Ready for the CSRD: a double materiality assessment in 5 steps

The double materiality assessment is a tool that helps you lay the foundation for your CSRD reporting. The CSRD is the new European guideline for creating sustainability reports. The CSRD contains 84 topics to report on. But the good news is: you don't have to include all 84 topics in your report. You only report on the topics that are relevant for your organisation. And to determine those topics you make a double materiality analysis.

In the double materiality assessment you show what the impact of your organisation is on your environment and what the impact of the environment is on your organisation. The impact of the environment on the organisation is mainly financial. This is also called the outside-in perspective. Examples of this are the impact of climate change on production or new legislation in the field of sustainability. This analysis is already often presented in annual reports in the form of a materiality matrix.

What is different about the double materiality analysis is reporting on the impact of your organisation on the environment: the inside-out perspective. Examples of this are: contributing to a circular economy or good employment practices.

1. Make a longlist of possible relevant themes based on existing sustainability frameworks, such as the SDGs and the GRI

As long as the CSRD themes are not yet 100% final, you can also look at the current standards. Such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Don't be too strict with the selection yet. Put everything on the list that you think applies to your organisation. If possible, ask several colleagues from different departments to make a long list for a complete overview of themes.

Important: this does not only concern the themes that apply directly to your organization, but also those of your suppliers.

2. Determine the importance of the themes and make a shortlist

For each theme determine of they do have a positive or negative impact. And if this a short term or long term effect. Based on this information make a shortlist with the most important themes for your organisation.

3. Present the themes to your internal and externa stakeholders 

Ask your stakeholders if they agree with the list or if they are missing certain subjects. You can also ask them to prioritise the subjects on the list, to find out which themes are most important.

4. Make a choice of themes to report on

With all the input from the previous steps, you can now make your definitive list.

5. Put the themes in a matrix 

Op de ene as geef je de impact op je organisatie van laag naar hoog aan en op de andere de impact op de omgeving. Zie het voorbeeld hieronder van de NS.

When it is written down this simply you would almost think this is an easy job. Experience tells us that making the double materiality assessment is quite complex. And all in all it takes a lot of time. So do not hesitate to ask for help. Do you need any help? We are happy to put you in touch with experts from our network, who have extensive experience in the field of materiality assessments.

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