Navigating Sustainability Reporting: EFRAG's Helpful Implementation Guides

On May 31, 2024, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) released its first three European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) Implementation Guidance documents,: EFRAG IG 1 Materiality Assessment, EFRAG IG 2 Value Chain and EFRAG IG 3 ESRS Datapoints. The guides aim to support reporting companies and make it easier for them to understand and meet sustainability reporting standards. They include practical examples and FAQs to clarify requirements and promote consistent reporting.

IG 1: Materiality Assessment Implementation Guidance (MAIG) provides an illustrative materiality assessment process for undertakings, and it develops the concept of impact and financial materiality with a number of examples, including how these two concepts interplay. It also contains FAQs on the double materiality assessment.

IG 2: Value Chain Implementation Guidance (VCIG) outlines the reporting requirements for the value chain from materiality assessment to policies and actions to metrics and targets. It also includes FAQs for further information and a 'value chain map' summarizing value chain implications per disclosure requirement across all ESRS.

IG 3: ESRS Datapoints translates the complete ESRS Set 1 list of detailed requirements in each Disclosure Requirement and related Application Requirements in Excel format. The file contains additional information, such as the types of requirements (quantitative or qualitative) or whether these are subject to transitional provisions. This list can form the basis for a data gap analysis or data collection exercise.