A majority (63%) of companies say they are very or extremely confident that they will be ready to report under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), according to PwC’s inaugural 2024 Global CSRD Survey.
The survey found that 79% of companies headquartered outside of the EU and 74% headquartered within the EU believe CSRD is or will lead to company leadership considering sustainability in decision making to a greater extent.
Although respondents noted confidence around sustainability reporting, they also cited obstacles to implementation. The biggest concern listed in the survey was in regards to data availability and quality, with 59% of respondents raising this as an issue. Only 20% of companies due to report in their 2025 financial year have validated the availability and completeness of data for their disclosures.
Implementation obstacles beyond data persist
Despite high levels of confidence, especially for companies due to report in their 2025 financial year (72%), less than half of these companies have completed key activities, such as confirmation of reporting options (39%), double materiality assessment (38%), and validation of availability of data (20%).
While respondents report high confidence on topics that are generally included in existing disclosures such as workforce (75%), business conduct (75%), and climate change (60%), they are far less confident in their ability to meet reporting requirements on less familiar topics such as biodiversity (35%), pollution (43%), and workers in the value chain (44%).
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By GlobalDataSustainability is rising in the leadership agenda
The survey finds 76% believe CSRD has or will lead to company leadership considering sustainability in decision making, including 59% who say sustainability is already being considered to a greater extent due to CSRD, and 17% who say it will be considered.
Companies expect a wide range of business benefits to flow from CSRD. Namely, more than half (51%) expect benefits to a large or very large extent to include better environmental performance, 49% expect improved engagement with stakeholders, and 48% better risk mitigation.
Almost one-third believe CSRD benefits to a large extent will include revenue growth (28%) or cost savings (26%). The expectation of financial benefits is higher for companies closer to their reporting deadline, with 38% of companies due to report in FY 2025 expecting to benefit to a large extent through revenue growth and 34% through cost savings.
Commenting on the survey, PwC Germany global reporting leader Nadja Picard said: “As the countdown to CSRD compliance approaches, it is positive to see companies are largely confident that they will be ready to report. However, there is still some way to go, with the majority grappling with complex challenges, particularly the quantity and quality of data required, not only for their own operations but across their value chain.
“As the CSRD essentially requires sustainability reporting to be on par with financial reporting, leading executives are recognising that sustainability information must be available, accurate, and audit-ready: not just on a one-time basis, but annually. The global impact of CSRD shows the importance of getting to a global baseline of reporting standards to reduce complexity and improve comparability.”
