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How can sustainability issues affect a company’s financial position, financial performance, earnings, strategy, or business model?<\/p>\n
Examples:<\/b><\/p>\n\n- Physical climate risks,<\/li>\n
- Transition risks,<\/li>\n
- Rising energy or raw material costs,<\/li>\n
- Regulatory risks,<\/li>\n
- Dependencies on critical suppliers or resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The materiality analysis therefore does more than just determine the level of detail in the report. It also serves as a foundation for strategy, risk management, data collection, and internal responsibilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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Key terms<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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CSRD<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n
CSRD<\/strong> is the EU directive that specifies which companies are required to report sustainability information and what basic requirements apply.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>ESRS<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n
ESRS<\/strong> are the European reporting standards that specify what information and metrics must be disclosed in the sustainability report.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>NaBeG<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n
NaBeG<\/strong> is the Austrian law that incorporates the relevant EU requirements into Austrian law and adapts national regulations in corporate law.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>EU taxonomy<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n
The EU taxonomy<\/strong> is a separate classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities. Information on the taxonomy may be included in sustainability reporting, but it does not replace the CSRD report.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Does the CSRD report need to be audited?<\/h2>\n
Yes.<\/b> The CSRD requires an external audit or assurance of sustainability reporting. Until further notice, the audit is generally conducted on a \u201climited assurance\u201d basis. The specific procedures, the authorized auditors, and the applicable audit requirements are governed by applicable EU and Austrian law.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The CSRD remains relevant for SMEs as well<\/h1>\n
Even companies outside the immediate scope of the CSRD may be faced with ESG inquiries. Companies subject to reporting requirements need information from the value chain, among other sources, for their own reporting. But banks, investors, and other stakeholders are also taking an increasing interest in the ESG performance of their business partners.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the so-called \u201cvalue chain cap\u201d limits the reporting requirements for companies with up to 1,000 employees, thereby reducing the \u201ctrickle-down effect\u201d in the value chain: A company subject to reporting requirements may generally not require information from such a value-chain partner that goes beyond the scope of the relevant voluntary standard (VSME).<\/p>\n
For SMEs, this means, on the one hand, that requests for ESG data should be proportionate, standardized, and transparent, and that continuous improvement in ESG performance should be ensured.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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![](\"https:\/\/risksafe-esg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CSRD-threshold-EN.png\" "\\"CSRD-threshold-EN\\"")
<\/span><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/risksafe-esg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/CSRD-Impact-indirekt-scaled.png\" "\\"CSRD-Impact-indirekt\\"")
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