Data for CSRD reporting

How can data from environmental and energy management systems be used in sustainability reporting?

Article in the BWK Energy. In October 2024

With the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), numerous companies are faced with the obligation to prepare comprehensive sustainability reports for the first time. In Germany alone, this will affect around 15,000 companies in future, and an estimated 49,000 companies across Europe. The collection of environmental data poses a particular challenge. However, many companies already collect relevant data as part of environmental regulations and standards, which could be used for CSRD reporting.

The requirements for mandatory sustainability reports are defined by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). To date, there are twelve standards, which are divided into topic-specific and cross-topic standards with general disclosures. The ten topic-specific standards deal with environmental (ESRS E1-E5), social (ESRS S1-S4) and governance (ESRS G1) issues.

With a total of 517 qualitative and quantitative data points, companies must collect a lot of data, some of which is new. It is therefore important to know the data already collected in your own company in order to use synergies for sustainability reporting.

The data collected as part of existing environmental or energy management systems (EMS or EnMS) is particularly relevant. The analysis of data synergies shows that EMS according to ISO 14001 or EnMS according to ISO 50001 form a starting point for certain data points for CSRD reporting. However, often only one possible coverage can be identified, as there are differences in the level of detail and data resolution required for many data points.

Figure 1: Coverage of environment-specific ESRS by an environmental management system according to ISO 14001 and an energy management system according to ISO 50001. For energy management systems, the analysis is limited to thematically applicable data points concerning climate change (energy, greenhouse gas emissions)

The analysis of the data synergies of relevant environmental regulations and standards is the result of Christian Leidert’s master’s thesis under the supervision of Regina Reck and Dr. Mario Keiling. The article “Data for CSRD reporting – How can data from environmental and energy management systems be used in sustainability reporting?” was published in the October issue of “VDI energie + umwelt”. The complete overview of relevant environmental regulations and standards, as well as a detailed breakdown of synergies in environmental management systems, was published in the specialist journal for “International and Capital Market-oriented Accounting – KoR”.

Daten für die CSRD-Berichterstattung – Wie können Daten aus Umwelt- und Energiemanagementsystemen in der Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung genutzt werden?

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Further information

Datenerhebung für die ESRS – wie bereits vorhandene Umweltdaten für die Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung genutzt werden können

Literature:

[1] Deutsches Rechnunglegungs Standards Committee e.V. (DRSC), “Stellungnahme zur CSRD-Richtlinienvorschlag der EU-Kommission,” 26 4 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.drsc.de/app/uploads/2021/05/210526_DRSC_SN_BMJV_CSRD.pdf.
[2] European Union, “Berichtigung der Delegierten Verordnung (EU) 2023/2772 der Kommission vom 31. Juli 2023 zur,” 09 08 2024. [Online]. Available: Berichtigung der Delegierten Verordnung (EU) 2023/2772 der Kommission vom 31. Juli 2023 zur . [Accessed 26 08 2024].
[3] Deutsches Institut für Normen e.V., “DIN EN ISO 14001:2015-11 – Umweltmanagementsysteme – Anforderungen mit Anleitung zur Anwendung (ISO 14001:2015),” 11 2015. [Online]. Available: https://dx.doi.org/10.31030/2330509.
[4] Deutsches Institut für Normen e.V., “DIN EN ISO 50001:2018-12 Energiemanagementsysteme – Anforderungen mit Anleitung zur Anwendung (ISO 50001:2018),” 12 2018. [Online]. Available: https://dx.doi.org/10.31030/2852891.