The Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD) makes companies in the EU subject to successive reporting obligations in various dimensions. Read this article to learn which quantitative data transport and logistics companies are expected to report and how you get started.
The CSRD builds upon the Non-financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) and introduces mandatory reporting requirements according to EU standards. From 1st of January 2026, the scope of application will be extended to large companies which must report covering the entirety of 2025. One year later, small and medium-sized enterprises are affected as well.
The CSRD requires a holistic reporting framework within Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) categories and is mostly based on qualitative information such as the:
- explanation of the climate protection strategy in line with the global 1.5°C target and its interaction with the strategy and business model
- internal system for pricing CO2 and incentivizing savings
- expected impact of physical risks and climate-related opportunities
In this article we focus on carbon accounting as part of the Environmental category. An essential part of the CSRD is the double materiality assessment. This requires companies to analyze both the material impact of the environment on company operations, and vice versa, the impact of company operations on people and the environment.
For more background information on double materiality and CSRD in general, please read “Unveiling CSRD – its ripple effect on transport and logistics”.
What type of quantitative carbon related data do you need to report?
The most important aspect for shippers, carriers and forwarders is that the CSRD emphasizes the scope 3 emissions to cover whole supply chains. Companies must yearly update and report quantitative data covering:
- the energy (and water) consumption and the energy mix, including all company buildings, resources and fleets
- the greenhouse gas emissions that are emitted in scopes 1, 2 and 3 in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Therefore, transport and logistics companies should build up internal know-how, processes, a data model and the traceability of the right kind of data. The reports will be validated externally by official auditors. Information must be submitted digital and machine-readable in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language).
How could you manage your CSRD requirements?
What companies should handle internally (perhaps with consultancy support) is defining core processes, building up expertise in this area and managing the topics of governance strategies and measures.
There are two fields for which support outside the company could make sense:
- processes related to workflow management for regulatory reporting
- internal and partner data collection plus emissions calculations
Many logistics companies tend to not have the technical knowledge to calculate emissions or deal with the issue in detail, create surveys for materiality analysis and automated text snippets.
How can shipzero help you to report in accordance with CSRD?
shipzero enables effective emissions tracking in global freight transportation aligned with international standards like ISO 14083, GLEC 3.0 and GHG Protocol for SBTi and is accredited by the Smart Freight Center. We offer automation of data integration, harmonization of shipment and transport data and constant data quality improvement. This can help organizations to:
- gain data transparency and detailed insights into their own and suppliers’ scope 1,2,3 emissions
- establish GLEC-accredited calculations of transport and logistics emissions for carbon accounting as well as for manual ad hoc analyses or tender processes
- calculate on a shipment basis as well as on aggregated level for the assessment of your company carbon footprint (CCF)
- provide comprehensive data input based on interfaces (TMS/ERP), available data from carriers, sources (IMO number or IATA codes for exact route) or manual uploads (e.g., master data)
- focus on purposes beyond reporting: identification of decarbonization potentials and allocation of CO2 reductions during green freight services
To learn more about CO2 emissions management and what shipzero can do for your company, get in touch with one of our industry experts.
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Sources:
European Commission: Corporate sustainability reporting
European Commission: The European Green Deal – striving to be the first climate-neutral continent
European Union: Non-financial Reporting Directive (NFRD)
European Union: The Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD)
shipzero: Unveiling CSRD – its ripple effect on transport and logistics