Deloitte Denmark helps the Carlsberg Group implement new ESG legislation on their journey towards ZERO
As one of the world's leading brewery groups, the Carlsberg Group is taking action and delivering results to meet ambitious ESG targets. A key element on this journey is the implementation of new EU legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). During the implementation of CSRD and related regulation, Deloitte Denmark has assisted the Carlsberg Group with resources, domain knowledge, and highly sought-after interpretation skills to balance basic compliance requirements with a first-mover approach.
Even if you – like the Carlsberg Group – have worked for several years defining, tracking and meeting sustainability goals, it is an ongoing assignment to keep up with legislation. The speed at which new regulatory requirements must be implemented makes it an uphill battle to comply with new standards in time and produce the necessary documentation for internal and external stakeholders.
In the form of added resources and expert insight, Deloitte Denmark has assisted the Carlsberg Group with its ESG reporting. For example, Deloitte Denmark has helped the Carlsberg Group prepare for the EU taxonomy – a sustainability classification system that makes it possible to compare ESG financial KPI’s across industries and countries. Most recently, Deloitte Denmark aided the Carlsberg Group in conducting analyses related to the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) such as a Double Materiality Assessment and a Climate Scenario Risk Analysis. As a part of the CSRD, companies must carry out a Double Materiality Assessment (DMA), which is an analysis that shows the impact the Carlsberg Group’s value chain has on society, and vice versa, the impact society has on the Carlsberg Group’s business.
No manual for the CSRD
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer is Vice President, Global Head of Sustainability and ESG at the Carlsberg Group. He explains that on a general level the DMA serves three purposes.
“First, the DMA presents the methodology we use to thoroughly understand our impact on society and society’s impact on us, which is a crucial step in ensuring our long term ESG targets address our most material risks and impacts. Second, it provides our external stakeholders such as investors, NGOs and journalists certainty that our methodology is robust and reliable enough to bear scrutiny. And lastly, our DMA works as documentation for our Assurance Provider; it is the report that states we work in compliance with the CSRD.”
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer
Senior Director, Group Sustainability at the Carlsberg Group
One of the Carlsberg Group’s most important learnings during the implementation of the CSRD is that it does not come with a manual. It does not provide all the answers on how to implement the Directive, a lot of work needs to be done by the company to interpret and understand the intention of the legislation and apply it to its own business.
“The CSRD is new to everyone, so you cannot just look to someone else and see how they understood the requirements. Therefore, we had to enter in a true partnership with Deloitte’s experts where both sides learned along the way. For instance, the outcome of some of our workshops was a new methodology on how to calculate the impact of the climate risk scenario analyses as well as a thorough methodology on each topical standard to ensure consistency in scoring during the DMA. That level of commitment from Deloitte has been valuable.”
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer
Senior Director, Group Sustainability at the Carlsberg Group
Interpretation skills and international insights
Finn Adser is Finance Director in Group Sustainable Finance at the Carlsberg Group. When he points to where and how Deloitte Denmark has helped them the most, he emphasises the ability to interpret the CSRD text.
“We needed an outside-in perspective on what the CSRD actually means for Carlsberg and not everyone else,” he says. “As a starting point, the CSRD directive has roughly 1,100 data points on how to report. With the assistance of Deloitte, we developed a robust methodology, ensuring that the data points we will report on, are the most critical parameters for us when we look at how society affects our business, and how our business affects society.”
Finn Adser
Finance Director, Group Sustainability at the Carlsberg Group
While he does agree that implementing the CSRD is new to everyone, he also points out that Deloitte Denmark has a large network of both Danish and international experts they frequently consulted during the implementation process.
“It is always nice to compare what you are doing with similar companies to apply best practice where it makes sense. Deloitte has these insights across their clients, and that proved helpful on several occasions.”
Finn Adser
Finance Director, Group Sustainability at the Carlsberg Group
A new management tool
The Carlsberg Group has defined an ambitious strategy for reaching its milestones on sustainability by 2030 and 2040. Together Towards ZERO and Beyond is a programme that addresses the environmental, social and governance topics that are most material to the Carlsberg Group’s business needs and wider society. But as Simon Boas Hoffmeyer says by paraphrasing a famous quote, what you cannot measure, you cannot manage. The only way for the Carlsberg Group to navigate by their defined targets – ZERO Carbon Footprint, ZERO Farming Footprint, ZERO Water Waste, ZERO Packaging Waste, ZERO Irresponsible Drinking, and ZERO Accidents Culture – is to measure progress and follow up with initiatives to close the gap. Through the Climate Risk Scenario Analysis project, Deloitte Denmark supported with advisory services and concrete management tools, allowing the Carlsberg Group to have a sharper and more refined understanding of numerous targets in its global ESG programme.
“We are satisfied with not only the guidance from Deloitte Denmark during the implementation process but also the output of the project. We now have a tool that can modulate different risk and impact scenarios to help us steer in the right direction. And just as important, the tool and the methodology behind it will be used by our organisation going forward, so we have a model we can use throughout the year, without external assistance.”
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer
Senior Director, Group Sustainability at the Carlsberg Group
Finding the balance
Finn Adser is also pleased with the collaboration with Deloitte Denmark, especially in ensuring correct and compliant reporting while the company continues its efforts in driving sustainability leadership through actions towards their targets.
“We do not have endless resources. We cannot just hire 50 new people to work with sustainability. On the other hand, it is important for us to take global challenges seriously and integrate the management of them into our business. This is how we will deliver on our promise to brew for a better today and tomorrow. For me a trusted advisor is someone who knows our business and our products inside out. Someone where you feel like you are one team even though people wear different badges around the neck. In this project with Deloitte, that has been the case."
Finn Adser
Finance Director, Group Sustainability at the Carlsberg Group
