What is double materiality?

CSRD requires a double-materiality assessment: a topic is material if it has a significant impact on people or the environment (impact materiality) OR if it creates significant financial risks or opportunities for the company (financial materiality). A topic is reportable if either lens applies, not only when both do.

Are all 12 ESRS topical standards always required?

No. The two cross-cutting standards, ESRS 1 (general requirements) and ESRS 2 (general disclosures), always apply. The 10 topical standards — five environmental, four social, one governance — are reported only where your materiality assessment finds them material, and you must explain why anything is omitted.

Which standards count as environmental, social, and governance?

Environmental: E1 Climate, E2 Pollution, E3 Water and marine resources, E4 Biodiversity, E5 Resource use and circular economy. Social: S1 Own workforce, S2 Workers in the value chain, S3 Affected communities, S4 Consumers and end-users. Governance: G1 Business conduct.

What are the phase-in reliefs?

Smaller and newly in-scope undertakings benefit from phase-in periods that let them omit or delay certain data points, such as anticipated financial effects and parts of the value-chain disclosures, in their first reporting years. The exact reliefs depend on company size and your first year of application.

Does completing this checklist make me compliant?

No. It is a planning and tracking aid that mirrors the ESRS structure. Actual compliance requires a robust double-materiality process, data assurance, and a report prepared in the digital ESRS format and externally assured. Confirm scope and obligations with your auditor.

CSRD / ESG Reporting Checklist

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires in-scope companies to report sustainability information under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). This checklist mirrors the ESRS structure so you can run a double-materiality pass and track disclosure readiness across all 12 standards.

How it works

The ESRS comprise two cross-cutting standards that always apply and ten topical standards reported only where material:

Cross-cutting (always):  ESRS 1 General requirements, ESRS 2 General disclosures
Environmental:           E1 Climate, E2 Pollution, E3 Water,
                         E4 Biodiversity, E5 Circular economy
Social:                  S1 Own workforce, S2 Value-chain workers,
                         S3 Communities, S4 Consumers
Governance:              G1 Business conduct

A topic is in scope if it is material under either lens — impact materiality (effect on people/planet) OR financial materiality (risk/opportunity to the firm). The readiness score weights the two mandatory cross-cutting standards plus every topic you mark material, scoring each as 0 (not started), 0.5 (in progress), or 1 (complete).

Notes and tips

Document the reasoning behind every materiality decision, including the topics you rule out — auditors will test the omissions as hard as the inclusions. Start with ESRS 2, which sets the governance, strategy, and impact/risk/opportunity disclosures that the topical standards build on. Treat this checklist as a tracker, not a substitute for an assured report in the digital ESRS format.