Materiality/Double Materiality Assessments

Traditionally, materiality was viewed through a financial lens. — assessing how external factors such as climate risks or regulatory changes might impact a company's bottom line. A well-structured materiality assessment identifies and ranks the ESG factors most relevant to stakeholders and critical to long-term business success. This process enables organizations to focus on areas with the greatest strategic relevance, ensuring resources are directed where they create the most value.

Capturing how an organisation's operations and value chain impact the economy, environment, and society provides a more comprehensive understanding of a company's role in sustainable development. This broader perspective is reflected in leading frameworks like the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), as well as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and is increasingly referenced by investors and stakeholders seeking greater accountability and transparency.

Cognitud helps companies evaluate both their outward impacts on society and the environment and the inward risks they face. This dual perspective offers a more holistic understanding of an organisation's sustainability footprint — one that aligns closely with frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).