Indirect effects of sustainability reporting on Dutch SMEs

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is an EU directive that requires large and listed businesses to, in addition to financial performance, report on environmental, social and governance criteria in their annual reports. The New Finance research group investigates, on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the effects of the CSRD on Dutch small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  

Motive

 The objective of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is to promote transparency and sustainable business practices. Large businesses need to map their impact and they need data from their chain partners, such as suppliers, for this. For example, a supermarket needs to obtain data from the dairy factory, which in turn needs data from dairy farmers. The CSRD therefore affects not only businesses that are themselves required to report, but also their suppliers in the chain. 

Approach 

What indirect effects does the CSRD have on Dutch SMEs? And how well can SMEs in different sectors meet the data requests of larger businesses subject to reporting requirements? We investigate this through sector-wide surveys and case studies in four sectors: agriculture, construction, industry and healthcare. We also research and document the experiences of relevant stakeholders such as employer organisations, trade associations and accountants.

Duration of the project

The project runs from October 2024 to January 2025.

Collaboration partners 

For this research, we work closely with business organisations, foundations and associations, such as VNO-NCW, MKB-Nederland, NBA, SRA, MVO Nederland. In addition, several large and small businesses, industry associations and accounting firms from the agriculture, construction, industrial and healthcare sectors are involved in the project.

Read more

The research report provides insight into the indirect effects of the CSRD on Dutch SMEs. The results help the Ministry of Economic Affairs develop a practical and effective approach to support SMEs in providing and using sustainability information within the chain.

For more information, please read the news item regarding this research, or read the full research report Duurzaamheidsinformatie: De effecten van de CSRD op het mkb (Sustainability information: The effects of the CSRD on SMEs).

Team 

The Hague University of Applied Science – research group New Finance:

• dr. Martijn van der Linden, Professor New Finance
• Ludger Niemann, researcher
• Karl de Vries, researcher
• dr. Sebastiaan Morssinkhof, researcher
• Maaike Snijder, researcher
• Louis Brussee, researcher
• Marleen van Beek, researcher
• Samuel Kernan Freire,
• Mansoor Mubarak, researcher
• Vanita Khoenkhoen, researcher

Contact

Do you want to know more about this project? Please contact:

• dr. Martijn van der Linden, [email protected]
• Ludger Niemann, [email protected]