Case study - ESG for an SME within the scope of CSRD

A (large) SME was aware it will be subjected to CSRD, having to report on its activities in 2025.  

They realised they had to start with their initiatives to be able to create the report over 2025 (to be published in 2026). There were already quite some initiatives ongoing in the areas of ESG but these were not yet connected or prioritised.  
The management was motivated to do what is needed to comply with the law. However, they had no ambition to stand out in the market as a frontrunner.  

Challenge 

The company’s owner didn’t know where to start, what to take as concrete actions and how to decide on the priorities. CSRD looked like a black box to them, made for big corporates and too heavy to carry for this SME. 

The management was looking for a pragmatic solution covering the CSRD requirements. Within the boundaries of their available resources and with the concrete actions as main driver of their ESG storyline. 

The management realised that in order to have the report ready, they should set forward the following timeline:    

    • What to report: should be clear in the next months 

    • How to report: should be clear in several months 

    • Drafting the report: a clear playbook should be ready in six months 

External support and in-house work should be in balance, with the option to choose how much effort they want to put into this along the way.  

One of the management team members would be dealing with this project (ESG SPOC), yet this is only one the many projects on the table for that person. The copywriting of the report would be done in-house. 

It was important that the auditor, who would have to provide limited assurance on the CSRD report, agreed with the approach and conclusions.  

What did we do? 

To achieve these results, BDO deployed its methodology covering the required areas under CSRD, yet tailored to the specific needs of the concerned SME.

This methodology is interconnected to BDO’s Sustainability Journey:

ESG journey

  • Start from the ongoing initiatives (as-is) 

  • Look at trends & challenges in the value chain and industry

  • Pinpoint the ambition level on the different areas, having a concrete action plan using clear KPIs 

  • Perform stakeholder engagement 

  • Decide on priorities by doing a Double Materiality Assessment  

  • Find out what information (data) needs to be collected 

  • Prepare a clear roadmap for reporting (who does what) 

  • Provide a blueprint report (high level structure)  

How did we do it?  

  1. Kick-off meeting with the entire management team to align expectations 

  1. One-to-one meetings and interviews with the ESG SPOC 

  1. 3 workshops with the management team to take decisions 

  1. Back-office work processing all information 

  1. Meetings with internal and external stakeholders    


KMO onder csrd


Time spent on this project

By the company

Total time spent by the ESG SPOC was four man-days, and three workshops for the management team. Next to that, ad hoc meetings (limited in duration) with others were scheduled.

By BDO

 Our experts worked a total of twenty man-days on this project..

The main focus areas of the company’s management should be their impact on the environment and the end consumers. With clear goals such as measuring their CO2 footprint and aiming to reduce it with 25% in three years time, and deepening their communication towards end consumers.

After this project, the company requested us to assist them additionally with: 

  • setting up a carbon footprint calculation; 

  • guidance how to set up data collection for information that they want/need to report but is not yet existing;

  • advise on what tooling is relevant to facilitate the reporting process.

Impact and results

Along the way, BDO’s ESG experts documented all steps which in the end lead to an insightful presentation (60 slides) covering all topics. 

The auditor was consulted 3 times during the project. During short update meetings they were brought up to speed and later agreed with the approach, providing comfort that the output is compliant.  

The company especially appreciated :

  • The pragmatic approach, being able to translate ESG in an SME context 

  • Full flexibility along the way, getting the option to limit or increase the efforts in each step, but only after explaining the pro’s and contra’s of doing so  


  • Talking with the auditor to ensure they agreed with how ESG is being approached and how it will be translated in the companies’ report 


Any questions about ESG? Don't hesitate to contact our expert Ignace Robberechts