ESRS Standard
ESRS Standard
34. The objective of this DR is to enable an understanding of the process through which the undertaking identifies impacts, risks, opportunities and the related topics, and assesses their materiality, as the basis for determining the disclosures to be made in its sustainability statement (see ESRS 1 General Requirements, Chapter 3).
35. The undertaking shall disclose:
(a) a concise description of the process and decision-making steps it follows to identify impacts, risks and opportunities and the related topics and to assess their materiality, including the approach to cover its own operations and its upstream and downstream value chain, the key methodologies, inputs and assumptions adopted, as well as the qualitative considerations or quantitative thresholds;
(b) how it assessed and prioritised impacts based on their severity and likelihood (see ESRS 1 General Requirements, paragraphs 44 and 45), how actions to prevent, mitigate, bring to an end, minimise and remediate negative impacts are considered, and how it considered areas of heightened risks of negative impacts related to specific activities, business relationships, or geographies;
(c) whether the assessment is informed by the undertaking's sustainability due diligence process, and, if it consults with affected stakeholders and external experts to understand its impacts, how such consultations inform the assessment;
(d) significant changes to the process compared to the prior reporting period; and
(e) when it last updated its materiality assessment.
Application Requirements (AR)
Application Requirements (AR)
AR 22 for para. 35(a)
Input may include, where relevant and beyond generic information, due diligence processes that informed the assessment, specific data sources, sector benchmark analysis, and risk management processes; engagement with affected stakeholders; industry and peer group experience; reports, statistics and scientific data; and engagement with experts.
AR 23 for para. 35(a)
The description of the process to identity and assess material risks and opportunities is expected to cover dependencies when relevant.
AR 24 for para. 35(a)–(d)
The undertaking shall focus on information that is specific to its own materiality assessment process. It shall avoid standardised, generic disclosures, sometimes referred to as ‘boilerplate’, such as information describing in detail that it has applied the criteria outlined in ESRS 1 General Requirements or followed the recommended process.
AR 25 for para. 35(b)
Information concerning engagement with affected stakeholders is addressed in ESRS 2 IRO-1 and SBM-2 and ESRS S1-S4. To avoid duplication and support a coherent narrative:
(a) relevant disclosures under ESRS 2 IRO-1, paragraph 35(c), include how the materiality assessment process includes consultation with affected stakeholders and external experts;
(b) information on ongoing engagement with affected stakeholders (as defined in ESRS 1 General Requirements, AR 23) is addressed in the respective social standards (ESRS S1-2, S2-2, S3-2 and S4-2);
(c) disclosures related to how key affected stakeholders’ (including workers’ representatives’) interests and views are brought to the attention of the undertakings’s administrative, management and supervisory bodies and inform its strategy and business model, with regard to its material impacts, risks and opportunities, are covered under ESRS 2 SBM-2, paragraph 22(c).
AR 26 for para. 35(b)
In disclosing how the undertaking considered areas of heightened risks of negative impacts related to specific activities, business relationships, or geographies, guidance is provided in ESRS 1 General Requirements, paragraphs 32 (b) and 33.
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