CSRD Reporting in Practice: A Guide to Achieving ESRS Compliance

Turn CSRD Compliance into a Strategic Advantage with Clear Steps and Digital Solutions

In our latest webinar, CSRD Reporting in Practice, we explored actionable strategies and practical steps to make CSRD compliance manageable and impactful. Hosted by denxpert’s sustainability experts, the session unpacked the key steps to reporting success, tackled challenges incollecting narrative data, and showcased how digital tools can simplify theprocess, missed it? No worries—here’s everything you need to know!

Why CSRD Compliance Matters

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is transforming how companies approach sustainability reporting. Adhering to the ESRS can feel overwhelming at first glance, but it’s a golden opportunity to take climate, social, and governance reporting to the next level. By breaking down this journey into clear steps, businesses can turn compliance into a strategic advantage and showcase leadership in sustainability.

The Eight Key Steps to CSRD Implementation

denxpert’s Senior Sustainability Expert, Anna, made onething clear: CSRD compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s how youcan approach it step by step:

1. Understanding the Task at Hand

Start with the basics: read and interpret the ESRS standardsand implementation guidelines. Understanding the local legal context is key toframing your reporting strategy correctly.

2. State of the Union

Take stock of what you already have. Previous sustainability reports, ISO certifications, or EcoVadis assessments can serve as a strong foundation for your CSRD journey. Identify what’s working and where gaps may exist.

3. Double Materiality Assessment (DMA)

Double materiality is at the heart of CSRD. By evaluating your company’s impacts, risks, and opportunities, you can define what’s material for reporting. Setting thresholds helps prioritise topics and avoid irrelevant disclosures.

4. Information Maturity Assessment

Filter out the noise. This step involves mapping sub-topics to disclosure requirements (DRs) and eliminating phased-in, voluntary, ornon-relevant data points.

5. Gap Assessment

Compare required disclosures with your existing data. Highlight missing elements, explore additional data sources, and prepare forthe next phase of data collection.

6. Data Collection

Gather both narrative and quantitative data. Narrative data—like policies, actions, and targets—requires careful coordination across departments. Meanwhile, metrics involve collecting raw and imported data points to meet ESRS requirements.

7. Validation and Internal Audit

Before submitting, validate your disclosures. Ensure the data is complete, accurate, and supported by clear documentation. Conducting an internal audit now prepares you for the external assurance process later.

8. Sustainability Statement

The final step is to compile everything into a comprehensive sustainability statement that’s machine-readable for regulators andhuman-readable for stakeholders. This report is your opportunity to communicate your company’s sustainability story effectively.

Navigating the Complexity of Narrative Data Collection

Narrative data is one of the trickiest components of CSRD compliance. Unlike numeric data points, narrative disclosures often require inputs from multiple teams, careful consolidation, and attention to overlaps.Achieving machine-readability while maintaining a clear and engaging story canfeel like a balancing act.

This is where denxpert’s CSRD reporting tool shines. It guides companies through data collection, ensuring consistency and saving valuable time by automating manual processes. As Anna shared during the webinar, a structured approach turns complex narrative data into coherent, audit-ready disclosures.

Breaking Down the ESRS Framework

To simplify CSRD reporting, it’s essential to understand the layers of the ESRS framework:

1. Categories: The overarching structure, including Environment, Social, and Governance.
2. Topics: Specific focus areas, such as Water and Marine Resources (E3).
3. Sub-topics and Sub-sub-topics: Granular elements, like Water Consumption.
4. Disclosure Requirements (DRs): Key asks tied to each topic.
5. Data Points: The smallest reporting units, such as E3-4_01 – Total Water Consumption.

By understanding this structure, businesses can build targeted reporting strategies focusing on what truly matters.

Building a Transparent and Audit-Ready Trail

Creating a transparent audit trail is essential for CSRD compliance. It ensures every number, policy, or metric can be traced back toits source. A clear audit trail gives auditors confidence in your disclosures and saves your team time during the assurance process.

CSRD reporting software simplifies this by helping you document data sources, validation steps, and processes. You're covered from start to finish.

Meeting Auditor Expectations with Confidence

Auditors look for three key things: relevance, accuracy, and transparency. To meet their expectations, focus on:

• Aligning disclosures with the results of your double materiality assessment.
• Providing clear, well-documented audit trails for all data points.
• Ensuring data completeness and quality across all material topics.

Digital tools ensure you’re always audit-ready, giving youpeace of mind and helping you confidently navigate assurance reviews.

Simplify CSRD Compliance with Denxpert

denxpert’s CSRD reporting solution, featured in the webinar,provides everything you need to streamline compliance:

• Automated materiality assessments to identify relevant topics.
• Integrated disclosure tools for narrative and quantitative data.
• User-friendly dashboards to manage workflows and reporting.

By turning complexity into clarity, denxpert empowers businesses to meet CSRD requirements with confidence and ease.

Key Takeaways to Remember

CSRD compliance is a journey, not a sprint. Take it step bystep: understand the requirements, focus on materiality, and leverage the righttools to simplify the process. Progress matters more than perfection, and everystep forward is a win.

Ready to see how denxpert can help? Watch the full webinar recording here, or book a demo today.

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