Editorial ESG News 1/2024

Dear readers, 

 

On Friday, March 22, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Justice published the long-awaited draft bill on the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD Implementation Act for short). In our view, the draft bill has two key contents. 1. The (corporate) annual report will be expanded to include a mandatory sustainability report. The sustainability report shall include the information necessary for an understanding of the impact of the company's activities on sustainability aspects (environmental, social and governance factors), or the understanding of the impact of sustainability aspects on the course of business, the business results, and the situation of the company. The sustainability report must be audited (separately). 2. Like financial reporting, the audit of sustainability reports will be a task reserved for us auditors. Auditors must qualify separately for the audit of sustainability reports. However, they can of course also involve proven experts in the audit of sustainability reports, as is already the case today with the audit of the annual financial statements and status report. We auditors see the authorization to audit sustainability reporting as a strong signal of trust in our profession and at the same time as a great social responsibility. I can assure you that we auditors will take up this challenge and will be a reliable auditing and consulting partner for companies subject to reporting requirements.    

 

This issue of ESG News provides you with further practical insights into ESG data collection, reporting and auditing from our experts recognized as “Best in Class” in the ESG/Sustainability category by manager magazin and WGMB (Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Management und Beratung)​: 

 

In January, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) issued consultation drafts for two new sustainability standards for SMEs, which are to be applied for the first time from 2026. Read “Focus on SMEs: EFRAG publishes new consultation drafts​” to find out why SMEs should also set the right course early on.

In the article “Navigating the ESG data jungle: how software solutions make the path easier”, we show that software programs can significantly help with the amount of data required for sustainability reporting.

Speaking of data volume – the approximately 1,000 data points to be collected for sustainability reporting also require documentation on their collection, origin and verification. In “ESG reporting – where does all the data come from?” we take a closer look at this.​

And a few more figures for you - did you know that the premature discarding of consumer goods in the EU generates around 35 million tons of waste every year, and that 77 percent of the EU population would prefer a repair to a new purchase, but the conditions are more difficult? The EU now wants to change this. You can read about what this means for consumers and, above all, for companies in “The new right to repair: sustainably innovative or in need of repair?​”

After a long struggle, the European Supply Chain Directive, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU-CS3D or CSDDD) is coming after all! Read our article “Preparing for CS3D“ to find out what this means for you as a company and what it entails.​

The topic of sustainability, particularly due to the requirements of the CSRD and the German Corporate Governance Code (GCGC), is also increasingly preoccupying management and supervisory boards and is changing both their requirements profile and tasks.​

“Gender equality” is an essential part of the United Nations’ global Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), which are also being discussed at EU level and, above all, currently in Italy​.

I hope that with this issue of our ESG News we can provide you with answers and concrete assistance for the preparation of your sustainability reports. I wish you a stimulating read. We are always happy to provide you with further information or suggestions.

Your Martin Wambach