**London**: EcoVadis has unveiled a free Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) questionnaire aimed at facilitating compliance for around 50,000 companies globally. The tool helps organisations manage sustainability disclosures and engage suppliers, ensuring adherence to European standards amidst reporting challenges.
EcoVadis, a prominent sustainability intelligence platform catering to global supply chains, has introduced a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) questionnaire within its risk and sustainability management solution suite. This update includes the sophisticated AI-driven risk management tool IQ Plus and the streamlined Vitals questionnaire, functioning cohesively with EcoVadis Ratings.
The CSRD compliance mandate affects an estimated 50,000 companies, encompassing not only organisations within Europe but also about 10,000 firms situated outside Europe, including U.S. companies operating in the EU or trading with EU-based clients, who are expected to comply beginning this year, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. These entities will need to deliver disclosures pertaining to their own operations and value chain implications, including risks and opportunities. However, the process of collecting and assessing the requisite data presents challenges, particularly in engaging suppliers who may be unfamiliar with CSRD requirements or lacking the necessary resources.
The newly launched CSRD questionnaire is available free of charge for suppliers, designed to assist companies grappling with the complexities of disclosure. It encompasses all essential supply chain data needing direct input from suppliers and adheres to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) requirements. Procurement and compliance teams can utilise this questionnaire to effectively engage their suppliers, compile supply chain data from EcoVadis’s solutions, and produce audit-ready reports based on reliable information. This initiative aims to reduce the barriers to compliance and bolster confidence in meeting disclosure obligations.
Pierre-Francois Thaler, co-founder and co-CEO of EcoVadis, emphasised the importance of thorough reporting on sustainability metrics, which range from environmental factors such as greenhouse gas emissions to social considerations like workforce diversity. He stated, “Thousands of companies are required to report on sustainability data that include environmental factors like greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and biodiversity impact, as well as social aspects like workforce diversity and labor standards. Those who fall behind on regulatory disclosure risk facing financial, reputational and competitive losses to those who get it right.”
The CSRD questionnaire was developed in collaboration with EcoVadis clients to effectively align with their disclosure needs. While the questionnaire is an additional paid feature for enterprise procurement teams using IQ Plus and Vitals, suppliers can complete it at no cost. The generated CSRD report automatically consolidates and evaluates supply chain data from various EcoVadis tools, covering all critical ESRS topics, which users can then share through audit-ready exports.
In reflecting on the partnership with EcoVadis, Rhea Horlock, Global Corporate Social Responsibility Lead at Kinly, noted, “Working with EcoVadis has put us in a good position to cover our CSRD supply chain topics. As our suppliers are shaping their CSRD requirements, they know to come to us.”
Further information regarding the utilisation of the CSRD questionnaire for simplifying reporting obligations is accessible through EcoVadis’ official website.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Subscribe to Industry Updates
