What's the deal with biodiversity?
The COP15 conference that ended in December and the development of the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) recommendations raised biodiversity to the same level where climate change issues have been for several years. There is now a job in front of every company to study and assess its impact (note: this is most often about the impact exerted in the value chain) on biodiversity and the state of ecosystems. The next step will be to develop a policy to reduce the negative impact and gradually implement the goals set out therein.
When is diligence due enough?
Human rights due diligence is a term that many companies have become familiar with with the EU Taxonomy and the draft CSRDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive). It doesn't just consist of carefully writing references to human rights into a company's internal documents. At the heart of the due diligence system are the company's ongoing processes for identifying and effectively eliminating negative impacts on human rights throughout the value chain. The implementation of these processes is highly individualized, as their specifics depend on the company's business model.
How to prepare for the CSRD and the ESRS?
The directive on reporting sustainability issues is already here, as is the first set of ESRS. Large listed companies must be ready to report according to the standards as early as January 1 next year, and non-listed ones a year later. Therefore, the next several months are the time to use for preparations: implementing a monitoring and data consolidation system, reviewing policies, goals and action plans, identifying impacts, risks and opportunities.
What is really important?
Faced with numerous tasks in the area of sustainability, one may ask, „But what is really material?” This is a very legitimate question, because only a solidly conducted materiality study will allow us to identify and prioritize significant impacts, risks and opportunities. A structured study is required by ESRS standards. At the same time, in practice, it will help construct a sound development strategy and organize the company's structures dealing with sustainability issues.
To these four issues one can probably add a dozen more, no less important. But I think these are the topics that will dominate the work of the sustainability departments in 2023. If you haven't thought about them, it's worth taking some time to do so early in the year. If you have already planned to work on them - good luck!
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