Double Materiality Assessment

A Double Materiality Assessment (DMA) is a key tool for strengthening both business competitiveness and strategic decision-making. Taigawise supports organisations throughout the assessment process with

Identify What Matters Most

A materiality assessment (or materiality analysis) is the foundation of effective sustainability management and reporting. It helps organizations identify their most significant sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities, providing a clear basis for prioritization. The outcome of a materiality assessment is a clear understanding of the organization’s key sustainability priorities, enabling it to set meaningful objectives and define the indicators needed to measure progress.

We conduct gap analyses to assess how well your organisation is prepared to meet the CSRD reporting requirements based on the results of your Double Materiality Assessment. The analysis provides a clear overview of the sustainability data already available and identifies any gaps that need to be addressed to support compliant and effective reporting.

Stakeholder engagement is a fundamental part of effective sustainability management. It helps organisations understand their impacts on people and the environment while providing valuable insight into stakeholder expectations. Engaging with the stakeholders most relevant to sustainability reporting is particularly important. Their perspectives help identify an organisation’s material impacts, risks and opportunities, while ensuring that sustainability reporting addresses the information needs of key stakeholders.

Need support with CSRD, a Double Materiality Assessment, or other sustainability reporting requirements?

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Frequently Asked Questions about Materiality Assessment and Sustainability Reporting

A double materiality assessment (also called a materiality analysis) evaluates an organisation’s ESG and sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities together with key stakeholders. In addition, the assessment examines how these aspects relate to the organisation’s strategy and business model.

Under the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies within its scope must assess the material ESG factors and report on them according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). This makes the materiality assessment a crucial first step when starting sustainability reporting.

A materiality assessment should be carried out when:

Regulations (e.g., CSRD) or stakeholders require it
Sustainability work is being initiated, and an evaluation of the current state and stakeholder views is needed
New products or services are being launched
Business is expanding into new markets
Supplier networks are expanding into new countries or product lines

The results of a materiality analysis help identify the company’s sustainability priorities, allowing it to set goals aligned with its strategy.

Would you like to learn more about materiality assessments? Book a free consultation or get in touch!

The basis of a materiality assessment is understanding a company’s impacts – both positive and negative – on people, the environment, and society. To evaluate these impacts, it is essential to examine the company’s entire value chain, as well as its business model and strategy.

Once this is mapped, the economic impacts of sustainability factors are assessed – for example, on the company’s cash flow and financial performance.

After identifying the material factors, it is important to engage with stakeholders. At this stage, you need to know who your key stakeholders are and have their contact information ready. If needed, we can perform a stakeholder analysis for you.

Next, we customise a stakeholder survey to your organisation’s needs and conduct it online. If necessary, the survey can be supplemented with interviews. The result is an easy-to-read report with recommendations for your sustainability priorities.

You can also continue working with us to integrate sustainability into your business strategy – we can set goals that support your strategy and define indicators to track progress.

We carry out assessments in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and European Sustainability Reporting Standards, as the concept of double materiality is becoming standard.

Would you like to learn more about materiality assessments? Book a free consultation or get in touch!

A carefully conducted double materiality assessment is an excellent foundation for all sustainability work and a powerful tool for integrating business strategy with sustainability efforts. It helps a company identify its significant impacts on people and the environment, as well as the economic risks and opportunities that sustainability issues – such as working conditions, climate change, and corporate culture – may pose to the business.

At its best, a double materiality assessment examines the company’s entire operations and value chain and engages stakeholders, providing a comprehensive understanding of what matters most to the organisation. Additionally, the work supports risk management and other development initiatives.

Beyond supporting strategic work and sustainability management, a double materiality assessment also provides a strong foundation for voluntary sustainability reporting. It helps identify the most material topics to report on and clarifies stakeholders’ expectations regarding reporting.

Would you like to learn more about using a double materiality assessment as a basis for voluntary reporting or sustainability management? Book a free consultation or get in touch!

A double materiality assessment provides a solid foundation for corporate sustainability work, regardless of reporting obligations. After the assessment, there are several possible paths depending on your company’s situation:

For CSRD reporting:
If the assessment has been conducted as part of CSRD-compliant reporting, the next step is to review both mandatory disclosure requirements and those selected based on materiality, including specific data points. As part of mapping and selecting these requirements, a gap analysis is often needed to determine what data is already available for reporting and what still needs to be collected.
For voluntary reporting:
If your goal is to prepare a voluntary report based on the assessment, the next step is to map the reportable data. We recommend using the VSME standard, optionally complemented with ESRS standards. In both cases, the first step is to identify the reportable topics based on materiality and determine the data needed for each.
For sustainability programme development:
Even if sustainability reporting is not yet planned, the assessment can serve as the basis for developing your corporate sustainability programme. The material topics identified provide a strong framework for setting priorities and objectives.

Would you like to learn more about any of the paths outlined above, or do you need support with a gap analysis or selecting reportable data? Book a free consultation or get in touch!

“Taigawise has been an excellent partner for us in conducting the dual-listing assessment. Our collaboration with them went smoothly from the very beginning. Taigawise’s experts walked us through the complexities of the CSRD Directive and ESRS standards in a very practical way. After the assessment, it was easy to decide to continue our partnership.”

Sanna Korhonen
Quality and Sustainability Development Manager,
Hedengren Capital

Need support with CSRD, a materiality assessment, or any other reporting topic?

Let’s explore together the steps you can take to develop your sustainability reporting and communication!

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