Why Sustainability Management?

The increasing pressure from legislators and the rapidly growing public interest in the topic of sustainability is forcing companies to take a closer look at how their activities affect the environment and society. And, a sustainable corporate management is increasingly becoming a selection criterion for partners and suppliers. If companies cannot demonstrate active sustainability management, sooner or later they will no longer be competitive. This not only affects large companies, but also SMEs, as the demands are passed on to all companies via the supply chain. Sustainability management has gone from being a “nice to have” to a “must have”!

In addition, the capital market is currently transforming itself towards sustainability. Sustainable corporate governance leads to an improvement in the ESG rating due to CSRD and the EU Taxonomy, which in turn improves access to capital. In other words, this means that the ESG ranking on the capital market will in future be on a par with the credit rating ranking. And it looks like this will not only apply to large companies, but to all companies. Here you will also find an interview with Dipl.-Ing. Hans Kitzweger, led at the FH Technikum Wien on the topic of “ESG”. Among other things, he provides information about the background to the ESG trend and why more or less all companies will soon have to consider and optimize their ESG performance.

What does active Sustainability Management mean in concrete terms?

Sustainability Management, also known as CSR Management (Corporate Social Responsibility) or ESG Management (Environmental, Social, Governance), aims to harmonize ecological and social responsibility with economic goals. The resulting requirements are complex and require a transformation process in most companies. In addition, the following regulatory and customer-related requirements already exist or will exist in the foreseeable future, which must be taken into account as part of a Sustainability Management System.

Sustainability Management – regulatory and customer-related requirements

  • CSRD Reporting: Commitment to sustainability reporting

  • EU Taxonomy Regulation: Obligation to assess and report on taxonomy compliance and its impact on corporate finance

  • Emissions Trading: Obligation to determine and report CO2 emissions and to purchase CO2 certificates if the allocated CO2 allowances are exceeded

  • EU Supply Chain Directive: Obligation to comply with human rights and environmental standards in the supply chain

  • Green Marketing: Requirements from the Green Claims Directive with regard to environmental advertising claims for products and increasing customer demand

  • CBAM: CO2 border adjustment system: CO2 duty for higher CO2 emissions when importing raw materials into the EU

  • Preparation of CO2 Balances: Increasing demand from customers for the company’s carbon footprint and/or product footprints

  • ESG Rankings: Increasingly frequent demand from clients and rating agencies for ESG performance

  • Management Systems: Customer demand for management system certifications according to ISO 14001, EMAS, ISO 45001, ISO 50001 etc.

  • Legal requirements in the EHS area: Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements in the area of environmental protection and occupational safety

When setting up a sustainability management system, the ISO 26000 and ONR 192500 standards can be used as a guide, for example. The SDGs (17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations – UN) can also be used as a basis.

The six cornerstones of a sustainability management system

The six cornerstones of a sustainability management system are derived from ISO 26001 and ONR192500 as well as the legal requirements.

The 9 steps to establishing active Sustainability Management

We set up your Sustainability Management System in the following 9 steps:

1.

As-is analysis, determination of legal requirements

 

Analysis of existing measures, applicable legal regulations, other stakeholder requirements, internal CSR requirements and CSR risks.

2.

Stakeholder and materiality analysis

A “double materiality check” is carried out based on the requirements of the CSRD.
The stakeholder and materiality analysis serves as the basis for the development of the sustainability strategy.

3.

Sustainability strategy

Developing the strategy with the company management and, if necessary, adapting existing corporate strategies and business models accordingly.

4.

Action plan Implementation of legal requirements

If there are no concrete implementation plans for the legal requirements yet, these will be drawn up and their implementation started. When applying the CSDDD, determining the relevant requirements for supply chain management.

5.

Sustainability goals

Development of sustainability targets and start of target implementation. Existing objectives from other management systems (e.g. environment, occupational safety, energy, quality) are taken into account.

6.

KPIs

Development of key figures that are based on the SDGs or GRI, for example.

7.

Structural and process organization

Definition of responsibilities, competencies and regulation of the relevant processes; if necessary, integration of the system into an existing management system.

8.

Communication and reporting

Internal and external communication to ensure transparency and recognition of CSR management. The reporting must be suitable for the CSRD and/or CSDDD must be based on the legal requirements.

9.

Progress evaluation

Regular evaluation of progress in sustainability management and definition of responsibilities, competencies and regulation of the relevant processes; integration of the system into an existing management system if necessary.

How else we can support you

In addition to the development and implementation of sustainability management in the 9 steps outlined above, we are also happy to support you with our many years of experience in the areas of Sustainability Management, Management Systems, CO2 Management, Legal Compliance and as Environmental Auditors in the following areas:

Our offer

We are happy to support you in setting up your Sustainability Management System.

With our many years of experience in the areas of Sustainability Management, Management Systems, CO2 Management, Legal Compliance and as Environmental Auditors, we are the ideal partner for you.