Materiality assessment: method and examples

What is an ESG materiality assessment?

A materiality assessment, or double materiality analysis under ESRS/CSRD terminology, identifies the environmental, social and governance topics with the greatest impact on a company's business model and on society.

It combines two angles:

1. Impact materiality, which assesses the effects of the company's activities on people and the environment.
2. Financial materiality, which measures how these ESG issues influence the company's performance, risks and opportunities.

This work guides non-financial reporting, strategic priorities and internal mobilization around measurable objectives.

Why is this assessment essential?

A well-conducted materiality assessment ensures the relevance and credibility of an ESG report. It helps to:

• prioritize issues by their real importance;
• justify communication and reporting choices to stakeholders (banks, large clients, regulators);
• align operational priorities with regulatory expectations and international standards.

For SMEs and mid-sized companies, this prioritization is an efficiency lever: it avoids spending resources on secondary topics and makes it easier to implement targeted indicators, including for an EcoVadis or CSR assessment.

Frameworks: a structuring foundation

The GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) frameworks historically defined materiality best practices. The CSRD and its ESRS technical standards, developed by EFRAG, now make it a normative obligation: the report must explain the methodology used and justify the choice of issues covered.

The ESRS sector standards also require this analysis to be documented, validated by governance, illustrated with a double materiality matrix, and reassessed regularly.

A four-step methodology

1. Stakeholder identification

Map internal and external actors: employees, clients, suppliers, investors, NGOs, local authorities. This step captures their expectations and translates them into specific ESG issues.

2. Issue identification and prioritization

List the relevant ESG topics (climate, human rights, diversity, ethics, governance). Assess each one by its impact on society and the environment (impact materiality) and its impact on company performance (financial materiality). This produces a materiality matrix.

3. Validation and consolidation

Management or the CSR committee validates the matrix, ensuring consistency with strategy, governance and commercial priorities. The results are then used to prioritize objectives and set KPIs.

4. Integration into strategy and reporting

The conclusions shape the ESG roadmap: formalized policies, action plan, key indicators. They also structure non-financial reporting by justifying the selection of disclosed data based on materiality.

Assessment and scoring methods

Several prioritization techniques can be combined:

• Quantitative surveys of employees or suppliers to measure how each issue is perceived;
• Qualitative interviews with management and key stakeholders;
• Document analysis of sector reports or recognized frameworks;
• Cross-scoring, comparing the importance rated by stakeholders with the internal analysis.

Results can be visualized on a 2-to-5-level grid, from "not material" to "highly material".

Materiality assessment examples by sector

Manufacturing

The most material issues are energy efficiency, workplace safety and waste management. Client expectations and regulatory risks dominate the prioritization.

Financial services

Players prioritize ethical governance, anti-corruption and the integration of climate criteria into investment decisions. Financial materiality is predominant here.

Services and consulting

Issues focus on human capital (diversity, training, gender balance) and indirect environmental impact (travel, responsible digital). These firms often use internal surveys to weigh social priorities.

Materiality assessment: key takeaways