--- title: "How to Write a Sustainability Report: Structure, Standards, Steps" description: What a sustainability statement must contain under ESRS, which standard applies to your company, and the six steps from scoping to sign-off. image: https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/pexels-cluster-images/6693647.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/create-comprehensive-sustainability-report-steps-standards#main-content) [![Fiegenbaum Solutions Logo](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/Branding/Fiegenbaum-Solutions_Logo.svg) ![Fiegenbaum Solutions Logo](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/Branding/Fiegenbaum-Solutions_Logo.svg)](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/?hsLang=en) - Services - [Climate Risk Assessment](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/climate-risk-analysis-for-companies) - [VSME Report](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/vsme-reporting-for-smes) - [ESG Due Diligence VCs & Series A+](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/esg-due-diligence-vcs-series-a-startups) - [Product Carbon Footprint](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/product-carbon-footprint-lifecycle-assessment) - [Corporate Carbon Footprint](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/company-carbon-footprint-methods-tools-best-practice) - Solutions - [Materiality Screening](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/double-materiality-analysis-definition-process-best-practice#fs-screening) - [Atlas](https://atlas.fiegenbaum.solutions/en) - [Load Profile Check](https://atlas.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/lastgang-check) - [Pricing](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/esg-climate-consulting-fixed-prices-carbon-footprint-vsme-due-diligence-climate-risk) - [About me](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/about-me) - [Blog](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog) - [Contact](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/contact) ###### 9 min read # How to Create a Comprehensive Sustainability Report: Key Steps and Standards By: [Johannes Fiegenbaum](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/author/johannes-fiegenbaum) on 5/21/25, 10:15 AM · Last updated October 1, 2026 [VSME](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/tag/vsme) [ESRS & Omnibus](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/tag/esrs-omnibus) ![Stack of clipped financial reports with charts on a wooden desk](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/pexels-cluster-images/6693647.jpg) A sustainability report is not just a legal obligation for [companies](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/climatetech-2025-german-startups-co2-eu-compliance?hsLang=en), it’s also a tool to create transparency and strengthen market position. Here you’ll find the key steps and requirements: Under EU law the document has a name and a place: it is the sustainability statement, and it sits inside the management report. This guide follows one path from scoping to sign-off, and covers what the statement must contain, which standard applies to your company, and the questions that come up most often when sustainability reports are drafted for the first time. **Contents** 1. [What a sustainability statement contains](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/create-comprehensive-sustainability-report-steps-standards#what-it-contains) 2. [How to write a sustainability report: six steps from scoping to sign-off](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/create-comprehensive-sustainability-report-steps-standards#six-steps) 3. [Which standard applies to your company](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/create-comprehensive-sustainability-report-steps-standards#which-standard) 4. [FAQ on Sustainability Reporting](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/create-comprehensive-sustainability-report-steps-standards#faq-on-sustainability-reporting) ## What a sustainability statement contains Under the ESRS the report is not a standalone brochure. It is a clearly identifiable section of the management report, and the official term is the **sustainability statement**. That distinction matters in practice: it sets the filing location, the assurance scope and the digital tagging obligation, and it is the reason a designed PDF alone no longer satisfies the requirement. The contents follow a fixed spine. Two standards apply to everyone in scope, and the topical standards attach only where your double materiality assessment says they do. | Block | What goes in it | Applies to | | --- | --- | --- | | ESRS 1, general requirements | Reporting boundary, value chain treatment, time horizons, how estimates and comparatives are handled | Everyone in scope | | ESRS 2, general disclosures | Basis for preparation, governance, strategy and business model, and the impact, risk and opportunity process | Everyone in scope | | E1 to E5, environment | Climate, pollution, water, biodiversity, resource use and circular economy | Where material | | S1 to S4, social | Own workforce, workers in the value chain, affected communities, consumers and end users | Where material | | G1, governance | Business conduct, corruption, payment practices, political influence | Where material | Within each material topic the structure repeats: the policy you have, the actions you are taking, the targets you have set, and the metrics that show movement. A topic where you have a metric but no target, or a target but no action, reads as incomplete to an assurance provider, and that pattern is the single most common finding in first-year statements. One asymmetry to plan for. Reporting that a topic is *not* material still requires you to say so and to show how you concluded it. Companies routinely budget for the material topics and forget that the negative conclusions need the same evidence trail. Have this ready before you start drafting: - **Company profile**: business model, locations, number of employees. - **Sustainability strategy**: goals, timeline, responsibilities. - **The double materiality assessment** and the documented reasoning behind every topic you keep and every topic you drop. - **Policy, actions, targets and metrics** for each material topic. - **Key figures**: CO₂ emissions (t), energy consumption (kWh), [water consumption (m³)](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-water-climate-risk-reporting-germany?hsLang=en), waste generated (t), employee turnover (%). If you are a smaller company reporting because a customer or a bank asked, not because the law requires it, the structure above is more than you need. The voluntary standard for non-listed SMEs is the proportionate route, and the [VSME guide](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/sustainability-reporting-vsme-standard-smes?hsLang=en) sets out what it asks for instead. ## How to write a sustainability report: six steps from scoping to sign-off Six steps, and the order saves the most time. Assemble a team from various departments familiar with your company’s sustainability [strategy](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/stakeholder-feedback-esg-strategy-integration?hsLang=en). This team selects the reporting standard and sets the strategic direction. 