CSRD Reports Uncovered: Benchmarking the First Wave of 2025 Disclosures

Introduction

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has moved from regulation on paper to disclosure in practice. Datamaran analyzed the first wave of CSRD-aligned sustainability reports from 304 companies across 21 countries and 57 industries, surfacing over 11,000 impacts, risks, and opportunities disclosed under the new standards.

This report benchmarks how early reporters are interpreting double materiality, structuring their disclosures, and closing the gap between compliance and genuine governance.

What the first wave of CSRD Reports reveals

Early CSRD reporters are not treating double materiality as a checkbox exercise. Companies are disclosing a wide range of impacts, risks, and opportunities across environmental, social, and governance topics, with material variation by sector in which ESRS topics carry the most weight.

The strongest reports treat CSRD as a governance signal, not just a compliance deliverable, linking disclosed IROs directly to board oversight, risk management, and strategy. That link between disclosure and decision-making is what separates a defensible report from a compliance exercise.

What this report covers

This report covers:

• Which ESRS topics are most and least reported, and what that signals about assurance readiness
• How sector context shapes interpretation of double materiality and IRO disclosure
• Where early reporters are getting disclosure right, and where blind spots remain
• Strategic insights for moving from compliance to competitive advantage

Conclusion

The first wave of CSRD reports sets a benchmark other companies will be measured against, whether they intend it or not. Investors, regulators, and peers are already comparing disclosures across sectors and geographies.

Download the full report to see the complete benchmark data and put your own disclosures in context.