What is double materiality?

A topic is material if it meets either an impact test (the company's impact on people and the environment is significant) OR a financial test (the topic creates a risk or opportunity that affects the company's development, performance or position). Under ESRS, either is enough.

Do I need this for CSRD?

Yes. ESRS 1 §3 makes the double materiality assessment the entry point for the entire CSRD report. Everything you disclose under E1–G1 flows from what your assessment identifies as material.

Is 2.5 the right threshold?

There is no legally required threshold - EFRAG deliberately left it open. 2.5 on a 0–5 scale is a common starting point. What matters is that your threshold rationale is documented and applied consistently across all topics. The assessment is auditable; the threshold logic is what auditors ask about first.

What if a topic is only impact-material?

It is material - the assessment must cover the E1–G1 disclosures for it. That is the point of double materiality: environmental and social impacts that do not affect financial position still trigger disclosure obligations.

Do I have to score all ten ESRS topics?

No - you can conclude a topic is not material after screening. But under ESRS 2 §54, you must document why. This tool's Monitor column is your evidence trail for non-material topics.

How does stakeholder engagement fit in?

The scores here should reflect stakeholder input, not just the sustainability team's view. Run workshops with employees, workers in the value chain, communities, customers and NGOs, and let those views calibrate the scores. Document the engagement in your ESRS 2 SBM-2 disclosure.

What about sub-topics?

ESRS 1 requires assessment down to the topical, sub-topical and sub-sub-topical level from the AR16 list. Add rows for the sub-topics that are candidates in your sector - this tool does not lock the taxonomy.

How often should I re-run the assessment?

Formally every reporting year. Trigger events (major acquisition, new market, regulatory shift) require an unscheduled refresh - save prior versions before scoring.

CSRD · ESRS-ready

Double materiality matrix builder

Score impacts, risks and opportunities, plot the 2×2 matrix and export an ESRS-ready double materiality assessment.

Current revision 9 July 2026

Materiality threshold 2.5 / 5

Topics above this on either axis become material.

Materiality matrix

Topic

Impact

Severity4 / 5

Scope5 / 5

Irremediability4 / 5

Impact likelihood5 / 5

Financial

Financial magnitude4 / 5

Financial likelihood4 / 5

Impact

4.33

Financial

3.20

Material topics

3/10

#	Topic	ESRS	Impact score	Financial score	Verdict
01	Climate change mitigation	E1	4.33	3.20	Material
02	Business conduct	G1	1.80	3.20	Material
03	Climate change adaptation	E1	2.67	2.40	Material
04	Own workforce	S1	2.40	1.80	Monitor
05	Workers in value chain	S2	2.00	1.20	Monitor
06	Water & marine resources	E3	1.80	0.80	Monitor
07	Circular economy	E5	1.40	1.80	Monitor
08	Consumers & end-users	S4	1.60	1.80	Monitor
09	Biodiversity & ecosystems	E4	1.33	0.80	Monitor
10	Affected communities	S3	0.93	0.80	Monitor

This is a screening tool. Under ESRS 1 §3 the double materiality assessment must be documented with evidence, stakeholder engagement and time horizons. Treat this scoring as a working baseline, not the final assessment.

How the scoring works

Every topic is scored on two axes as required by ESRS 1 §3. The impact axis combines severity, scope and irremediability (averaged, then weighted by likelihood). The financial axis combines magnitude and likelihood. A topic becomes material when either axis crosses the threshold - the double in double materiality means either axis is enough. All maths runs client-side; nothing is stored on our servers.

Legal basis: ESRS 1 §3 Double materiality · EFRAG IG1 Materiality Assessment Implementation Guidance (May 2024).
Impact score: ((severity + scope + irremediability) / 3) × (impact likelihood / 5). Actual & potential negative and positive impacts on people or the environment.
Financial score: magnitude × (financial likelihood / 5). Risks and opportunities affecting the undertaking's development, performance and position.
Scoring scale: 0–5 discrete, mapped from EFRAG's qualitative descriptors. 5 = severe / significant, 0 = not applicable.
Threshold: User-set. EFRAG does not prescribe a numeric threshold; document your rationale in the ESRS 2 IRO-1 disclosure. 2.5 is a reasonable starting cut-off across all axes.
Topic list: Pre-loaded with the ten ESRS topical standards (E1–E5, S1–S4, G1). Add sub-topics or sector-specific issues as needed.
Time horizons: This tool scores present state. ESRS 1 §3.6 requires short (<1yr), medium (1–5yr) and long (>5yr) horizon scoring - run three passes with saved snapshots for a full assessment.
Storage: All scores stay in your browser. Export to CSV or print to PDF for your working papers.

A 200-person food processor prepares for CSRD wave 2

A Cypriot food processor scores climate change mitigation at severity 4, scope 5, irremediability 4, likelihood 5 → impact score 4.3. Financial magnitude 4, likelihood 4 → financial score 3.2. Both cross the 2.5 threshold - climate is unambiguously material. Water & marine resources scores 3.0 impact but only 2.0 financial - material on the impact axis alone, which is exactly what double materiality is meant to catch. Business conduct scores 3.0 impact / 3.2 financial - material. The assessment produces four material topics: E1, E3, S1 own workforce, G1 business conduct - a defensible starting point for the ESRS 2 IRO-1 disclosure. Save the CSV and the PDF as working papers; the auditor will ask for the scoring rationale.

Double materiality, answered

What is double materiality?
A topic is material if it meets either an impact test (the company's impact on people and the environment is significant) OR a financial test (the topic creates a risk or opportunity that affects the company's development, performance or position). Under ESRS, either is enough.
Do I need this for CSRD?
Yes. ESRS 1 §3 makes the double materiality assessment the entry point for the entire CSRD report. Everything you disclose under E1–G1 flows from what your assessment identifies as material.
Is 2.5 the right threshold?
There is no legally required threshold - EFRAG deliberately left it open. 2.5 on a 0–5 scale is a common starting point. What matters is that your threshold rationale is documented and applied consistently across all topics. The assessment is auditable; the threshold logic is what auditors ask about first.
What if a topic is only impact-material?
It is material - the assessment must cover the E1–G1 disclosures for it. That is the point of double materiality: environmental and social impacts that do not affect financial position still trigger disclosure obligations.
Do I have to score all ten ESRS topics?
No - you can conclude a topic is not material after screening. But under ESRS 2 §54, you must document why. This tool's Monitor column is your evidence trail for non-material topics.
How does stakeholder engagement fit in?
The scores here should reflect stakeholder input, not just the sustainability team's view. Run workshops with employees, workers in the value chain, communities, customers and NGOs, and let those views calibrate the scores. Document the engagement in your ESRS 2 SBM-2 disclosure.
What about sub-topics?
ESRS 1 requires assessment down to the topical, sub-topical and sub-sub-topical level from the AR16 list. Add rows for the sub-topics that are candidates in your sector - this tool does not lock the taxonomy.
How often should I re-run the assessment?
Formally every reporting year. Trigger events (major acquisition, new market, regulatory shift) require an unscheduled refresh - save prior versions before scoring.

Related guides

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