The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Rethink your business with the CSRD to grow trust, value and performance

Sustainability data and insights are becoming increasingly important for investors and stakeholders’ decision-making, as they demand to see how value is created for the company, and for society. Estimated to apply to some 50,000 businesses that are listed in the European Union or have significant operations there, regardless of where they’re based, the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires extensive and detailed disclosures about how sustainability issues affect a company’s business, as well as the impact of its activities on society and the environment. Beyond targets and metrics, the CSRD disclosures include sustainability governance, the interaction of sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities with the business strategy and policies and action plans to manage those impacts, risks and opportunities. All of this information will also require independent assurance, beginning with limited assurance over Year 1 reporting and increasing to reasonable assurance at some point thereafter.

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Starting 2024, there's a change coming up for businesses operating within the EU.

The CSRD.

This Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is the regulatory framework for sustainability reporting in the EU.

And it's not just about checking boxes. With increased scrutiny of ESG strategy and performance and a comprehensive framework, the new requirements may have a large impact on sustainability and company operations.

The CSRD requirements are defined by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, or ESRS.

The process for successful value creation and compliant CSRD reporting can be achieved in three steps.

A clear scope of reporting and timing of applications.

A materiality assessment, the assessment of what's important to sustainable development.

And compliant reporting. Entity and industry tailored and with measurable KPIs to enhance corporate strategy.

Simplified CSRD decision tree

Is your business impacted by the CSRD?

Is your organisation ready for the CSRD?

Use this simple tool to understand your company’s CSRD status1

EU regulation

Is the legal entity listed via debt or equity on an EU regulated market?

Yes No
Company structure

Does your company have subsidiaries?

Yes No
Turnover

Is your company’s EU net turnover greater than €150m (in each of the last two consecutive financial years)?

Yes No
Company with subsidiaries

Cumulative for the parent and its subsidiaries (including non-EU subsidiaries), select all that apply for two consecutive financial years:

Company without subsidiaries

Select all that apply for two consecutive financial years:

EU branch

Does your company have an EU branch (with > €50m net turnover in EU) or an EU subsidiary in scope of reporting under the CSRD?

Yes No
Small-Medium Enterprise

Is your company a listed Small-Medium Enterprise (SME)?

Yes No
Based on the responses you selected, your business will have to report under the CSRD and we can help.Please contact the CSRD specialist in your area to discuss your company’s specific requirements in more detail:

What next?

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Talk to:

Przemysław Paprotny

Partner, PwC Poland

Tel: +48 502 184 766

Email me

For more related content, check out our latest thought leadership.

Based on the responses you selected, your business is likely not in scope of the CSRD at this time, but the reporting requirements are constantly evolving. We encourage you to contact the CSRD specialist in your country to discuss your company’s specific requirements in more detail:

What next?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec quis ex id odio fermentum placerat. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi facilisis tellus sit amet vulputate viverra.

Talk to:

Przemysław Paprotny

Partner, PwC Poland

Tel: +48 502 184 766

Email me

For more related content, check out our latest thought leadership.

1. Important: Every legal entity within a group, not just the ultimate parent company, must answer all the questions in the tool below to understand their potential CSRD status. 2. The Delegated Act (DA) amending the Accounting Directive to adjust the size criteria for micro, small, medium-sized, and large undertakings or groups has been published in the Official Journal following the end of the scrutiny period. The DA is part of the European Commission’s journey to reduce reporting requirements in the EU, alike the proposal for a decision amending the CSRD to postpone the second set of ESRS, and adjust the size thresholds (balance sheet and net turnover) by around 25%, reducing the scope of application of the Accounting Directive, the CSRD, and the Taxonomy Regulation. EU Member States are to apply the new thresholds at the latest from FY2024 and have the option to allow undertakings to apply the provisions from FY2023. Please contact the CSRD specialist in your territory to discuss your company’s specific requirements in more detail.

Helping you discover your sustainable advantage with the clarity of the CSRD

Driving value creation with sustainability reporting

Businesses need a cohesive strategy to efficiently and effectively respond to the many and complex reporting requirements of the CSRD. 

At PwC, we see the impact of the CSRD on the whole business. Experienced advisors adapt how you respond to regulation relevant to your industry, geography and topical European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) subject matter. Using technology and Alliance partners, we create clarity, speed and accuracy in complex data environments. With so much information on sustainability performance at our fingertips, we can make the CSRD reporting work smarter for your business. By integrating sustainability data with financial profitability, you can better assess risk mitigation and adaptation, steer operational efficiency and analyse opportunities for growth and value creation.

The CSRD is resetting the value creation agenda, and together, we can help you embed sustainability into the heart of your business strategy and uncover opportunities for value creation. Our CSRD specialists can support you with:

  • legal assessment of corporate structure, compliance process and scope, and regulatory reporting obligations  
  • double materiality assessment 
  • assessing the opportunity to align your sustainability objectives into your business strategy to achieve long-term value creation 
  • devising a tailored road map to enable your business to progress on your sustainability journey in an efficient way
  • creating the right governance and operating model to embed sustainability into existing functions and systems that support new policies, processes and technologies to produce the information you need.

Find out more about our climate and ESG reporting services

Supporting you on your CSRD assurance journey

We bring together our capabilities and deep experience as financial auditors, with specialist expertise in sustainability subject matters and CSRD reporting, to provide assurance services that match your requirements.

Timing is critical to prepare for the requirements, and we can help you in preparation for your first year of CSRD assurance.

We work with thousands of clients on their individual journey – so no matter where you are on yours, we can tailor our offering to suit your needs:

  • providing an unbiased perspective on the quality of management’s proposed reporting.
  • bringing added value insights early in your journey, covering key elements of your CSRD reporting process that will give rise to an assurance opinion. 
  • establishing the appropriate connectedness between the company’s financial and sustainability reporting.
  • delivering recommendations for getting you to the next level.

Find out more about PwC’s sustainability assurance offerings

Reinventing your business model

Beyond the complex reporting requirements, the CSRD creates transparency and builds trust and can have positive transformative effects on an organisation. Executives who embrace the CSRD can transform how business works for all. By viewing the CSRD as a catalyst for change, companies can better understand how sustainability factors can affect value creation and help them make decisions for stronger business performance.

Partnering with you along your sustainability journey, we can help you sustainably transform and reinvent your business model through the following service offerings:

  • climate and water management strategies
  • climate resilience 
  • finance, technology, and social performance transformations
  • sustainable supply chains management
  • tax and legal implications of transformational change

Find out more about PwC’s net zero transformation services

“Even for companies considered to have mature sustainability reporting, the CSRD will require significant time and investment. Something we’re seeing time and again across the market”

Nadja Picard,Global Reporting Leader, Partner, PwC Germany

The CSRD is resetting the value-creation agenda 

The European Union’s far-reaching directive on sustainability reporting isn’t only about disclosure. Here is how executives can use the mandate to bring sustainability into the heart of strategy—and uncover opportunities for value creation.

Read the article

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Christophe Bourgoin

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