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In March 2024 Newsletter
Double Materiality Analysis
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) represents a significant milestone in sustainability reporting for companies operating within the European Union. By expanding and detailing the disclosure requirements, the CSRD aims to address critical gaps in corporate transparency and accountability regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
The importance of the CSRD for companies lies in several aspects. Firstly, the Directive proposes a broader scope than the previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), covering a larger number of companies, meaning more organizations will be required to integrate ESG considerations into their strategies and operations, promoting a more holistic approach to sustainability. Moreover, through mandatory reporting based on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), the CSRD seeks to establish common standards and requirements for disclosure, promoting greater consistency, uniformity, and comparability among corporate sustainability reports.
This standardization is crucial to facilitate analysis and evaluation by investors, analysts, and other stakeholders, allowing for a better understanding of companies' performance in sustainability themes. By setting stricter disclosure standards and ensuring the accuracy, uniformity, and reliability of the information provided through the use of ESRS, the Directive contributes to building a more sustainable and resilient economy, aligned with the goals of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development.
Double Materiality analysis emerges as one of the requirements for CSRD reporting, envisaged in ESRS 1 – General Requirements. Based on this analysis, which assesses the impact of the company's activities on the environment and society (inside-out perspective) and the financial impact of sustainability issues on financial outcomes (outside-in perspective), companies will identify the material themes they must report on. These themes are defined in the topics and subtopics addressed by the different ESRS.
In this context, we highlight in this edition the case of three companies from the Observatory that have already disclosed their double materiality analyses, as a way to inspire other companies that are in the process of conducting their own analyses.
CUF
In 2022, CUF conducted a review of its materiality exercise in compliance with the CSRD. It used an approach that considers both the materiality of impact, i.e., the identification of environmental and/or social themes that the company can impact directly or indirectly (through its value chain), and financial materiality, which involves the identification of material themes capable of influencing the company's financial results, generating risks or opportunities.
According to CUF's 2022 Integrated Report, the materiality process followed a four-stage methodology, beginning with a benchmark analysis (first stage), where sustainability trends in the healthcare sector and the identification of the organization's material themes and stakeholders were recognized. These themes were then subjected to stakeholder evaluation during the following consultation stage (second stage). The themes were subsequently validated by internal experts in the third stage before being verified and approved by CUF's management, to achieve the final result of the materiality matrix (fourth stage).
Fifteen Material Topics were identified, organized under environmental, social, and governance aspects, according to the ESG framework. These themes were aligned with CUF's Strategic Aspirations for 2021-2025 and intersected with the SDGs and their respective targets, demonstrating CUF's contribution to the 2030 Agenda in a framework that constitutes the strategic reference for the company and its guide to sustainable development.
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Source: Integrated Report 2022, CUF, page 33
The Navigator Company
In 2022, The Navigator Company conducted a double materiality analysis, building on the materiality analysis previously performed. According to the 2022 Sustainability Report, Navigator's double materiality analysis process was carried out in four stages:
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Identification of information, through consultation and analysis of internal and external documents that allowed for mapping trends and identifying challenges in the sector;
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Engagement of experts for the impact materiality analysis, through the identification and assessment of the impacts of Navigator's activities on different sustainability themes, followed by evaluation by internal and external experts; and the financial materiality analysis, through the identification and assessment of the risks and opportunities that different sustainability themes may pose to the company's value generation capacity, conducted by the team of Directors;
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Analysis and prioritization of results, performed through joint reflection by the Sustainability Directorate and an external team with the objective of prioritizing the identified themes;
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Validation by the Executive Committee, which analyzed the list of topics to decide which were most relevant to the company's strategy.
The results of the two analyses—impact materiality and financial materiality—were cross-referenced in a matrix format, resulting in a list of topics that was validated by the Executive Committee in light of the company's strategic ESG priorities.
The topics, identified as Strategic or Relevant, were organized under Navigator's two major operational axes, "For Society" and "For Climate and Nature". Finally, Navigator's 2030 Agenda, which presents the company's commitments and reflects its strategic positioning, was adjusted to mirror this reflection. The company's contribution to the SDGs is incorporated in this Agenda, which identifies the core SDGs for the company and the respective targets to which it contributes through the development of its activities.
