CSR and ESG Strategy
Align responsibility, regulatory expectations and business priorities into one credible strategy.
Why this matters now
For most boards, ESG has stopped being a reputation file. It is now a cluster of separate, hard-edged conversations: regulators (CSRD, CSDDD, taxonomy alignment), capital markets (the diligence questionnaires that gate funding), customers writing supplier codes, employees who left to work somewhere with a clearer position. We help corporate teams turn that pressure into one strategy that holds up under audit and that the operating units can run without translation.
What this includes
Materiality and stakeholder logic
Double-materiality assessment with a defensible evidence trail — financial materiality for the audit committee, impact materiality for stakeholders, plus the topic prioritisation matrix that drives the rest of the work.
CSR / ESG portfolio design
The shortlist of programmes the company will actually fund, with a clear theory of change for each, owners across business units, and a budget envelope that finance can sign off.
Governance and reporting roadmap
The committee structure, the role of the board, who owns disclosure, what metrics get tracked, and how the year is sequenced so reports build on each other instead of being rewritten in panic each spring.
Implementation plan
The first 100 days, the first 12 months, the leading indicators, and the early-warning triggers for each programme — including what gets scaled, paused, or stopped.
What you receive
Materiality matrix
Topics ranked on financial and impact axes, with the source data and stakeholder evidence behind each placement.
ESG strategy document
Board-grade strategy, 25–40 pages, written for use rather than archive, with the disclosure roadmap built in.
Reporting playbook
A repeatable cycle for CSRD/ESRS, GRI, SASB and TCFD outputs with metric definitions, owners, and quality gates.
Quarterly tracking model
A short, honest dashboard finance and the audit committee can rely on — leading indicators, lagging indicators, and what changed.
How we work
Diagnostic
Two weeks. We read what already exists, talk to internal stakeholders, and write back what is solvable, what is not, and where the real risk sits.
Co-design
Four to six weeks. Working sessions with the audit committee, sustainability lead, finance, HR, and operations — until the strategy is internally signed off.
Implementation set-up
Three to four weeks. Governance live, KPIs in the system of record, first reporting cycle scheduled.
Quarterly review
Continuing. Independent review of progress, board-level read-out, and adjustments before they become problems.
Indicators of success
Audit readiness
CSRD-ready disclosure file with traceability from each metric back to the source system.
Capital access
ESG-linked credit and supplier finance terms reflect the new position; investor diligence cycles shorten.
Internal signal
Operating teams can answer ESG questions from customers and regulators without escalating to the centre.
Programme depth
At least three impact programmes funded, owned, and tracking against published targets.
Common questions
Do we already have what we need?
Often, yes — half the materials a serious ESG file needs already exists in finance, HR, EHS, and procurement. The job is to consolidate, fill the gaps, and put governance around it. We will tell you on day fifteen whether you are closer to ‘publish’ or ‘rebuild’.
How is this different from a sustainability report?
A report is one output. The strategy decides what gets reported, what gets defended in a regulator meeting, and what stops being a programme.
Who owns this internally?
Almost always: a small steering group around the audit committee or strategy office, with clear delivery owners in each business unit. We help you stand it up; we do not run it forever.
Discuss the next step
Describe the task, deadline and context. We will suggest the first practical route.