A study of EU companies’ 2023 integrated annual reports found a “a relatively low average level of compliance with the ESRS”.
The study was undertaken by Nicola Raimo (LUM University), Vitiana L'Abate (University of Sannio), Daniela Sica (San Raffaele University of Rome) and Filippo Vitolla (LUM University), and published in the business science journal ‘Management Decision’.
The assessment of 166 reports that referenced the Integrated Reporting (<IR>) Framework found that, on average, they did not include all the information required by the EU standards.
The study reads: “This discrepancy arises primarily because, while the <IR> framework is highly advanced in promoting an integrated approach to reporting, it was not specifically designed to meet the more detailed and prescriptive requirements set out by the ESRS. The relatively low average suggests that many companies have not yet collected or disclosed the comprehensive information necessary to achieve full compliance with the upcoming CSRD obligations.”
In addition, the research found that larger companies and firms in more environmentally sensitive industries had a higher level of ESRS compliance in their 2023 integrated reports.
