CSR case studies
CSR · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Certified Sustainability Reporting (CSR) Examination is an independent assessment of whether you can build, defend, and quality-control a sustainability report that stands up to investor and regulatory scrutiny. It is aimed at sustainability and ESG practitioners, finance and accounting professionals moving into disclosure work, assurance and internal audit staff, investor-relations teams, and consultants who prepare or review non-financial reporting. The CSR case studies are 5 cases and about 3,992 words.
1Water at 2.6: When a Group Average Hides a Material Impact
A European packaging manufacturer with 3,200 employees and 11 plants is preparing its first CSRD-aligned sustainability statement. Its double materiality assessment screened 24 topics, scored impact and financial materiality from 1 to 5 across two internal workshops, and applied a combined threshold of 3.5.
769 words, about 4 min2The 9% That Wasn't: Estimated Meter Data and a Late Correction
A grocery retailer with 480 stores is preparing energy and refrigerant data for its first limited-assurance engagement. Electricity for 62% of stores comes from automatic meter reads; the remaining 38% is estimated by the utility from prior-year consumption and invoiced monthly.
767 words, about 4 min3Certificates from Another Market and a Base Year That Cannot Stay Still
A regional brewery group with six breweries and 1,900 employees reports Scope 1 and 2 emissions and selected Scope 3 categories. Its 2024 Scope 2 market-based figure is reported as zero: the group bought renewable energy certificates equal to 100% of its electricity volume from a wind portfolio in a country where it has no operations, at €0.40 per MWh.
798 words, about 4 min4Tagging, Extensions and a Late Correction After Board Approval
A first-year CSRD reporter files its annual report in the EU single electronic reporting format. The sustainability statement runs to 58 pages of narrative, policies, targets and 240 quantitative datapoints, of which 96 correspond to ESRS datapoints with a defined XBRL element.
801 words, about 4 min5Three Things Learned Three Weeks Before Sign-Off
You are the newly appointed head of sustainability at a listed industrial group. Three weeks before the sustainability statement is due for approval you learn three things.
857 words, about 4 min