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Double materiality in european water-sector companies: evidence from the first application of the european sustainability reporting standards

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dc.contributor.authorMarín-Hernández, Salvador
dc.contributor.authorFernández-Martínez, Pascual
dc.contributor.authorOrtiz-Martínez, Esther
dc.contributor.departmentEconomía Financiera y Contabilidad
dc.contributor.otherFacultad de Economía y Empresa
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-08T06:06:25Z
dc.date.available2026-07-08T06:06:25Z
dc.date.copyright© 2026 by the authors
dc.date.issued2026-06-29
dc.description.abstractThe use of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) represents a major change in corporate sustainability reporting, particularly through the formalisation of the double materiality principle. Despite its regulatory relevance, empirical evidence on how organisations disclose double materiality remains limited, especially during the first reporting cycle. This study provides early empirical indicative evidence on the application of double materiality in disclosure following the initial ESRS reporting. It examines how leading European water-sector companies and environmental service providers with urban water activities integrated this approach into their 2024 sustainability disclosures. A mixed-methods design is applied, combining qualitative content analysis with descriptive quantitative checks of sustainability, ESG, and integrated reports. The disclosed material topics are assessed against the ESRS thematic framework. The findings indicate a strong convergence on the key environmental issues reported, notably climate change, water management, and circular economy-disclosed practices, including companies not yet fully subject to ESRS requirements. In contrast, social and governance disclosures suggest greater heterogeneity. Overall, the results suggest that broader material coverage does not necessarily imply higher information quality, as this reflects the breadth of disclosure rather than its quality, reinforcing double materiality as a sector-driven prioritisation mechanism.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.format.extent20
dc.identifier.citationWorld 2026, 7, 106
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/world7070106
dc.identifier.eissn2673-4060
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10201/242141
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.relationThis research is a result of the project 00226_CJI_2026 financed by the Universidad Tecnológica Atlántico-Mediterráneo (UTAMED).
dc.relation.publisherversionhttps://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/7/7/106
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.accessRightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectCSRD
dc.subjectESRS
dc.subjectUrban water sector
dc.subjectSustainability reporting
dc.subjectDouble materiality
dc.subject.odsNo relacionado con ningún objetivo de desarrollo sostenible
dc.titleDouble materiality in european water-sector companies: evidence from the first application of the european sustainability reporting standards
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dspace.entity.typePublicationes
relation.isAuthorOfPublication33bcecbf-1a15-4164-b7c1-63deef93db0f
relation.isAuthorOfPublication6c43e4a9-47b6-48e3-bf5b-36fd8271dfa5
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery33bcecbf-1a15-4164-b7c1-63deef93db0f
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