Mota-Engil Group
The Mota-Engil Group also carried out a double materiality exercise in four stages:
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Context analysis, through mapping trends and sustainability topics that reflect the real and potential impacts of the company;
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Mapping and engagement of stakeholders, who, through workshops, interviews, and questionnaires, validated the list of sustainability topics identified in the first stage, from an inside-out perspective (assessment of the impacts of business activities on the economy, environment, and people) and an outside-in perspective (prioritization of the topics that most impact Mota-Engil's value generation capacity);
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Preparation of the materiality matrix;
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Validation and final approval of the topics by the CEO and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Eighteen material topics were selected.
The results of this double materiality exercise provide a solid foundation for the strategic revisitation and alignment of Mota-Engil for the coming years, in addition to setting new objectives. It is within this strategic plan that Mota-Engil commits to the 2030 Agenda, by mapping the SDGs that intersect with its strategic objectives.
These cases practically illustrate how companies from different sectors are conducting their double materiality analysis and identifying and selecting material themes for their strategy and operations. These themes will later be reported through the ESRS, contributing comprehensively to the advancement of Sustainable Development through the articulation and reporting of different sustainability topics with the SDGs within the organizations.
in Newsletter Fevereiro 2024
Lançado em 2016 e agora na sua sexta edição, o Protechting é um programa de inovação aberta promovido pela Fábrica de Startups e liderado conjuntamente pela Fidelidade, Hospital da Luz Learning Health e Fosun.
O objetivo do programa, que conecta startups com parceiros, é promover a inovação em três vertentes:
- Healthtechs, através do desenvolvimento de produtos e serviços de saúde utilizando tecnologia;
- Insurtech, através de nova tecnologia de seguros projetada para melhorar a experiência do cliente;
- Beyond insurance and tech-enablers, através do desenvolvimento de ferramentas, plataformas ou tecnologias inovadoras que facilitem e impulsionem a transformação digital, melhorando a eficiência, produtividade e experiência do cliente.
A sustentabilidade está no cerne do Protechting, sendo transversal às três vertentes do programa e integrada em todas as soluções que dele surgem . Uma vez que a inovação aberta pressupõe o estabelecimento de parcerias e a colaboração para a construção de novas soluções de forma mais assertiva, completa e com menor custo, o programa disponibiliza mentores - profissionais experientes dos setores de seguros e saúde - e empreendedores, investidores e especialistas para fornecer orientação, insights e feedback às startups.
Até hoje, em todas as edições, o Protechting contribuiu para o desenvolvimento de mais de 40 projetos-piloto e cinco acordos comerciais sendo, assim, uma oportunidade win-win para as startups e para as empresas promotoras do programa. Para as startups, configura-se como uma oportunidade de refinar o seu modelo de negócios, desenvolver o seu produto e expandir.
Para as empresas, é uma oportunidade de aliar a tecnologia aos negócios, permitindo reduzir custos e criar modelos de negócios mais ajustados às necessidades dos seus clientes, beneficiando do dinamismo e da velocidade inerente às startups.
Na atual edição, na área de Insurtech, estão a procurar-se soluções que melhorem a experiência do cliente em Seguros Gerais, Property and Home Living (habitacional), Cibersegurança, Futuro da Mobilidade, o Poder da Tecnologia e ainda o espaço “Beyond Insurance”. Na área de Healthtech, procuram-se soluções para melhorar a saúde e o bem-estar das pessoas, de forma segura, com a adoção de tecnologias para o cuidado, diagnóstico e tratamentos.
Alguns dos participantes do cohort 2023 foram a Glooma, que desenvolveu o SenseGlove, um "dispositivo médico de rastreio, doméstico e portátil, que complementa o autoexame mamário convencional e está conectado a uma aplicação móvel", com o objetivo de "simplificar a interpretação dos resultados e levar as mulheres ao médico o mais cedo possível". E ainda a Balvia, que está a desenvolver "um ecossistema tecnológico inovador para facilitar o gerenciamento de medicamentos e melhorar a comunicação entre pacientes e cuidadores" com uma "solução especialmente projetada para atender às necessidades de indivíduos que requerem apoio na gestão de medicamentos".
A Fidelidade, Hospital da Luz Learning Health e Fosun, através do Protechting, desempenham um papel fundamental no avanço dos ODS 3 - Saúde de Qualidade, 9 - Inovação, Infraestrutura e Indústria, e 17 - Parcerias para a Implementação dos Objetivos. O programa visa alcançar metas específicas, como aumentar o acesso a serviços de saúde de qualidade (meta 3.8), fortalecer a pesquisa e inovação (meta 9.5) e promover parcerias público-privadas para o desenvolvimento sustentável (meta 17.17).