1. **Fix the scope**: which entities, which sites, which reporting year. 2. **Decide the standard** before collecting anything, because it determines the data model. 3. **Run the materiality step** to cut the topic list to what actually matters: context analysis, identification of material impacts, stakeholder engagement through surveys or workshops, then the assessment itself. 4. **Collect against a metric dictionary** that fixes definition, unit, boundary and owner per figure. 5. **Draft around the decisions** the data supports, not around the standard’s table of contents. 6. **Review for claims** that outrun the evidence, then have the statement reviewed internally and externally before sign-off. Most delays come from starting at step four. Plan the collection order around what is actually available rather than around the standard’s sequence: energy and fleet data arrive first, because someone in the company already invoices them, while Scope 3 categories and workforce breakdowns arrive last and are what decide your timeline. One position on the shortcut everyone asks about. An AI-generated materiality analysis is a starting point, not an audit-proof result. It can propose a topic list, but it cannot show an assurance provider how you concluded that a topic is not material, and that is the part that gets tested. For the assessment step itself, the [materiality assessment guide](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/materiality-assessment-smes-esg-compliance-growth?hsLang=en) covers the method, and [the core ESG metrics](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/7-key-esg-metrics-2025?hsLang=en) shows which figures carry weight once the topics are fixed. ## Which standard applies to your company The choice is not a matter of preference. It follows from your legal scope, and only where no obligation applies do you get to pick. | Standard | Who it is for | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | ESRS | Companies inside the CSRD scope in the EU | Mandatory, machine-readable, part of the management report, externally assured | | VSME | Non-listed SMEs reporting voluntarily or because a customer or bank asked | Proportionate European route, no assurance obligation | | [GRI](https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/) | Organisations reporting internationally, inside or outside EU scope | Global recognition, economic, environmental and social aspects | | DNK | German companies reporting voluntarily | National platform, with VSME as the content standard | The [ESRS](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/a-complete-overview-of-esrs-standards-key-reporting-guidelines-for-corporate-sustainability-under-csrd?hsLang=en) were developed specifically for the EU and are mandatory for [large](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/esg-integration-csrd-reporting-medium-sized-companies-2025?hsLang=en) companies under the CSRD. It asks for double materiality, covering both financial [risks](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/blog/csrd-climate-risk-reporting-companies-2026-eu?hsLang=en) and impacts on the environment and society. The size thresholds and first reporting years were revised in 2026, so check the current directive text before you assume you are in or out of scope. The German Sustainability Code (DNK) is a national framework long used by German companies reporting voluntarily. Its role has shifted: since 2 March 2026 the DNK offers a VSME module, and existing users are migrating onto the voluntary European standard rather than maintaining a separate national format. If you are choosing a route today, treat the DNK as the platform and VSME as the content standard. ## FAQ on Sustainability Reporting 1\. What should a company sustainability report contain? Five blocks carry most standards: governance (who is responsible and how it is overseen), material topics with the reasoning behind the selection, targets and the progress against them, the quantitative KPIs with their methodology, and the risks and opportunities the company sees. Beyond that, the differentiator is not completeness but traceability: every figure should be walkable back to its source, because that is what an assurance provider and a sceptical reader both test first. 2\. What is the difference between CSRD, ESRS, and GRI? CSRD defines reporting obligations, ESRS specifies EU-wide standards, and GRI is a global standard used internationally for ESG reporting. 3\. What are the benefits of external auditing for sustainability reports? External audits enhance credibility, ensure compliance, and identify areas for improvement. Under CSRD, they are mandatory. 4\. How often should a sustainability report be published? Typically, reports are published annually, aligned with the financial reporting cycle. 5\. What is “double materiality” and why is it important? It means reporting on both how sustainability affects the company and how the company affects the environment and society. 6\. How can SMEs approach sustainability reporting? SMEs can start with simplified frameworks, prioritise material topics, and use digital tools to reduce effort and cost. Next step Turn climate risk or ESG data into a decision? In a 30-minute intro call we map where your biggest lever is, with no obligation. [Book an intro call](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/contact?hsLang=en) ![Johannes Fiegenbaum](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/hubfs/Johannes_07-modified.png) ### Johannes Fiegenbaum ESG and sustainability consultant based in Hamburg, specialised in VSME reporting, carbon accounting and climate risk analysis. Works with mid-sized companies, investors and financial institutions, and developed the VSME reporting software VSEasy together with clients. [More about](https://www.fiegenbaum.solutions/en/about-me?hsLang=en) Related articles ## You may also like ### [Carbon Accounting & Scope 3 LCA Methodologies in Practice: A Guide to Sustainable Product Development Choosing a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is a decision about which standard the result has to survive. ISO 14040 and 14044 set the frame, the EU Product Environmental ... 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