CSRD one year on: what we learnt
Our annual reporting team has just wrapped up its first season supporting clients through their own first, at times bumpy, year of CSRD. We edited and refined sustainability statements, and ensured the red thread of the corporate sustainability directive was seamlessly woven into the fabric of the report and tracked across all chapters and messaging.
A new sustainability reporting landscape brings new challenges – not least greater volumes of work! But it’s rewarding too. We found this journey with the in-house reporting teams to be a hugely insightful exercise with many lessons learnt along the way. And the reports themselves showcased – with more clarity and detail – how companies are driving positive change in their activities while meeting regulatory standards.
In force from the 2024 financial year, the CSRD significantly changes EU sustainability reporting. It asks large companies to provide clear, comparable, and verifiable disclosures on environmental, social, and business ethics issues, aiming for greater transparency in sustainability practices. A challenging task, and one that asked a lot more of multi-disciplinary working groups this year.
By supporting clients in this process, we learnt:
Be clear, clearer, clearest
Technical sustainability information must be delivered in clear, accessible language, without losing accuracy. Early drafts of sustainability statements tended to be laden with technical jargon that confused rather than clarified.
Narrative matters
The most effective reports weren’t just collections of metrics but told compelling and coherent stories about sustainability journeys. Helping craft these narratives while sticking to the facts and CSRD structures is a delicate balance.
Consistency across sections
Unlike previous reporting frameworks, CSRD requires sustainability information to be integrated throughout the annual report. Getting these messages across accurately, throughout the report, proved challenging but essential.
Timeline pressure
The first CSRD reporting cycle showed that sustainability data collection and verification takes longer than anticipated. Early engagement in the process would certainly benefit future reporting cycles.
Looking forward
As CSRD implementation continues to evolve we expect reporting practices to become even more refined. With the first official CSRD reports now published, the heavy lifting has been done – although pending Omnibus legislation could complicate the 2025 reporting cycle just as many companies were finding their groove. Our experience this season has positioned us to better support clients in building more efficient, effective, and engaging sustainability reporting processes, and we’re excited about building on this offering at Stampa, keeping a close eye on industry developments.
Transitioning to CSRD-aligned reporting isn’t just a compliance exercise but a chance to meaningfully tell an organisation’s sustainability story. We’re proud to have helped our clients navigate this important shift in corporate reporting.
Find out more about how we assist leading companies with their annual reports – and other strategic content needs.