Por meio de iniciativas colaborativas e abertas, o Protechting está a impulsiona a inovação tecnológica, melhorando o acesso aos cuidados de saúde e promovendo o crescimento económico, alinhando-se com as metas globais de Desenvolvimento Sustentável da ONU.
Fontes:
https://eco.sapo.pt/2018/10/19/5-startups-que-estao-a-revolucionar-o-setor-dos-seguros/
In January 2024 Newsletter
Founded in 1961, Belcinto is a family-owned SME dedicated to the production of leather goods such as belts, bags, travel bags, and wallets. Initially confined to the national market, it is now strongly focused on exports, which represent 98% of its turnover, positioning itself in the mid-high and luxury range. However, Belcinto is not just a success story among SMEs—it is also a case of a company aware of its role and its impact on the planet, taking a responsible approach to its product sourcing and production methods.
In 2021, Belcinto launched the "Leather Goods by Belcinto" project, which produces items from the leftover cuttings of raw materials from other collections, without creating "waste" in the process. The Leather Goods line thus serves a purpose in the circular economy, adopting a slow fashion approach, distinguished by the production of a few, unique, high-quality, and durable items which, as Ana Maria Vasconcelos, the General Manager of the company, states, results in "an original line, rooted in what we have done before." In 2022, this project was awarded the European Sustainability Award for SMEs, the SME EnterPRIZE, launched by Tranquilidade and Generali Group.
"Leather Goods by Belcinto" challenges product design creativity and generates unique and durable pieces, independent of fashion trends, a good practice from this Portuguese company that merges economic value creation for the business with the path to the planet’s sustainability. By aligning its innovation, creativity, and circular production, Belcinto contributes to the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for the SDGs 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, positively impacting target 9.4 (By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities) and SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, specifically target 12.5, which aims to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse by 2030.
This best practice serves as an inspiration to all SMEs and large enterprises aiming to leverage their positive environmental impact through the reutilization of their raw materials in new and innovative processes, products, and markets.
In December 2022 Newsletter
The processes of integrating the SDGs into business strategy encompass all the processes of selecting strategic SDGs for the company, engaging stakeholders, conducting materiality analysis, and choosing SDGs according to the business context and its value chain, among others. Essentially, these refer to the practices that reflect a "process" in which the SDGs have been integrated into the core business or the company's strategy definition and are considered good examples of operationalization.
Galp's strategy is based on developing efficient and sustainable energy solutions, aligned with its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The company conducts a comprehensive materiality analysis, prioritizing sustainability issues from a dual perspective: the impact of its activities on the economy, environment, and society, and the impact of sustainability themes on the strategy, performance, and position of Galp. Both perspectives contribute to identifying the aspects that must be addressed by the company in its sustainability strategy.
The materiality analysis developed by Galp includes four main steps: 1. Identifying relevant themes and topics; 2. Determining their relevance through stakeholder consultation; 3. Assessing impact, through internal evaluation with top management, to ensure alignment of material themes with the company's values, commitments, and policies; 4. Validating the themes, prioritized according to their relevance and impact. From this analysis, the key material aspects of Galp's strategy emerge. In terms of impact assessment, Galp analyzes how its strategy and activities contribute to advancing the SDGs. The company has mapped the SDGs at three levels: material, direct, and indirect, with the material ones being those directly associated with its core activity and to which it has the greatest capacity to contribute.
Galp commits to achieving its strategic objectives ethically and responsibly. Its actions are primarily focused on four pillars: 1. Reducing carbon emissions; 2. Placing People at the centre with a common purpose; 3. Reducing the ecological footprint; and 4. Developing a conscious business. In its integrated report, Galp presents the goals, progress, and material aspects of each of the four pillars. For each pillar, it also identifies the alignment with the SDGs at the target level, as can be seen in Figure 1. The company also presents in its Integrated Report the initiatives and projects it undertakes in each pillar, aiming to exemplify how it is contributing to the progress of the associated SDGs.
This practice of assessing the impact of business activities related to the SDGs, classifying them at different levels, and associating them with the strategic objectives and pillars of the company, constitutes a good practice in processes. It ensures that the company aligns, structures, and executes activities considering their contribution to the 2030 Agenda, seeking to contribute to its advancement and sustainable development.