The impact of the European Sustainability Reporting Standard on the reporting of Italian companies: A comparative case study

The thesis investigates how the European Sustainability Reporting Standards under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive are impacting non-financial reporting among Italian companies. It examines the conceptual and regulatory foundations of the ESRS, then analyses their effects in practice, highlighting the objectives for greater comparability, reliability and assurance and the practical challenges in materiality assessment, data management and value chain measurement. The work is organised in four chapters. Chapter one outlines the European regulatory context and the shift from voluntary reporting to the mandatory framework introduced by the CSRD. It then identifies the relationship between financial and non-financial reporting and the main challenges and opportunities deriving from ESRS adoption. Chapter two presents the methodological approach for analysing non-financial reports and reviews the tools, standards, techniques used, stating limits and potential advantages. Chapter three offers a landscape analysis of the first Italian reports prepared under the ESRS and compares patterns and differences with European reports. Chapter four presents a comparative case study of Illy Caffè and Enel identifying changes in their sustainability reporting after adopting the ESRS. The analysis focuses on materiality assessment, IROs, metrics, calculation methods and identifies the differences between a voluntary early adopter and a first wave mandatory adopter. In conclusion, the thesis assesses the effectiveness of the standards in improving disclosure quality and identifies benefits, limits and areas for further improvement.