Stakeholder management as an important part of CSRD

As part of the mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies must also include the interests of their stakeholders for the first time when implementing the dual materiality analysis. 

Stakeholder management is one of the key processes within the dual materiality analysis, which is based on collaboration, involvement and dialog with affected stakeholders. Due to their different interests, perspectives and needs, stakeholders must be taken into account when assessing materiality. This enables companies to better understand the impact of their business activities and derive appropriate measures.

Identification of key stakeholders

The first step is to create a comprehensive list of all the company's stakeholders. This is done by analyzing the company structure and mapping information to the relevant stakeholders. This information may include the roles that stakeholders play in the social and economic context of the company, their expectations and needs with regard to the company, as well as the influence they can exert on the company. The list created in this way must then be checked for completeness and supplemented if necessary. It forms the basis for the evaluation.

Evaluation of the individual stakeholders

The next step is the assessment, which identifies the stakeholders relevant to the double materiality. This step serves to prioritize and determine which stakeholders should be consulted for further surveys on sustainability aspects. The evaluation is based on defined criteria, such as the stakeholder's influence on the company.

Integration of stakeholders in the materiality analysis

During implementation with Planted, relevant stakeholders are involved in the further process of the double materiality analysis to ensure complete identification of all impacts, risks and opportunities. The methodology of integration can vary and depends on the category of stakeholder. Possible methods include questionnaires, interviews or workshops.

Why is stakeholder management important?

Through effective stakeholder management, companies can ensure that their reporting is comprehensive and meaningful by integrating the perspectives and contributions of relevant stakeholders. This promotes the completeness of the dual materiality analysis and incorporates the perspective of the business environment.

Stakeholder management via software solution

Software solutions such as Planted help you to implement the ESRS double materiality analysis holistically and with the help of our CSRD experts. Within our tool, you can record the stakeholders as part of the dual materiality analysis process without prior knowledge and in a centralized manner. The stakeholder overview list provides a clearly structured overview of the relevant stakeholders, their assessment and (planned) integration into the process. 

Would you like to get to know our stakeholder management solution without obligation? Book a demo here.

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