How Companies can use Corporate Volunteering to expand their Sustainability Strategy & enrich their CSRD Report

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) imposes new sustainability reporting obligations on many companies in the EU. Corporate volunteering, i.e. the charitable commitment of companies and their employees, can offer real added value. Not only as an enrichment for the CSRD report, but also to establish a practiced sustainability strategy.

In addition to some basic information on the new CSRD directive, we will show how you can use the benefits of corporate volunteering for your company and include your company’s commitment in your CSRD report.

Contents

1. What will change with the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?
2. What role does Corporate Volunteering play in the sustainability strategy?
3. How is Corporate Volunteering included in the CSRD report?
4. Discover the possibilities of Corporate Volunteering with vostel.de

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What will change with the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?

Let’s deal with the hard facts first. Under the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), various companies have been obliged to report on sustainability since 2014. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) expands this significantly, increasing the number of companies subject to reporting requirements across the EU from 11,660 to 49,000. In Germany, there are around 15,000 companies.

Which companies are affected and from when?

This applies to certain large companies, capital market-oriented SMEs and companies from third countries with branches or subsidiaries in the EU. The Social Business Planted.green provides a detailed overview. The CSRD reporting obligation will come into force gradually from 2025, depending on the type and size of the company.

What’s new and what to look out for?

The preparation of CSRD reports is based on the ESG sustainability guidelines for Environmental, Social and Governance and uses the European Sustainability Reporting Standard (ESRS). This defines areas for which data is collected and included along the company’s activities. Valuable tips on what to look out for as well as AI-supported solutions are also offered by Planted.green.

What role does Corporate Volunteering play in the sustainability strategy?

Since the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the latest, sustainability has become a central factor in corporate strategy for more and more companies. This primarily concerns “material” factors, i.e. the question of how processes along the value chain can be made more sustainable and fair. This can be achieved, for example, by conserving resources or improving working conditions.

Corporate volunteering, i.e. the charitable involvement of companies and their employees in social, ecological and cultural projects, can add three important aspects to these “material” factors:

1. Establishment of a corporate culture of social responsibility

As part of Corporate Volunteering programs, companies give their employees the opportunity to get involved individually in e.g. pro bono projects, or together as a team on Social Days. Through this meaningful work, they experience a high degree of self-efficacy and the ability to cooperate between colleagues is strengthened.

This not only has a demonstrably positive effect on motivation and employee loyalty (see Deloitte study), but also helps to establish a corporate culture of social responsibility. The sustainability strategy thus gains greater acceptance and is supported by employees. This is particularly the case when corporate volunteering activities are linked to the sustainability strategy.

2. Promotion of sustainable innovation

Volunteering brings employees into contact with new contexts and topics. This creates new perspectives, enables the development of new skills and can thus be fed back into the company in the form of innovation. Here too, this is particularly the case if the volunteering activities fit in thematically with the company’s sustainability goals.

3. Support for charitable organizations

In addition to the benefits for the company, Corporate Volunteering activities also have a positive impact on the respective non-profit organization and the social area in which it is acting. This is because corporate volunteering activities give them access to company resources (human, financial & network), benefit from the latest expertise and increase the visibility of their work by the company communicating its commitment. In this way, companies and their employees support organizations that create sustainable added value for society.

How is Corporate Volunteering included in the CSRD report?

Corporate volunteering has a positive impact on several levels with regard to ESG criteria.

• ESG area “Social”: Voluntary work by employees promotes the development of skills and personality by gaining new experiences in an important social field and increasing self-efficacy and the ability to cooperate.

• ESG area “Governance”: At the same time, a positive corporate culture is promoted, which is reflected in increased employee motivation and identification with the company.

• ESG area “Environmental”: And, of course, the activities also have a positive impact in the respective area in which the company is involved. For example, in nature and environmental protection or in promoting education or combating poverty.

What makes it special: A well thought-out Corporate Volunteering program helps to make the sustainability strategy in a company tangible at employee level and thus establish it in the long term. The associated positive effects can become an important part of a company’s sustainability strategy and as such can be included in the CSRD report in the areas mentioned.

Discover the possibilities of Corporate Volunteering with vostel.de

At vostel.de, we offer you the opportunity to implement an effective and sustainable Corporate Volunteering program that reflects your corporate values and the interests of your employees. You can keep an eye on the scope and types of commitment at all times via the statistics in your company dashboard and get meaningful reports on all activities as a basis for CSRD reporting.

Are you interested in finding out more about corporate volunteering opportunities with vostel.de? We look forward to hearing from you.

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