ESRS Training: Awareness and Practitioner Courses – Fit for CSRD

In 2024, the CSRD regulation will come into force. The directive requires large companies to report on the basis of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The requirements of the ESRS standards go far beyond the existing non-financial reporting requirements (including NFRD). They also differ in significant ways from established standards, such as the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). 

Because of the sheer volume and complexity of the requirements, it is recommended that affected companies prepare for the ESRS requirements early on, to make their data collection and reporting structures ESRS-compliant, and to allocate sufficient resources. 

With our comprehensive training offer around ESRS and CSRD we support companies on their way to CSRD compliance. All training courses are delivered in cooperation between DQS and DFGE. Participants benefit from the combined expertise of DFGE as a hands-on consulting partner and DQS as a recognized external auditor of sustainability reports and ESG indicators. In addition, our experience as a GRI Certified Training Partner enables us to dig deeper into the relationship between the GRI and ESRS standards. 

Awareness Training Course ESRS & CSRD

During this four-hour introductory training course, our trainers will provide you with a high-level understanding of the impact of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The course is aimed at management staff whose areas of responsibility are affected by the CSRD, but who do not themselves take an active role in sustainability reporting.

The training course covers includes the following topics: 

i.    Legal framework: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
ii.    Overview of ESRS - Standards: Presentation of essential contents
iii.    Identification of indicators
iv.    Data collection - practical tips
v.     External Assurance (Audit) 
vi.    The road to CSRD compliance
vii.    Outlook

The awareness training is available on the dates below, or as an in-house training course on a date of your choosing. 

Practitioner Training Course ESRS & CSRD

This training is aimed at everyone who is actively involved in sustainability reporting. With a training duration of 16 hours, the practitioner training is significantly more comprehensive and in-depth than the awareness training. In particular, the case studies help to make the requirements of ESRS more tangible. 

In addition to the content of the awareness training, the practitioner training goes into more detail on the most challenging topics, such as the corporate carbon footprint, scenario analyses, transition plans, and ESG opportunities and risks. 

i.    Legal framework: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
ii.    Overview of ESRS - Standards: Presentation of essential contents
iii.    Identification of indicators
iv.    Data collection - practical tips
v.     External Assurance (Audit)
vi.    The road to CSRD compliance
vii.  Common reporting pitfalls: CCF, Transition Plans, Materiality Assessment, Scenario-Analysis, ESG Risks and Opportunities
viii.    Outlook

In-House Training ESRS and CSRD

Upon request, both trainings courses can also be offered in-house. Especially for the training of larger teams, it can be advantageous to conduct the ESRS trainings in-company. Both courses are available in Germany and in other EU countries, in English and German. 

Competence of the Instructors

The combined expertise of DFGE and DQS has resulted in a training program that approaches the complexity of legal requirements from a practical business perspective. For ten years, DQS has been active as a recognized auditing company and assurance provider for sustainability reporting. In 2016, DQS was certified as the only GRI training partner in Germany at that time. DFGE - Institute for Energy, Ecology and Economy - also has many years of experience in sustainability reporting and impresses with holistic, science-based approaches. The company was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the Technical University of Munich and still stands for transparent and science-based solutions today.