Double Materiality under the CSRD for Strategic Decision-Making towards Sustainability

As humanity faces an unprecedented sustainability challenge, Sustainability Reporting and Double Materiality Assessment (DMA) have emerged as tools intended to help the corporate sector address it, yet their effectiveness in driving companies toward systemic, systematic and strategic change towards sustainability remains unclear. Therefore, this thesis explores how companies utilize DMA within sustainability reporting frameworks, examining whether these assessments drive strategic decision-making towards sustainability or merely satisfy regulatory requirements. To address this aim, a two-phase approach was employed. First, a systematic literature review of 24 peer-reviewed scientific articles established the theoretical foundation for the concept of double materiality. Second, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with corporate sustainability specialists and external sustainability consultants, to gather experiential data on implementation approaches, methodological innovations, and strategic integration efforts. The study presents an overview of the implementation challenges and proposes potential solutions. The discussion evaluates strengths and weaknesses of DMA through an SSD lens and argues how DMA can be integrated within the FSSD as a tool for strategic decision making. Finally, it is argued that companies are urged to adopt long-term thinking and embrace the DMA strategic potential as a diagnostic gateway for strategic sustainability planning and decision-making.