This has been said time and time again, but we want to insist again because we too often see managers make mistakes without necessarily understanding the consequences.
You own your DMA, it is your responsibility.
The proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance, ISSA 5000, explains that materiality is a user-driven concept, focused on the users of the information you will publish – your stakeholders.
A sustainability topic (including omissions of information on such topics), is considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, it could reasonably be expected to influence decisions of intended users taken on the basis of your information.
In other words, if I had known this, would it have influenced my decision to invest, purchase or work in your company…?
Your opinion is important, but it is secondary.
You have to put yourself in the shoes of those who finance your business, buy your products and services, get up every day to go to work for you…
In short, everyone who is affected by what you do – including nature, which is a silent stakeholder needing to be protected and spoken for.
Obligation to act vs. obligation to publish
The EU CSDDD will be an obligation to act – and a minimum safeguard to be able to claim to be aligned with the green taxonomy.
The CSRD and ESRS standards are an obligation to PUBLISH, not to act.
It is the transparency, for the benefit of your stakeholders, that is important. Your stakeholders will then be able to make informed decisions.
Not publishing detailed information about your specific negative impacts and risks connected to sustainability topics, as defined in the ESRS, will be as serious as deciding not to publish the Liabilities page of your balance sheet just because you don’t like to disclose that you have debts.
This information can no longer remain confidential for internal use – even, and especially, if it risks influencing your stock quote.
It’s that simple, and it’s going to take some getting used to. Just as we have become accustomed to publishing financial statements.
To avoid falling into traps, do not hesitate to contact us. The digital templates integrated into the Cleerit ESG solution will guide you, and we will be by your side throughout the process.
#getCSRDready, #CleeritESG