From compliance to strategic integration: the first-year implementation of the CSRD in Europe

This thesis examines the first-year implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, focusing on how companies interpreted the new regulatory framework. The Observatory analysed 131 sustainability statements of Italian companies listed on Euronext Milan and 159 European companies included in the STOXX Europe 600, providing one of the first structured datasets on ESRS-based reporting. The research investigates key dimensions of compliance: report structure, double materiality assessment, identification and disclosure of impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs), application of topical standards, use of transitional provisions and assurance practices. The findings highlight a high degree of formal alignment with ESRS requirements, accompanied by significant heterogeneity in depth, clarity and strategic integration. Italian companies, in particular, produce longer and more detailed reports, with a higher number of material IROs, suggesting a more expansive but sometimes less focused approach. The study shows that while the CSRD has strengthened standardisation and comparability, it has also generated complexity, especially in data collection, value chain assessment and materiality analysis. Overall, the thesis provides an early assessment of the transition from compliance-driven disclosure to a more structured sustainability model, positioning the CSRD as a potential catalyst for organisational transformation rather than a mere reporting obligation.