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Cologne, 1 August 2024 – The first milestone has been reached! The sustainability and ESG team at IR.on AG supported the Diersch & Schröder Group (DS Group) in revising its materiality assessment in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS 2).
The DS Group is a future-orientated, globally active energy and chemical company. As an energy trading company, it supplies its customers with heat and fuel, develops customised chemical formulations and invests in sustainable innovations.
The DS Group had conducted a materiality assessment in 2022/2023 and involved all relevant stakeholders through interviews and workshops. In addition, valuable analyses were available, e.g. regarding sustainability-relevant impacts along the value chain. The existing longlist of sustainability aspects (opportunities, risks and impacts) was complemented and fine-tuned by the IR.on team of consultants and the methodology for assessing the aspects was revised in accordance with the new ESRS requirements. IR.on was able to utilise a set of its own best practice tools for this purpose. The IR.on team then moderated selected assessment workshops with specialists and managers. In collaboration with the Sustainability Manager and the DS Group's Risk Management team, appropriate materiality thresholds were defined and documented in a comprehensible manner for the auditor's review. As a result, the relevant sustainability aspects for the DS Group were identified and documented.
Furthermore, IR.on provided the DS Group with information and recommendations for the project documentation. Finally, the procedure and the results were validated by the management and the auditor. The results of this materiality assessment serve as a basis and guideline for future non-financial reporting.
The reason for the project activities is the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This requires companies to publish non-financial KPIs in accordance with the new ESRS, focussing on material topics. Due to the extensive preparatory work carried out by the DS Group, the materiality assessment was revised and reviewed using a coaching approach. The IR.on team took over the operational realisation of certain work packages for parts of the project, while the DS Group received advice and recommendations from the IR.on team for other project steps.
In addition, the goal-oriented and pragmatic cooperation with our contacts at the DS Group deserves a special mention. Various specialists and managers provided constructive input throughout the entire process. In particular, the DS-ESG team acted as a strong driver with technical expertise and was always approachable. Now that the materiality assessment has been completed, the extensive joint work continues. Among other things, the project team is taking care of the requirements of the EU taxonomy and planning the design for a data collection process. We are looking forward to the next tasks!
For further information on materiality assessments in accordance with the ESRS and other services in the field of sustainability and ESG, please do not hesitate to contact us.
IR.on Aktiengesellschaft
Anna-Lena Mayer
Head of Sustainability & ESG
T +49 (0) 221 9140 970
E esg(at)ir-on.com
