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Cologne, 6 March 2025 – Over the past few months, we have supported the Diersch & Schröder Group (DS Group) in preparing for EU taxonomy reporting, with a GAP analysis for CSRD reporting and with the design of a data collection process. In August last year, a team of IR.on consultants consisting of Anna-Lena Mayer, Vera Kluck, Steven Rohles and Samuel Stott supported the DS Group in revising its materiality assessment in accordance with the requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Further milestones towards CSRD reporting capability have now been achieved.
As part of the EU taxonomy project, the DS Group's business models were analysed, and a series of interviews were conducted with specialists and managers. As a result, a catalogue of currently relevant Taxonomy-eligible activities and potential future activities was compiled. IR.on developed customised templates for the DS Group to be used in the Taxonomy-alignment assessment. Other work packages included outlining recommendations for the pragmatic conduction of a climate risk and vulnerability assessment, which is required to fulfil the criteria of the EU taxonomy.
Based on the impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs) identified in the materiality assessment, structured queries were created to identify information and data gaps. Firstly, the IROs had to be assigned to the topic-specific ESRS standards in order to draw up a customised list of ESRS data points for the DS Group. Using this list as a reference, the DS Sustainability Team was able to ask the group entities what data was available and where there were gaps. The completed queries were evaluated by IR.on, resulting in a GAP report that prioritises the gaps and recommends actions to close them.
For the data collection project step, the IR.on consultancy team first gained an overview of the existing reporting landscape. The work package also included driving decisions, e.g. on responsibilities and reporting deadlines. Based on the findings, a draft data collection process was developed for the DS Group. The corresponding procedural instructions that have been developed also define other important aspects, such as the scope of consolidation or quality and consistency checks. The indicator profiles developed are particularly useful for the future collection of ESG information, as they help to ensure that there is a common understanding and definition of ESRS data points throughout the Group.
Key to the successful collaboration was mutual trust and a constructive and professional partnership with the ESG team at the DS Group.
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Samuel Stott
Consultant for Sustainability Communication & ESG
Phone: +49 221 9140 970
E-mail: esg(at)ir-on.com
