What is a double materiality assessment and how do you actually do one?

A double materiality assessment doesn't need to be as intimidating as the consultancies make it seem. Here's a stripped-down approach that works:

Step 1: List your topics (1-2 weeks) — Start with the ESRS topic list and remove anything that's clearly not relevant to your sector. You'll probably end up with 15-20 candidate topics.

Step 2: Impact materiality (2-3 weeks) — For each topic, assess: does your company have actual or potential positive/negative impacts on this topic? Score them on severity and likelihood. Involve operational managers, not just the sustainability team.

Step 3: Financial materiality (2-3 weeks) — For the same topics: could this topic create financial risks or opportunities for your company? Think regulation, market shifts, physical risks. Involve finance and strategy people here.

Step 4: Stakeholder input (2-4 weeks) — The CSRD double materiality assessment explicitly requires stakeholder perspectives. Surveys and interviews with customers, employees, investors, suppliers. Doesn't need to be thousands of responses — quality over quantity.

Step 5: Threshold and documentation (1-2 weeks) — Set your materiality threshold, document your methodology, and produce the materiality matrix.

Total timeline: 8-12 weeks with a small team. The double materiality assessment template from EFRAG's implementation guidance is a useful starting point.

The whole thing is very doable without consultants — you just need to be disciplined about documentation because auditors will review your methodology.