Double materiality across all timeframes

Can you map a double materiality assessment across all timeframes?

In sustainability reporting, understanding the most impactful issues from both a financial and societal perspective is crucial. This is where a Double Materiality Assessment (DMA) comes into play, evaluating not just the financial impact of these issues on an organisation, but also the organisation's impact on society and the environment.

The possibility and necessity of extending materiality across timeframes

Yes, you absolutely can extend DMA across all timeframes. In fact, under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), it's essential to consider the financial materiality of sustainability matters over the short, medium, and long term. An issue is deemed materially financial if it significantly affects, or has the potential to affect, the company’s financial trajectory through risks or opportunities.

How to effectively conduct a DMA across timeframes?

The challenge lies in engaging all stakeholders effectively and in a way that doesn't take too much time. To address this, we developed a streamlined approach:

1. Custom survey functionality: Stakeholders participate in a survey where they initially rank issues based on their short-term impact (one year or less). This initial ranking then sets the baseline for subsequent medium- and long-term ranking of the issues

2. Efficient process: This method simplifies the survey process, minimising the time required from stakeholders while capturing their perspective across different timeframes.

Benefits for the organisation

This approach not only gives a set of results segmented by stakeholder group and timeframe but also provides dynamic insights and visualisations. Here’s how it benefits the company:

• Rich insights and visualisation: We developed a custom interactive materiality matrix that segments results by timeframe and stakeholder group, offering management a clear view of how perceptions shift over time, that they can change 

• Strategic decision making: With these insights, management can better understand stakeholder expectations and perceptions, aiding in more informed decision-making.

See it in action