What are the benefits of coordinating work in a single system solution? As the number of sustainability reporting requirements increases, this question is becoming increasingly important. To find answers, we turned to Stratsys sustainability experts Cecilia Almér and Anna Lindstedt.
The EU's ambitions in the field of sustainability mean increased reporting requirements - requirements that mean that data must be collected, managed and reported. Ultimately, this often falls to the person responsible for sustainability.
This applies to the EU's sustainability regulations in the form of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD ) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Someone who knows more about this is Cecilia Almér, sustainability expert and ESG lead at Stratsys:
- In the CSRD there is a requirement to include the due diligence process. Although the detailed follow-up does not have to be reported in CSRD, it is a great advantage to include it in your materiality assessment. With a system solution that handles both directives, you can get data flowing. It provides a very good basis for the materiality assessment. It contributes to key performance indicators, risks and of course to the CSRD report itself. In this way, you can not only meet the requirements, but get a better overall approach to sustainability work.
Cecilia Almér, ESG Lead at Stratsys
Anna Lindstedt is also a sustainability expert and ESG Supply Chain Lead at Stratsys. She shares the view of the benefits of gathering the work in one solution:
- You save a lot of time if you take care of CSRD and CSDDD in one solution. CSRD has many requirements for reporting points where you must report, for example, conditions in the value chain, regarding workers and emissions of greenhouse gases. It saves time if you can collect the information when you do your due diligence of suppliers and automatically send it to your CSRD report.
Anna Lindstedt, ESG Supply Chain Lead at Stratsys
According to Cecilia and Anna, there are four major challenges that an integrated solution can help address.
1. Holistic approach to reporting
Although the directives differ, there is also a lot of overlap. This can mean that data collected from supplier audits for CSDDD is used directly in sustainability reporting for CSRD.
Anna says you should create a transparent chain:
- Having a platform to manage both CSRD and CSDDD allows you to manage sustainability as a coherent process, making it easier to create a transparent chain - from sustainability strategy to concrete results.
2. Save time and resources
A common platform can bring significant savings, not least thanks to the possibility of automation. According to Cecilia, a surprising number of companies still work manually with data management:
- A big time thief is that companies rely on several separate systems for different parts of the process. Supplier audits are done in one system, reporting in another, and information is often shared in static Excel files. This not only leads to duplication of effort but also to the risk of errors - unnecessarily. With an integrated solution, all systems talk to each other.
3. Manage risk
An integrated solution allows you to manage risk in a more proactive way. It makes it easier to link risks and actions between different processes.
- This makes it easier to identify which suppliers are most at risk in terms of compliance. You can get a better overview of how different sustainability risks affect your business and operations. And you can more easily prioritize actions based on expectations and goals, says Anna.
4. Higher quality and more transparency
A major benefit of bringing your compliance work together is how you ensure the quality of the work. Through a common solution, you can ensure that the information is accurate and up-to-date.
- The quality of what is produced is something that is not least important in CSRD work, where expectations are high on reporting. Not least, it is important that the data presented is accurate, properly substantiated and verifiable, concludes Cecilia.
Much to gain from the same solution
It is clear that the demands on reporting are higher than ever, not least in view of CSRD and CSDDD. At the same time, there is no doubt that there is room to simplify and improve the work being done. It's about taking a holistic approach to reporting, but also about managing resources and risks. Overall, you can improve the quality of reporting as a whole. In other words, you have a lot to gain by reviewing how you work with your system support.
