Links with European supply chains and financing mean that South African firms should expect mandatory reporting on their environmental, social and governance impacts, of which water stewardship is a key consideration.
The European Union's (EU) Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), in effect since 5 January 2023, requires EU businesses, including qualifying EU subsidiaries of non -EU companies, to report on the environmental and social impact of their business activities - as well as on the business impact of their ESG efforts and initiatives. According to Fiona Sutton, principal scientist at SRK Consulting, companies subject to the CSRD will have to report according to European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
''With the interconnectedness of South African companies to global markets through commodities and capital markets, companies should expect that ESG reporting will soon be mandatory and should prepare for this,'' says Sutton. South African suppliers and customers of scoped-in EU companies may have expanded data and reporting demands from EU companies for them to report required ESG information in their value chain.''
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