What is a double materiality assessment ?
Double materiality is an assessment method that evaluates two dimensions at the same time: the impact of your activities on the environment and society (impact materiality), and the impact of sustainability matters on your company’s financial value (financial materiality).
Why should an SME carry out a double materiality assessment?
Double materiality is not just for large companies subject to the CSRD. For an SME, it is above all a strategic management tool: of all the CSR issues being discussed, which ones really affect our business and our environment?
In practice, a double materiality assessment helps you:
- Prioritise your CSR investments by focusing your resources on the issues that really matter for your sector, your value chain and your stakeholders, rather than on a generic list of good practices
- Respond to requests from your large customers who, being subject to the CSRD, need ESG data from their SME suppliers to complete their own reporting
- Improve your access to financing by giving banks and investors a structured view of your sustainability risks and opportunities
- Anticipate physical and transition risks related to climate change, regulatory developments and societal expectations before they affect your financial value
- Engage your teams and management around a shared vision of what matters for your company’s future
Prioritised CSR issues and a clear assessment to share with your stakeholders
Scoping and team awareness
We start by aligning your teams on the purpose and value of the exercise: what double materiality is, what it concretely does for an SME, and which deliverables you will receive. Together, we define the scope of the assessment (own operations and value chain) and map your relevant internal and external stakeholders.
Identifying the impacts, risks and opportunities related to your activities
We use two tools to make this exercise concrete and engaging for your teams:
- Through a scenario-based stress-test workshop, we explore the major shocks that could affect your value chain (climate, regulatory, societal, economic) and identify together the levers to strengthen your organisation's robustness.
- Through Acct For Now's "Our CSR Issues" card game, we identify all the impacts, risks and opportunities of your activities in a fun, collaborative way, involving a range of profiles to enrich and cross-check perspectives.
Formalising the double materiality matrix
We consolidate the results into a double materiality matrix validated with your management. Each material topic is documented and justified, so the matrix can be defended before your stakeholders, auditors or investors if needed. You leave with a clear, prioritised deliverable that is ready to use to prioritise your CSR roadmap.Our Strengths
A CSR strategy firm specialising in SMEs
With more than 90 companies supported every year, Act For Now has in-depth knowledge of the CSR issues specific to SMEs and mid-caps. Our double materiality assessments build on concrete sector benchmarks, so you don't have to start from a blank page to identify your risks and opportunities.
An approach linked to your other CSR projects
Your double materiality assessment fits naturally with your other CSR initiatives: it feeds into your VSME compliance and your EcoVadis assessment. One assessment, several frameworks covered.They already trust us
We support each year 100 companies boosting their CSR strategy.
A big thank you to the Act For Now teams for their support throughout this process, which helped us earn the EcoVadis Gold Medal! Estelle and Charlotte combined expertise, clear teaching and close support, making a sometimes complex exercise much more accessible. Not to mention a clear, effective platform that makes day-to-day management of the process much easier. Thank you to the whole team for this high-quality support.
A very attentive team that adapts to the company's needs, knowledge and objectives. Thank you for helping us progress and for helping bring the management team on board. Thanks to you, our initial objectives have been exceeded.
Fully satisfied with the approach, follow-up and tailored advice, which helped us make great progress in structuring our CSR program. It helps us communicate better, but above all it made us step back to prioritise our actions and build a timeline. A very professional approach from the consultant.
We have worked with Act for Now for the third year in a row and are fully satisfied. The proposed support is very well structured, with clear organisation and intuitive tools that make the process much easier. The team that supported us throughout the project was particularly attentive and available.
Delighted to have been supported by Act For Now: a professional, available and attentive team throughout the project. The support was high-quality and challenging, in a positive way. Thanks to their help, we earned the Platinum medal on our very first assessment! A result beyond our expectations and a source of great pride for our employees. Many thanks for this effective and enjoyable collaboration.
Your expertise, commitment and responsiveness played a decisive role in the success of this engagement. Thanks to your rigorous support and sound advice, we were able to structure and showcase our CSR actions as effectively as possible, which allowed us to achieve this level of recognition.
Frequently asked questions
What does double materiality assessment mean for an SME?
It is an assessment method that helps you identify, among all possible CSR issues, those that have a real impact on the environment and society, and those that create risks or opportunities for your financial performance. It is the compass that points your CSR strategy towards what really matters for your company and your stakeholders.
Is double materiality assessment mandatory for an SME?
No. Double materiality is mandatory for large companies subject to the CSRD. For an unlisted SME, it is voluntary, but strategically recommended if you want to structure your CSR approach, respond to requests from your large customers or improve your access to financing.
How long does the support take?
Usually 4 to 6 weeks for an SME, depending on the complexity of your value chain and the number of stakeholders involved. We set a precise timeline when scoping the project.
What is the difference between a materiality assessment and a double materiality assessment?
A single materiality assessment identifies the CSR issues that matter to your company based only on your stakeholders' expectations. Double materiality combines impact materiality and financial materiality to give you a complete view of your company's sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities.
Can the deliverable be used for EcoVadis or the VS?
Yes. Your double materiality matrix feeds directly into your EcoVadis approach and provides the foundation for your VSME sustainability report if you want to go further. We coordinate these approaches to avoid any duplication in data collection.
Should the whole management team be involved?
Ideally yes, at least for final validation. This is what makes the matrix owned internally and credible externally. Our workshops are designed to be accessible to non-CSR specialists, including executive committee members who are new to the topic.
Our team
From our offices in France, we work alongside international clients remotely. Video workshops and shared working tools allow us to understand your operations and challenges in depth, and to design a robust and pragmatic CSR approach tailored to your context. We help you embed CSR in your strategy, decarbonize your operations and upskill your employees.
Ready to get results and boost your CSR Strategy ?
Schedule a meeting with one of our CSR experts to build your initial diagnosis.