{"id":14223,"date":"2024-07-22T20:37:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T18:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roncucciandpartners.com\/?p=14223"},"modified":"2026-09-04T11:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:48:36","slug":"reporting-sustainability-getting-the-regulations-in-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roncucciandpartners.com\/en\/2024\/07\/22\/reporting-sustainability-getting-the-regulations-in-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Reporting sustainability: getting the regulations in order"},"content":{"rendered":"

Witnessing one’s commitment to sustainability issues is not an easy topic for companies, especially when we think of SMEs<\/strong>. The Sustainability Report certainly is the main tool people think of in order to be able to give evidence of their achievements, but often making one’s way through principles and regulations is complex. So how do we figure out if and how our company is subject to certain reporting standards? And if it is, which ones should I use? Let’s try to sort out how to report on sustainability.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is sustainability reporting?<\/h2>\n

Let’s start with a very “simple” question: what is sustainability reporting? Sustainability reporting means giving evidence of the initiatives that the company has put in place in the ESG (environmental<\/a>, social<\/a> and governance<\/a>) area and the results it has achieved over time<\/strong>. The goal is to enhance the actions the company has put in place on these issues, both for internal stakeholders (such as staff and management) and external stakeholders (such as shareholders, customers, and target communities). There are at least 5 benefits of proper sustainability reporting<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

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  1. Transparency and credibility<\/strong>: Strengthening stakeholder trust through transparency in business operations and achievements<\/li>\n
  2. Competitive advantage<\/strong>: Enhancing the company’s image and reputation by distinguishing itself from competitors through its commitment to sustainability<\/li>\n
  3. Access to sustainable financing<\/strong>: Attract investment from funds that favor companies with sound ESG practices<\/li>\n
  4. Risk mitigation<\/strong>: Identifying and managing risks related to environmental and social issues, reducing the company’s long-term vulnerability<\/li>\n
  5. Stakeholder Engagement<\/strong>: Promote open and constructive dialogue with employees, customers and communities, increasing engagement and loyalty.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Read also: 5 questions to approach the topic of corporate sustainability<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    Sustainability reporting: what regulation?<\/h2>\n

    Sustainability legislation in recent years has largely evolved and strengthened as a result of commitments made at the global level with the 2030 Agenda but also at the European level with the signing of the Green Deal. Currently, the benchmark legislation in Europe is the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), which officially entered into force in 2023 as an extension of the previous legislation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    What are the goals of the CSRD?<\/h3>\n

    The main objective of the creation of the new legislation was to create guidelines and standards recognized at the European level that would improve the comparability and verifiability of the results reported by companies in the field of sustainability. Compared to the previous legislation, in fact, CSRD included a number of constraints on the content and presentation of the sustainability report that did not exist with the previous legislation and left companies much more freedom in deciding what to write (or not write) and how to write it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Another key objective of the introduction of CSRD was to expand the number of companies covered by the regulations, based on three key parameters<\/strong>:<\/p>\n