are aware of their responsibility for timely report submission, as they will be held accountable for the CSRD reporting

8.Stay Informed

Keep up to date with the transposition of CSRD into national regulations of each EU member country and EEA countries, as this will affect the enforcement and specific requirements of the CSRD reporting

9.Auditing Assurance

Prepare for the audit assurance requirement by ensuring that your sustainability reporting is up to the level of rigor required for financial reporting. This will start with limited assurance in 2026, followed by reasonable assurance two years later

10.Review and Update

Regularly review and update your CSRD reporting processes to align with any changes in regulations and best practices. This will help maintain compliance and improve your sustainability reporting over time

Remember, the first year for larger companies to prepare sustainability reports according to CSRD is 2024, and it will quickly filter down to suppliers to larger companies. It's crucial to start planning and implementing these steps as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition to CSRD compliance.

If you need help to manage this process and especially develop a third party supply chain audit process, talk to Scandic Sourcing.