Single, Double or Impact Materiality?

Double materiality has two dimensions, namely: impact materiality and financial materiality. Impact materiality and financial materiality assessments are inter-related.

 

In general, the starting point is the assessment of impacts, although there may also be material risks and opportunities that are not related to the undertaking’s impacts. A sustainability impact may be financially material from inception or become financially material, when it could reasonably be expected to affect the undertaking’s financial position, financial performance, cash flows, its access to finance or cost of capital over the short-, medium- or long-term. Impacts are captured by the impact materiality perspective irrespective of whether or not they are financially material.

 

In identifying and assessing the impacts, risks and opportunities in the undertaking’s value chain to determine their materiality, the undertaking shall focus on areas where impacts, risks and opportunities are deemed likely to arise, based on the nature of the activities, business relationships, geographies or other factors concerned.

 

The undertaking shall consider how it is affected by its dependencies on the availability of natural, human and social resources at appropriate prices and quality, irrespective of its potential impacts on those resources.

 

An undertaking’s principal impacts, risks and opportunities are understood to be the same as the material impacts, risks and opportunities identified under the double materiality principle and therefore reported on in its sustainability statement.

 

In assessing impact materiality and determining the material matters to be reported, the undertaking shall consider the following three steps:

  1. understanding of the context in relation to its impacts including its activities, business relationships, and stakeholders;
  2. identification of actual and potential impacts (both negative and positive), including through engaging with stakeholders and experts. In this step, the undertaking may rely on scientific and analytical research on impacts on sustainability matters;
  3. assessment of the materiality of its actual and potential impacts and determination of the material matters. In this step, the undertaking shall adopt thresholds to determine which of the impacts will be covered in its sustainability statement.
 

SOURCE: excerpts from the EUROPEAN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING STANDARDS, ESRS 1 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Who should attend

  • Board, Audit, Risk and Sustainability Committee members
  • CEOs, CFOs and executive management
  • Legal counsel and compliance officers
  • Sustainability officers
  • ESG practitioners

What you will learn

forewarned is forearmed

This webinar was intended to equip attendees with the ability to explain the European Sustainability Reporting approach to materiality determination and to understand the considerations for such in the context of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.

Watch this recording to learn how to:

  • Explain the ESRS approach to materiality determination, and
  • Understand the considerations for such in the context of  the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.

Hosted by:

Expert Guests:

Peadar Duffy

Global ESG Practice Lead at Archer Integrated Risk Management

Chair of the Technical Committee

Peadar Duffy is Archer’s Global ESG Practice Lead, and is responsible for leveraging his thought leadership in the organizational risk and governance domains to provide strategic direction and collaboration across Archer’s internal and external partners in the design and development of Archer’s ESG solutions. 


He currently represents Ireland on the ISO technical committees for Risk Management (TC 262) and the Governance of Organisations (TC 309) where he is involved in the development and revision of various guidelines, reports and technical specifications.


Most recently Mr. Duffy had been involved with other international experts in the development of the first global governance guideline which emphasizes organizational purpose and other ESG-sustainability principles underpinning performance and long-term viability. Mr. Duffy began his 25-year career in risk management spanning multiple industry sectors in Ireland, the US and Middle East following 15 years in the Irish military.

Wim Bartels

Member of the Sustainability Reporting Board at EFRAG

As a senior partner in sustainability for 20 years, Wim has worked with many multinational companies across European industries. An auditor by background, he focuses on reporting, assurance and climate-related risks based on his past membership of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and his current membership of the EU Sustainability Reporting Board.

 

Wim takes a European role at Deloitte, thus overseeing what is developing in various jurisdictions and being able to connect to the best resources for sustainability questions.

 

Wim serves as the Chair of the Sustainability Policy Group of Accountancy Europe.

Dr Carol Adams

Professor of Accounting at DUBS;
Chair, GRI's Global Sustainability Standards Board;
Editor, Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal

Carol is currently Chair of the Institute of Chartered Accountant’s of Scotland’s (ICAS) Sustainability Panel and member of their Policy Leadership Board. She is a member, Public Finance International Advisory Panel, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). She was a member of the ACCA’s Global Forum on Sustainability (2011-2021). 


Carol is currently a member of the Project Advisory Panel on Sustainability Reporting to the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Technical Advisory Group for the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative Taxonomy Project.


She is author of The Sustainable Development Goals, integrated thinking and the integrated report and the SDGD Recommendations.


Carol served as Technical Expert in the development of the UNDP SDG Impact Standards (2020-2021) and was also Project Advisor to the UK Government’s Implementation Taskforce on Impact Investing during this period. She is a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board’s Advisory Panel on Sustainability Reporting and immediate past Chair of the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Stakeholder Council. 


She was member of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board’s Technical Working Group (2014-2021). She was a member of IIRC’s Capitals Collaboration Group, co-authored the Capitals Background Paper for <IR>.  She was on the project team developing the first AA1000 Framework and the writing team for the AA1000 Assurance Standard. 


She served as a AccountAbility Council Member (1998-2003), Standards Board Member (2011-2012) and Board Director (2001-2003).

Richard Barker

Member of the International Sustainability Standards Board

Richard Barker was appointed as a full-time member of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2022, effective 8 July 2022.


Before joining the ISSB, he served as deputy dean and professor of accounting at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, UK. In this capacity, he led Oxford Saïd’s sustainable business initiatives.
He has published a wide range of academic research papers on accounting and sustainability disclosures. He has chaired the expert panel of Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) and served as a member of several committees and bodies focused on corporate reporting in the UK and Europe, including the UK Corporate Reporting Council (UK accounting standard-setter), the Financial Reporting Advisory Board and the European Accounting Association’s Accounting Standards Committee.


Professor Barker served as a research fellow at the International Accounting Standards Board from 2001 to 2007.


He has a Bachelor’s degree in history and economics from University of Oxford and a PhD from University of Cambridge, UK.

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