The relevance of a sustainable corporate orientation can no longer be denied; climate change and the scarcity of resources are having an impact. Political measures have therefore already been taken for companies that require the implementation of sustainable corporate management. In our new blog post, we use the example of our client, the Lindhorst Group, to show how we, together with our partner cubemos, support our clients in implementing these requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
How to implement the CSRD?
What is the first step? How are potentials and risks recognized in the first place? Which areas are relevant and how is sustainability reporting prepared and documented? We answered these and other questions for the Lindhorst Group.
Winsen an der Aller is located in Lower Saxony, near Celle. A very natural and nature-loving environment characterizes this place, where the Lindhorst Group not only has its headquarters, but also cultivates a strong connection to the land and its people. The group of companies is active in many different ways, always focusing on the needs of the people. It looks at customers, supply chains, local communities and, of course, its own employees. They bring the business areas of agriculture and forestry, renewable energies, construction and real estate as well as care and health to life professionally on a daily basis. The sustainability aspects of climate and environment, resource use and social issues are therefore of particular importance to the group of companies. Good governance has always been a matter of course for the traditional family-owned company and the basis for reliably strong development. For the Lindhorst Group, meeting the CSRD is therefore not just a political requirement, but a task that it has always been happy to fulfill because it is close to its heart. WARGITSCH Transformation Engineers and our partner cubemos have taken the first step in this direction together with the Lindhorst Group: The double materiality analysis.
What is the double materiality all about?
But how do you start with this first step and what is important? Double materiality means that sustainability aspects are considered from two sides. It is about the impact, i.e. the effects of business operations on the outside world, people and the environment, as well as risks and opportunities. These risks and opportunities come to the company from outside, such as regulations, price changes for raw materials or the effects of climate change. All business transactions that fall into the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG) must be compiled, listed and evaluated with the organization. The ESG software from our partner cubemos, which is also used to record and assess business transactions, helps with this. This is the first phase of sustainability reporting, which is divided into three phases:
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1. Double Materiality analysis & Onboarding cubemos
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2. Sustainability management & -strategy build up
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3. Reporting
In addition, we can meet the diverse regulatory ESG requirements of the future even better. Here, the WARGITSCH team helps us with its expertise to cast our motivation and the results of our work in a suitable form.
How do the workshops look like?
Due to the different business areas, the first step, the double materiality analysis, was tackled in three separate workshops. These workshops were exciting for everyone involved, as the corporate group has always been committed to preserving people’s livelihoods and treating resources, nature and the climate with care across all business areas in order to make a positive contribution to the future and future generations. Thanks to this experience and the broad business areas, both WARGITSCH Transformation Engineers and the Lindhorst Group were able to gain new perspectives and aspects in the analysis – and of course complete the first step for the traditional company’s sustainability reporting. The workshop participants from the group of companies had informed themselves in advance about the process and were therefore prepared for the effort involved in this step. They were all the more enthusiastic about the pragmatic approach and the result of this first phase.
Christoph Wilhelm, responsible for corporate communications at the Lindhorst Group, summarized the result of the collaboration: “Our considerate and long-term approach has always been part of our corporate DNA and is deeply rooted in our structures – regardless of the business area. Nevertheless, we want to give the presentation of this special inner attitude and the extensive activities of our Group a structure that is also tangible for outsiders. In addition, we can do even better justice to the diverse regulatory ESG requirements of the future. This is where the WARGITSCH team’s expertise helps us to cast our motivation and the results of our work in a suitable form.”
