We are proud to share KPMG N.V.’s first sustainability statement prepared in accordance with European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and in compliance with the reporting requirements provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation).
At KPMG N.V., we aim to lead by example: we want to present our stakeholders with a sustainability statement that is prepared in accordance with the first set of ESRS adopted by the European Union (EU) and supports us in reporting transparently on our performance today and our goals for the future. With the CSRD (which mandates the use of the ESRS) expected to be transposed into national law in early 2025, we have chosen to comply voluntarily. Implementation of the CSRD was challenging but extremely valuable; many people contributed directly, and many others became more aware of our sustainability performance and areas for improvement. While – like many of our clients – we faced some difficulties in preparing our sustainability statement, we see the process as a learning opportunity and an important part of our sustainability journey.
We consider ourselves ready to report on our sustainability matters today; nevertheless, informed by the challenges we have experienced, we have identified areas for improvement regarding the availability and quality of data. We have therefore initiated projects to enable us to increase availability and efficiency in collecting the relevant data that allow us to steer and improve our sustainability performance.
While our 2023/2024 double materiality assessment (DMA) did not reveal new sustainability matters compared to those discussed in our 2022/2023 integrated report, it did result in more precise definitions and reporting requirements. See Reference table for an ESRS content index that presents an overview of all our in-scope ESRS disclosure requirements. The DMA is subject to continuous monitoring to ensure it reflects new insights or developments in our sustainability matters in the coming years.
This statement encompasses all aspects of our organization, from the scope of consolidation to the nuances of our value chain. It has been prepared on a consolidated basis. The scope of consolidation mirrors that of our financial statements, ensuring consistency and completeness in our reporting. Our sustainability statement covers sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities (IROs) in our own operations as well as upstream and downstream in our value chain. This was considered both during the DMA and when identifying policies, actions, and targets and, when applicable, disclosing metrics. Although we recognize that entity specific disclosures may limit comparability between undertakings, we have included twenty-one entity-specific metrics, consisting of fifteen metrics related to our entity specific topic Audit Quality (the Audit Quality Indicators) and six own-workforce related metrics. These entity-specific metrics are included to support our stakeholders to better understand our impacts and performance on the related sustainability matter.
Considerations on the CSRD and assurance on sustainability statement
As we have voluntarily implemented the CSRD even before the Directive has been adopted in national law and with public implementation guidance still being published, we are aware that the preparation of our sustainability statement is subject to company-specific and temporary interpretations associated with this early adoption. While we prepared this sustainability statement based on the first set of ESRS, we recognize that a better understanding of the requirements may evolve when additional implementation guidance or Q&As are made available by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). We also realize that information available for assessing certain industry benchmarks is limited and that this information will only emerge as the number of reporting organizations increases and reporting practices become more established.
In addition to the statutory audit of the financial statements, we have voluntarily asked our auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V., to provide limited assurance on our sustainability statement. The assurance report of the independent auditor is presented here (new window) in this integrated report.
Key policies and key actions
The ESRS refer to “key policies” and “key actions” in many disclosure requirements. We consider key policies and key actions to be those that drive significant, material change regarding the sustainability matters that matter most for our stakeholders.