Rejlers: How we prepare for CSRD
Leading engineering consultancy Rejlers is affected by CSRD from the first year. Therefore, preparations are in full swing, writes Sustainability Director Malin Ljung Eiborn.
Here are the lessons learned from the first year.
Rejlers is not only one of the leading engineering consultants in the Nordic region. We are also one of the oldest.
The business, which started in 1942 in the peat bogs of Småland, is today an international group listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. We help some of the Nordic region’s largest companies with the aim of being a catalyst for our customers’ transition, with a particular focus on industrial transformation, energy transition and future-proofing our societies.
So sustainability is not just a reporting issue for us, but a crucial part of our business and competitiveness. It was therefore obvious to start preparing for the CSRD early.
The requirement: Report on 700 data points
In 2023, we developed our new sustainability strategy, which proved to be the perfect timing to include the CSRD perspective.
The CSRD work itself began in the spring of the same year with a so-called “double materiality analysis” and then a gap analysis to map what we already report on today and where the gaps are.
As expected, we had a large gap; CSRD is very comprehensive and our DMA (double materiality assessment) showed that we should report on just under 700 data points.
A team for each essential standard
We are now working with parallel teams for each essential standard (ESRS), working to close the gaps, develop our sustainability work and systematize the production of the data we need. We also have a cross-group team to project manage and drive the work forward and a steering group consisting of myself, the CFO and our Head of Sustainability for Sweden, who is also the Group Reporting Officer.
Benefits of a newly created sustainability strategy
Once again, the investment in the sustainability strategy proved worthwhile. It has brought a number of positive synergies to the work. Among other things, we have …
- … developed a tool to facilitate the inclusion of sustainability aspects in our customer engagements
- … set new climate targets pending approval under Science Based Targets
- … mapped our status in inclusion in order to set new targets for inclusion and
- … deepened our work on business ethics and human rights.
All this will make it easier for us to report under the CSRD in a comprehensive way.
About a year into the project, the main challenges have proven to be time constraints and extensive data collection. But there is great commitment at all levels and a very positive feeling about our journey. We are working purposefully to be ready because we at Rejlers are covered by the requirements from the first year.
A lot of work is being done, but we see it as an important investment that will make us a better company and in the long run facilitate and support the ongoing sustainability work.