Customer Story
Knowing What Matters, Before It Becomes Urgent
How ecoPRISM conducted a Double Materiality Assessment for a mid-sized enterprise IT services firm, identifying the ESG topics most critical to its business model, stakeholders, and long-term competitiveness.
Client
Enterprise IT services firm
Sector
Digital transformation and enterprise applications
Framework
CSRD / ESRS aligned
ESG topics assessed
6 across E, S and G
Driven by
Voluntary initiative
The Challenge
"Where should we focus our ESG efforts first, and how do we make the case internally for prioritising them?"
ESG priorities are not the same for every company
For a growing IT services company serving global enterprise clients, sustainability is increasingly part of the conversation, whether through client procurement requirements, regulatory developments like CSRD and BRSR, or the expectations of an increasingly ESG-conscious talent market.
But with limited resources and no prior ESG baseline, the question was not whether ESG mattered. It was which issues mattered most, and in what order to act.
Identify which ESG topics were genuinely material, viewed from both impact and financial perspectives
Benchmark against peers to understand what the wider IT industry was prioritising in ESG disclosures
Build a credible, structured output that could anchor internal ESG discussions and stakeholder communications
Translate findings into a prioritised roadmap with practical, actionable next steps
The Solution
A structured Double Materiality Assessment, built for an IT services context
ecoPRISM conducted a CSRD and ESRS-aligned Double Materiality Assessment, evaluating each ESG topic through two distinct lenses: how the company's operations affect people, society, and the environment (impact materiality), and how ESG issues in turn affect the company's financial performance and resilience (financial materiality).
Step 01
Business context and value chain mapping
Deep dive into the company's operations, service lines, stakeholder groups, and delivery model to establish the right ESG lens for the sector.
Step 02
Peer benchmarking
Analysis of 13 global and regional IT services peers, from large listed firms to mid-tier players, to identify consistently prioritised ESG topics across the industry.
Step 03
Impact and financial materiality scoring
Each ESG topic rated across scope, severity, likelihood and financial exposure, drawing on GRI, ESRS and SASB frameworks, validated with internal stakeholders.
Step 04
Prioritisation and roadmap
Results plotted in a Double Materiality Matrix, with a tiered action plan and KPIs developed for each material topic to guide near-term ESG investment.
Key Findings
Six ESG topics. Three tiers of priority.
The assessment identified six material ESG topics, clustered into three priority tiers based on their combined impact and financial materiality scores.
Cybersecurity and data privacy
Central to client trust and the licence to operate as a digital transformation partner. High on both societal impact and financial exposure.
Employee well-being
Attrition and talent risk directly affect delivery capacity. People are the core asset in an offshore delivery model.
Responsible AI and digital ethics
As AI and analytics services grow, ethical frameworks become a competitive differentiator and a client expectation.
Diversity and inclusion
Supports talent attraction and signals responsibility to global enterprise clients with their own DEI commitments.
Governance and transparency
Formal ESG governance structures reduce compliance risk and build credibility with clients, investors and regulators.
Energy and emissions
Relatively modest direct footprint today, but tracking and disclosure will become a client procurement requirement as ESG standards tighten.
Looking Ahead
Materiality as a strategic starting point
The Double Materiality Assessment gave the client a clear, evidence-based view of where ESG intersects most critically with their business. Rather than a broad compliance exercise, it became a focused strategic tool: directing ESG investment toward the issues that matter most to the business and its stakeholders, and building the governance structures to act on them consistently.
The assessment also positions the company ahead of regulatory and client-driven ESG requirements, giving them a head start on CSRD readiness and the credibility to communicate their sustainability approach with confidence.
Get Started
Not sure where to start with ESG?
A Double Materiality Assessment cuts through the noise and tells you exactly where to focus. Talk to our team about running one for your organisation.
Book a consultation