Sustainability is about values and consistency beyond profit

Regulatory compliance on sustainability will soon see European companies and subsidiaries of non-European companies committed to reporting sustainability information and disclosing all activities to prevent, mitigate or reduce the social and environmental impacts of their business.

The regulatory requirements introduced by the two European directives on sustainability, the Csrd and the Csddd, respond, in fact, to a very clear purpose, that of countering the spread of greenwashing and social-washing practices and, at the same time, testifying to real corporate commitment to the various ESG issues, according to management approaches based on formalised policies, achievable actions and measurable objectives. But are we really sure that such a 'regulatory hurricane' is the solution to the problem? That it can effectively bring companies closer to sustainability, thereby fostering a process of social and environmental responsibility? That it helps companies begin that examination of conscience by leading them to define how sustainability can directly contribute to the value creation process?

What we are rather witnessing at the moment is the search by companies to give an easy answer to demands, perhaps excessive, through a mere regulatory fulfilment, rather than to start a path in sustainability that is rewarding from a strategic, organisational and value point of view. In addition, the level of complexity that, for example, characterises the structure and content of the Esrs, or European standards for sustainability reporting, appears excessive, especially for those companies that have so far chosen not to embark on a path of voluntary adherence to drawing up a sustainability report. These companies are the ones that, from the fiscal year 2025, will have to reckon not only with the collection of ESG information, but above all with the implementation of challenging activities such as double materiality analysis and the definition of the relative business impacts in the value chain through the assessment of risks and opportunities. Not to mention that SMEs will be able to choose to draw up their sustainability report through the adoption of a proportional approach, i.e. using a voluntary sustainability reporting standard based on the different drafting approaches provided by Efrag.

The sense of disorientation that is partly hovering in the business world is generating a different kind of attitude, one of underestimation on the part of some who experience the issue as yet another regulatory requirement that will bring nothing to the way they do business and partly to the way they do their professions, of excessive concern on the part of others who, on the other hand, experience the deadline that is now approaching with anxiety and worry.

How, then, to help companies approach sustainability in a conscious, value-based and easy way? These are the issues addressed by the Gbs (Gruppo Bilanci e Sostenibilità), which has been working on a document entitled 'Value and Sustainability' with the aim of finding new keys for companies in the sustainability reporting landscape. The Gbs has a historical role as a standard-setter in Italy, it is one of the first multidisciplinary groups (with the experience of over 40 associated universities and the support of the National Council of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts) that has produced guidelines on social reporting in multiple areas (corporate groups, small and medium-sized enterprises, universities) with the aim of guiding different organisational realities with an approach that combines academic rigour and implementation in practice.